Democratic Messaging Project is a Democratic-aligned super PAC that displays political messaging in support of Democratic candidates on static billboards, on rolling billboards, and in digital ads, focusing on the politically competitive states of Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In the 2024 election it placed ads supporting the election of Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and opposing former President Donald Trump. ¹

Background

The Democratic Messaging Project (DMP) is a super PAC based in Portola Valley, California that leverages billboards, rolling billboards, digital ads, and trinkets to encourage people to vote for Democratic candidates. Its messaging focuses on left-of-center issues such as abortion access, economic inequality, LGBT interests, policing reform, and climate change. ² OpenSecrets (published by Center for Responsive Politics) described it as a “single-candidate super PAC in support of Kamala Harris (D)” as of late 2024. ³

DMP was started in the summer of 2022 by Democratic political activists JoAnn Loulan and Tracy Sherman to spread “bold and fearless statements challenging former President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement,” focusing on the swing states. ⁴ They began purchasing digital ads in 2022 and drew about 400,000 people to their website. ¹

In 2024, DMP focused its messaging on Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, placing large billboards and deploying rolling billboards with messages to encourage people to vote Democratic and to “highlight the dangers of not voting or voting for Trump.” DMP has consulted with political consulting firm Democracy Partners on its approach. ¹

Initiatives

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Messaging Project (DMP) partnered with liberal groups such as Indivisible Pennsylvania, Red Wine and Blue Pennsylvania, and One Pennsylvania to encourage Democratic voters with rolling billboard trucks, highway billboards, and digital ads. It also partnered with Feminist Majority to distribute DMP-branded condoms to college students with messages such as “Protect Yourself From Republicans.” ⁵ The condom packages had a QR code that led to a voter registration web site. ⁶

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin DMP representatives attended the protests outside of the Republican National Convention in July 2024, organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC, giving out DMP-branded condoms in support of abortion access. ⁷ The group projected images and videos on buildings throughout the city with negative messaging about former President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, highlighting abortion access, immigration, and gun violence. ^{8 9}

The DMP endorsed the Coalition to March on the RNC, along with several left-wing and radical-left activist organizations such as the American Party of Labor, Code Pink, the Freedom Socialist Party, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Re:Power, and Voces de la Frontera Action. ¹⁰ The Coalition to March on the RNC organizes the mass demonstration that takes place during the Republican National Convention and publicizes its “points of unity” including to “fight the racist and reactionary agenda of the Republican Party,” defend LGBT and abortion rights, and defend and expand illegal immigrant rights. ¹¹

In November 2024, DMP was one of 193 organizations that sent a letter to President Joe Biden and to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging them to release illegal immigrants from detention, stop the expansion of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention system, and close detention facilities to “protect immigrant communities … before the next president follows through on his mass deportation plans.” Co-signers included Detention Watch Network, 18MillionRising, Defending Rights and Dissent, Freedom for Immigrants, Human Rights Watch, Migrant Justice, and Rising Majority. ^{12 13}

Funding

For the 2024 election cycle, Democratic Messaging Project (DMP) had raised $766,883 and spent $719,474 as of September 30, 2024, according to OpenSecrets. ¹⁴ The largest donation bloc of $500,000 came from Laure L. Woods, a  philanthropist who contributes to San Francisco Bay Area groups through her LaureL Foundation. ^{15 16}

Leadership

Political activist JoAnn Loulan is co-founder and executive director of the Democratic Messaging Project (DMP). ¹⁷ She was a civil rights activist and demonstrated against the Vietnam War and for lesbian interests. She has written three books supporting lesbian visibility and worked to raise money for Democratic candidates, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. In 2017, she founded Local Majority, which does research and writes papers to support Democratic candidates. In 2022, she co-founded DMP. ¹⁸

1. “The Medium, The Message, Coming Soon.” The Grassroots Connector. July 2, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://grassrootsconnector.substack.com/p/the-medium-the-message-coming-soon
2. “DMP Projects.” DMP Democratic Messaging Project. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.democraticmessagingproject.org/dmp-projects
3. “PAC Profile: Democratic Messaging Project.” OpenSecrets. Accessed December 7, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs//C00800995/summary/2024
4. Jennifer Yoshikoshi. “Portola Valley-based Democratic Messaging Project challenge the MAGA movement.” The Almanac. August 27, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.almanacnews.com/portola-valley/2024/08/27/portola-valley-based-democratic-messaging-project-challenge-the-maga-movement/
5. Jenny Stephens. “Grassroots Democratic Political Messaging Rolls Through Bucks Couty and Across Pennsylvania.” Bucks County Beacon, September 23, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://buckscountybeacon.com/2024/09/grassroots-democratic-political-messaging-rolls-through-bucks-county-and-across-pennsylvania/
6. “Condoms For Democracy.” The Democracy Labs. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://thedemlabs.org/2024/08/22/condoms-for-democracy-protect-your-fucking-freedoms-safe-from-project-2025/
7. Ryan King. “RNC protesters gloss over calls to cool rhetoric against Trump after assassination bid: ‘Turn it up’.” New York Post. July 15, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://nypost.com/2024/07/15/us-news/protesters-at-rnc-keep-up-hot-rhetoric-against-trump-after-assassination-scare/
8. “Democratic Messaging Project: Provocative messages bash Trump, MAGA across downtown Milwaukee buildings during RNC.” WisPolitics. July 16, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.wispolitics.com/2024/democratic-messaging-project-provocative-messages-bash-trump-maga-across-downtown-milwaukee-buildings-during-rnc/
9. “Provocative Anti Trump MAGA Messages to Appear Across Downtown Milwaukee During RNC.” Urban Milwaukee. July 12, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/provocative-anti-trump-maga-messages-to-appear-across-downtown-milwaukee-during-rnc/
10. “Endorsements.” March on the RNC. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.marchonrnc2024.org/endorse
11. “About.” March on the RNS. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.marchonrnc2024.org/about
12. “193 Organizations Urge the Biden Administration to Take Decisive Action to Protect Immigrants.” Detention Watch Network. November 15, 2024. Accessed December 4, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/pressroom/releases/2024/193-organizations-urge-biden-administration-take-decisive-action-protect
13. NGO Letter Regarding Detention. Detention Watch Network. November 15, 2024. Accessed December 4, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/NGO%20letter%20regarding%20detention_11.15.24.pdf
14.  “PAC Profile: Democratic Messaging Project.” OpenSecrets. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/democratic-messaging-project/c00800995/summary/2024
15. “Top Organizations Disclosing Donations to Democratic Messaging Project, 2024.” OpenSecrets. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2024?cmte=C00800995&tab=donors
16. “About.” LaureL Foundation. Accessed December 27, 2024. https://www.laurel-fdn.org/about/.
17. “About Us.” DMP Democratic Messaging Project. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.democraticmessagingproject.org/about
18. “The Signal. Getting the Democratic Party’s Message…” PodBean. May 15, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://buckscountybeacon.podbean.com/e/the-signal-getting-the-demoratic-partys-message-out-with-joann-loulan/