Black Caucus Institute Launches $4.5M Turnout Drive

The Congressional Black Caucus Institute launched its SO VOTE campaign on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, timed to National Voter Registration Day. It plans to spend at least $4.5 million in the midterm cycle after raising about $1 million, mainly from individual donors. The effort covers Georgia and Mississippi statewide, both with Senate races this cycle, and 16 competitive House districts. Partners include historically Black colleges and universities, Black fraternities and sororities, When We All Vote, Black Voters Matter, houses of worship and local civic groups. Outreach uses geotargeted digital ads, local content creators, social listening tools and relational organizing through WhatsApp and social media rather than heavy reliance on television. Marcia Fudge said neither party has spent enough time with Black, brown, poor and rural communities, so organizers decided to act themselves. Jim Clyburn said the campaign finally supplies resources to put long-proposed ideas into practice and that television does not reach the needed voters; he also cited the 71%-to-59% white-Black turnout gap. Cedric Richmond said voting is part of the solution for those unhappy with current conditions but requires constant communication. Bennie Thompson said Southern states are trying to minimize Black political participation and that low-propensity voters must be elevated into a stronger voice. The campaign is officially nonpartisan; organizers say lessons will inform a 2028 playbook.