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Turning Followers Into Voters

I sat down with Erika and Claire Shorall (Sway's founder) to talk about what it actually takes to turn an audience into voters. Find the full ep, video, transcript, links and more at joshklemons.com/hmt-sway/

joshklemons.com

Check in with Erika Harrison of Black Girls Who Brunch and Claire Shorall of Sway to learn more about the tech behind turning out voters from the folks who already know and trust you.

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While she has a ton of followers on social, she has 2,400 people in her Sway voting group. In the primary, 83% of those folks turned out to vote. In two races, her Sway group exceeded the margin of victory. That's the difference between followers and actual electoral power. >>>

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I checked in with Erika Harrison about this on a new ep of Hello Merge Tag. She built Black Girls Who Brunch as a food blog. Now she uses it to organize voters in Texas and beyond. >>>

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

50,000 followers is cool. 500 organized voters who actually show up on Election Day is... cooler. I spend a ton of time on TikTok talking about politics and elections in Wisconsin. The goal isn't to get famous — it's to organize people. To move them from "I'm scrolling" to "I'm voting." >>>

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PSA: Reddit AMA's can be so valuable for some political campaigns. And absolute disasters for others. The hard part isn't running one. It's knowing whether or not you should.

Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Donald Trump endorsed Mike Lindell (MyPillow guy) for MN gov. The Downballot nailed the headline. www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-nations-no-2-election cc: @davidnir.com / @jeffsinger.bsky.social

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

He's the same guy who's skipped 5 of the last 6 debates. So don't think this was shade. Think this was bragging.

Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

lol This is the Republican frontrunner for WI CD-7 (to replace Tom Tiffany). He's Sean Duffy's son-in-law and has been endorsed by Donald Trump. And he would really like credit for... checks notes... showing up personally to a Dairy Breakfast. "I personally, not a surrogate.

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

As always, our party should spend more time listening to @anatosaurus.bsky.social. Full piece here: anatosaurus.substack.com/p/turn-out-f...

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

And as of tonight: drop in an article and pull out the exact quote you want people to see. Perfect for highlighting what you said, or surfacing the line in a story that matters most. Check it out and let me know what you think. 👉 sharesparrow(.)com

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

ShareSparrow just keeps growing! You can already turn any tweet or Bluesky post into an Instagram-ready graphic. Now you can do the same with any news article. >>>

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Kirk Bangstad just confirmed he's finished trying to get on the ballot. If anyone was curious.

Andy Olsen @andyo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Reposted by Josh Klemons

#BoycottUline every day!

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If a business or organization you know and love is accidentally supporting this undermining of our democratic process, let them know! I built a free tool to help. >>>

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and campaigns specifically designed to block voters from putting measures directly on the ballot. Too many don't realize the cost of ordering from those massive catalogues that just keep showing up at their door. >>>

This isn't a left/right issue. Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the billionaire owners of Uline, have spent hundreds of millions of dollars funding election deniers, groups linked to the January 6th insurrection, >>>

So many good folks out there have no idea that every time they use a Uline product, they are contributing to one of the most anti-democratic families in America. >>>

Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

A few years back, my wife and I bought a pride flag from a small business focused on putting more goodness into the world. Everything about their business was intentional. But our order arrived in a Uline box. >>>

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ShareSparrow just got a major upgrade. You can still turn tweets and Bluesky posts into Instagram-ready graphics. But now you can do the same with news articles. Drop in any article link. Get a graphic with the headline, description, and photo — ready to share.

Derek Johnson @derekjesq.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Reposted by Josh Klemons

Happening now in a packed room at @netrootsnation.bsky.social: “Wins Are Replicable: From Mamdani to Minnesota to Middle America” with @anatosaurus.bsky.social, @jlemonsk.bsky.social, @heyansa.bsky.social and Gabriella Zutrau

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Reposted by Josh Klemons

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Digital strategy is for engagement and fundraising. It is not the only thing that wins. But candidates should prioritize Bluesky over other text-based platforms if they’re serious about digital strategy. Here’s a 45-minute convo I had with @jlemonsk.bsky.social about this: youtu.be/XOfkMBMpw3s?...

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Running a Bluesky-First Campaign with Kat Abughazaleh | Hello Merge Tag Ep. 32

YouTube video by Josh Klemons

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Jack Welty came on the pod to talk about preparing for the first AI election. He shared practical steps any campaign can take right now to ensure voters are finding credible, accurate information when they go looking. Check out our full convo at HelloMergeTag . com.

Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Voters are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok about candidates. Most campaigns have no idea what those answers say about them. And even fewer know how to influence them. >>>

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Reposted by Josh Klemons

One reason I hate death penalty cases is that capital punishment is incredibly stupid and irrational. It's cruel, expensive, and serves no deterrent effect. It's rarely imposed, except against a tiny minority of unlucky defendants—and in those cases, racism almost always plays a role. Just end it.

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Just scrolling the DNC autoposy... man that's a lot of red mark-ups. Hoo boy.

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Another huge win last night. 😊 Worked with an awesome candidate in Pennsylvania. We were waaaay outspent. We were also running against the establishment. We won by 15 points. LFG!

Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Full episode on HelloMergeTag . com, on YouTube, or wherever you stream podcasts.

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Jack Welty helped build the analytics program for two Democratic presidential campaigns. He joined me on Hello Merge Tag to talk about where our party is falling behind and what our side needs to start doing differently — now.

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Republican consultants are using AI daily at nearly twice the rate of Democrats. “Every day that we are not adopting this stuff, the other side is moving faster. And I think ultimately that’s going to translate into votes.”

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

How tarnished is the DNC brand these days? The DLCC is actively distancing itself. SL: We’re not the DNC.

Isaac G. Bryan @ib2real.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Reposted by Josh Klemons

Thousands are marching in Selma calling for a full restoration of the voting rights act.

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Josh Klemons @jlemonsk.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Good content matters. No question. But if there's no conviction behind it, the best content in the world falls flat. Every time. You can play a fighter on the internet. But if you cave on every vote, people notice.