Hi all -
Hope you had a good long weekend and celebrated America however felt right for you!
First up: It’s rare that there’s an article about the solution out before the article about the problem — but because the RFS team is on top of our shit, well, here we are.
The story gets into how voters are looking to LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude to figure out how to vote for and how to understand their ballots — and treating what they read as fact.
RFS started hearing this from candidates in 2025 — which is why we’re ready with a solution.
We talked NOTUS through CampSight, our new tool helping candidates prepare for the modern information ecosystem. Hear directly from one of our candidates who’s been using CampSight for a few weeks:
Dustin Lloyd, an Army veteran endorsed by Run for Something in his race for state House District 39 in Missouri, spoke with NOTUS after using CampSight for a few weeks. Lloyd, who’s campaigning on lowering the cost of living, supporting veterans and increasing access to mental health resources, said the tool has helped him deliver these messages in a “more readable and understandable” way.
“My social media — since using CampSight and just being consistent — my views and the reach of everything in regards to the platform on social media has blown up,” Lloyd said.
CampSight has recommended “better verbiage or wording” for the policy pages on Lloyd’s website by explaining “how certain keywords will stand out more” in other AI chatbot searches. The tool also suggested adding specific coding to improve his website’s search engine optimization to help chatbots pick it up.
The Army veteran said the tool is “very affordable for a grassroots candidate” like himself who’s running a campaign with little outside help. Lloyd appeared encouraged that CampSight found he shows up in certain queries significantly more than his opponents, Democrat Tanya Lakins and Republican state Rep. Mark Meirath (who currently holds the seat).
If you want to learn more about CampSight and get on the waitlist, you can learn more here.
If you want to invest in CampSight and help us expand this tool ASAP, just reply to this email or chip in now.
A few quick election updates:
Chela Garcia Irlando, a local nonprofit leader, won out over a flood of dark money spent against her.
CO Rep. Kenny Nguyen held on to the seat he was appointed to earlier this year
Alum Amanda Gonzalez won the nomination for CO Secretary of State — Amanda was the Jefferson County Clerk and was a major leader in expanding polling places in jails across the state.
Alum Manny Rutinel won the competitive primary for CO-8 and will work his ass off to flip the seat red to blue in the fall.
In RFS community updates:
NC Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch spoke movingly about who was left out of the Declaration of Independence — women and people of color.
NC Rep. Dante PIttman’s op-ed on America at 250 years is similarly powerful, as both an elected official and a veteran.
CA Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez lead on a bill to give Altadena residents protection from speculators as they work to rebuild their homes after the fires last year.
Eli Sabin is running for CT state house — his affordability platform is focused on housing, protection for renters, and state funding for education.
NJ Rep. Balvir Singh is leading on legislation to end tax credits for data centers.
St. Louis Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer sponsored legislation to outline zoning regulations for data centers.
I loved this profile of WI Assemblywoman Francesca Hong and her campaign for governor — nearly every Republican the reporter talked to say some variation of “yeah, I’d vote for her, she gets it.”
The NYT covered the wave of gen Z leaders running for office, including IA candidate Leila Staton:
Startled by Trump’s return in 2024, Leila Staton, 22, and her mother formed the Insufferable Wenches of Iowa, a progressive group designed in part to link like-minded but socially isolated rural residents. No Democrat had filed to run this year against the two-term Republican state legislator representing her district, so Staton, who lives in Stout, population around 200, decided to run herself.
College graduates from rural Iowa tend to leave the state. Staton pointed to a state Legislature, where in 2023 the average age was 54, as unrepresentative of her generation.
Staton has focused her campaign on public education, which has been drained of cash by a new school voucher program; family farms struggling with rising costs and corporate pressure; drinking water that is contaminated with nitrates; and Iowa’s rapidly rising cancer rates.
“There’s a lack of opportunity, prices are rising, wages are stagnant,” she said, “and our cancer crisis has no clear solution.”
The elections over the last few weeks were predictable if you’ve been a RFS supporter — in that you know tens of thousands of people have been signing up to run for office in part because of their deep frustration with the Democratic Party. I said as much on MSNOW earlier this week.
This work doesn’t happen overnight — it happens in the weeks, months, and years before the votes are cast. You’re making it possible. Thanks.
- Amanda
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