Get involved with Cliff Maloney and Citizens Alliance:
Volunteer or join the door-knocking team: https://www.commit100.org/
Sponsor a day of door knocking: https://sponsordoors.com/
How are elections won when millions in campaign spending still leave voters at home? Cliff Maloney joins Jeff Fargo to break down the ground game behind voter turnout, ballot chasing and the 2026 midterms.
Cliff is the CEO of Citizens Alliance, founder of the PA Chase and author of Run Right. He explains why campaign consultants favor expensive media buys, what it takes to recruit and manage paid door knockers, and why registered supporters do not always become actual voters.
This full Fargo Talks conversation goes inside campaign budgets, grassroots organizing, early voting and the partnership with Turning Point Action. Cliff also discusses Charlie Kirk's approach to activism, his organization's 2026 field plans in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire, and the longer game leading into 2028.
We also get into where artificial intelligence helps with voter data and text conversations, where human relationships still matter, and why raising resourceful kids starts with letting them figure things out.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Cliff Maloney
02:02 The ground-game gap in election campaigns
05:36 Recruiting and training paid door knockers
11:42 Why registered voters stay home
13:48 Door knocking vs. campaign advertising
16:39 Campaign money and consultant incentives
22:14 Charlie Kirk and the Turning Point pipeline
23:37 Donor networks and political organizing
26:49 The 2026 ground game and the plan for 2028
28:13 Campaign signs, candidate training and Run Right
37:09 The stakes of the 2026 midterm elections
43:54 Family resilience and the entrepreneurial mindset
52:32 AI, jobs and the future of human relationships
54:40 AI in voter data and text outreach
1:01:44 Why real conversations still matter
1:07:07 Recruiting people with door-to-door experience
1:10:26 Accountability and lessons from campaign losses
1:12:29 Where to follow Cliff and get involved
1:14:20 Shane Gillis, Tires and the closing conversation
CLIFF MALONEY
Website and Run Right: https://cliffmaloney.com/
Volunteer opportunities discussed in this episode: https://www.commit100.org/
FARGO TALKS WITH JEFF FARGO
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More episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@FargoTalks/videos
What do campaigns spend too much on, and what do they overlook? Share your take in the comments.
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