7th district Democratic candidate Michael Roth’s access to VAN, the database that Democratic campaigns use for their voter outreach, has been suspended after the New Jersey Democratic State Committee learned his campaign had publicly posted VAN voter data on its website.
The voter data has since been removed, and Roth’s campaign said it hopes to come to a resolution with the NJDSC over VAN access: “We are working in good faith with the state party, and we are engaging in steps to get access back,” campaign manager Hilary Caldwell said. The campaign is also working with counsel to pursue potential alternate options to regain access to VAN, which will be crucial to Roth’s canvassing efforts less than three weeks out from the Democratic primary.
For around 12 hours yesterday, Roth’s red box – a term for the media files and messaging guidance that campaigns post for super PACs to use – featured spreadsheets downloaded from VAN that included long lists of voters and their addresses, phone numbers, and other details. The intention was likely to give super PACs like Coalition for Progress, which recently began sending out pro-Roth mailers, guidance on where to direct their messaging.
According to a letter sent by the NJDSC late last night, however, doing so was a violation of the Roth campaign’s agreement with the state Democratic Party. “By posting voter spreadsheets obtained through VAN on your campaign website, your campaign exceeded the scope of its authorized use and publicly disclosed restricted voter data,” the letter states.
Until the violations can be “reviewed and rectified in their entirety,” NJDSC Chair LeRoy Jones said, Roth’s access to VAN will be revoked. The state party has proprietary control over the voter data contained in VAN, and is supposed to greenlight any individual campaign’s usage of that data to ensure it is kept private and not used for personal gain.
The saga could significantly hobble Roth’s ability to reach voters in the 7th district, where four Democrats are competing in a contested and high-stakes primary to challenge Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield). Campaigns rely on VAN for text- and phonebanking, doorknocking, and direct mail campaigns, and even if Roth’s access is eventually restored, the clock is ticking ahead of the June 2 primary.
Drew Nussbaum, Coalition for Progress’s treasurer, did not respond to questions on whether his super PAC had used any of the VAN data for the brief time it was available and, if so, what it will now do with it.
Roth’s campaign blamed the dustup with the NJDSC on a rival candidate for the Democratic nomination, Rebecca Bennett, who has the support of most local party organizations in the 7th district.
“At a moment when Rebecca Bennett has clearly lost her hold on the race for NJ-07’s primary nomination, she has resorted to using her backroom political allies to try and smear our campaign,” Caldwell said. Bennett’s campaign declined to comment in response.
In his statement, Jones said he had no animus towards the Roth campaign, but that he felt there needed to be ramifications for the campaign’s actions. “It’s never our intention to hinder or hamstring a campaign, but actions have consequences and we have a responsibility to protect and preserve restricted voter data,” he said.