Political campaigns rely on email and text messaging as their most important channels for reaching donors. But what happens when the platforms that control those inboxes and phones make it harder for your messages to get through?
In this episode of the Campaign Trend Podcast, host Eric Wilson talks with Dave Purkert, Executive Vice President of Marketing at TAG Strategies, about two major challenges campaigns are facing: Apple’s new iOS update and Gmail’s treatment of Republican fundraising emails.
First, Apple’s upcoming iOS 26 will make it easier for users to filter text messages from numbers not saved in their contacts. That sounds like a useful privacy feature, but it could dramatically shrink the reach of campaign texts. With 65% of donors using iPhones, the stakes are high. Dave shares how campaigns are preparing, from encouraging supporters to save contact cards to exploring relational organizing tools that rely on personal connections instead of mass texting.
Then, the conversation turns to email. A recent memo from Targeted Victory revealed that Gmail was flagging WinRed fundraising links as “dangerous” and sending them to spam—while identical ActBlue links sailed through without issue. With about 60% of donors on Gmail, that’s not just frustrating, it’s a real fundraising threat. Dave and Eric dig into what this means, why it matters, and what steps campaigns can take to improve deliverability, from authentication protocols to list hygiene and smarter segmentation.
If you’ve wondered why donor outreach feels harder than ever, this episode explains the hidden forces at play—and what campaigns can do to adapt.
Transcript
Eric Wilson: Welcome to the Campaign Trend Podcast where you're joining in on a conversation with the entrepreneurs, operatives, and experts who make professional politics happen. I'm your host, Eric Wilson. As we gear up for the 2026 midterms next year, there are some big challenges facing campaigns when it comes to online fundraising, specifically the two most important channels for reaching donors, email and texting. To help us break down what's going on, and what we can do about it, we're joined by Dave Purkert, Executive Vice President for Marketing at TAG Strategies. Dave has been in the online fundraising space for many years and he's the perfect person to catch us up on what's going on. So first, Dave, let's talk texting. Apple announced a few months ago that when it released its latest software for iPhone called iOS 26, so that's probably what we'll use to talk about it, in September, it's going to change the way iPhones handle text messages from numbers that aren't saved in your contacts. Just describe for us what's changing there.
Dave Purkert: From our understanding, the numbers that aren't saved in the phone are going to be filtered. You're going to have different filters from your known senders and your unknown senders. Any numbers that you don't have saved are going to fall into that unknown sender bucket.
Eric Wilson: Here's why it's a concern for campaigns. According to our polling at the Center for Campaign Innovation, 53% of voters and 65% of donors use iPhones. If this goes forward, where unknown numbers don't get texts, what is this going to do for fundraising?
Dave Purkert: Some of this is a wait-and-see mentality. At TAG, we're definitely taking steps to be ahead of it. This type of thing has happened in the past—Apple introduced privacy features for email—and we had to wait and see then. It didn’t quite have the impact that we thought it might. For this, we're just waiting to see what the default settings are going to be. We don't know the exact impact. Some people think this might be a slower burn, but the concerns are valid.
Eric Wilson: We do need to give Apple's perspective. They point out that this feature already exists, though buried in settings. I turned it on the other day. What they're saying is that they're updating the feature, making it easier for people to control their messages from unsaved numbers. In developer versions of iOS 26, it's on by default. The real question is: will it be on by default when released?
Dave Purkert: Apple has called a lot of attention to this. We know adoption will increase. What we don’t know is what will determine which messages get through and which don’t. Apple admits it wants a greater impact on what people see. Even if this comes from a good place, conservatives are tired of big tech controlling which messages get through. No one should play in that gray area between censorship and free speech.
Eric Wilson: Telecom carriers are required to deliver texts. Here, software is stepping in. I turned on the filter, and texts from Trump's campaign (88022) came through even though it’s not a saved number. They say if you've saved the number or interacted with it before, it gets through. But it’s a chicken-and-egg problem: if I don’t see it, I can’t interact with it. For now, Trump texts are getting through.
Dave Purkert: That could change. We’re at the mercy of Apple.
Eric Wilson: What can campaigns do now to prepare?
Dave Purkert: Contact cards. President Trump, Senator Tim Scott, and others are pushing them. Making sure those numbers are saved in the House file is important.
Eric Wilson: For listeners not familiar, what’s a contact card?
Dave Purkert: It’s a saved number with campaign info—name, phone, maybe a photo, social links. Just like any other contact in your phone.
Eric Wilson: We created a tool at campaigntrend.com to generate a .vcf file, which is what campaigns are using. Easy to do, link to it, and people can save your campaign. Do you have a sense of adoption?
Dave Purkert: A little. We’ve started rolling it out different ways to see what works best. I recommend doing it.
Eric Wilson: What else?
Dave Purkert: Stay ahead of it. Talk to your vendors, your campaign, your political team. In client meetings, this is the first question asked. It’s definitely on people’s radar, especially after the NRSC response.
Eric Wilson: Another workaround: texts from known numbers always get through. That’s renewed interest in relational organizing with companies like Numinar and Buzz360. If campaign texts don’t get through, texts from friends will. That might actually filter out scam PACs—people will only save numbers from campaigns they support.
Dave Purkert: Campaigns need to see this as an investment. It’s not your typical ROI-focused fundraising ask. These interactions are about ensuring delivery.
Eric Wilson: Unlike consumer brands like Coca-Cola or Ford, campaigns have election deadlines. This hits right in the middle of elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. That uncertainty is frustrating.
Dave Purkert: Agreed. It feels like a fight we’ve continued to have over the past few years.
Eric Wilson: Apple says the feature won’t be turned on by default, but with attention on it, adoption will increase. It’s going to be tough.
You’re listening to the Campaign Trend Podcast. I’m speaking with Dave Purkert from TAG Strategies about the challenges campaigns face with texting and email. Let’s turn to email. Target Victory recently sent a memo to its clients about Gmail’s handling of Republican fundraising emails. What’s the latest?
Dave Purkert: They sent a memo, covered by the New York Post, showing that Gmail flagged conservative fundraising links as dangerous and sent them to spam, while Democratic links had no issues. They even did a side-by-side video test: one email with a WinRed link, one with an ActBlue link. The WinRed email went to spam with a big “dangerous” banner; the ActBlue one landed in the inbox. Google later said it was a tech issue, but the evidence is clear.
Eric Wilson: That matters because our survey data show 65% of voters and 60% of donors rely on Gmail. If Gmail treats ActBlue links differently than WinRed links, that means less money raised for Republicans.
Dave Purkert: Exactly. And it wasn’t just donor emails. Even cross-vendor client emails with WinRed links were flagged.
Eric Wilson: It’s a major problem. Our workplace emails use Gmail too, so even internal messages weren’t delivered if they had a WinRed link. Pretty astonishing.
Dave Purkert: We’ve been raising these concerns for years. NC State found GOP fundraising emails were 60% more likely to be flagged as spam than Democratic ones. There were concerns Google manipulated searches after President Trump was shot last year. This is part of a broader pattern.
Eric Wilson: I don’t think it’s intentional, but Google needs to correct it. If mistakes always benefit Democrats, that’s a problem.
Dave Purkert: It only takes a few bad actors for bias to creep in.
Eric Wilson: So, what can campaigns do to ensure delivery?
Dave Purkert: Focus on the fundamentals: authentication (DMARC, SPF), good sending infrastructure, monitoring IP reputation, segmenting lists, watching frequency, and cleaning bad data. Bad data leads to spam traps. At TAG, we dedicate a team to constantly monitor and test inboxing.
Eric Wilson: I compare it to mail: if you put the address and stamp, it gets delivered. With email, it’s like a 60% chance the truck carrying your letter gets blown up. That’s why donors get so many emails—we send more to make sure some get through.
Dave Purkert: Exactly. That’s why we do so much testing. Clean lists, sending to people who want to hear from you, that’s what helps campaigns most.
Eric Wilson: Dave, thanks for breaking this down. We’ll keep watching developments. Make sure you’re subscribed to the Campaign Trend Rundown newsletter every Friday for updates. I’ll also include a link to TAG Strategies so you can see their work on testing and email marketing.
If this episode made you a little smarter, share it with a friend or colleague. You’ll look smarter in the process, and more people will hear about the show. Remember to subscribe to the Campaign Trend Podcast so you never miss an episode, and visit our website, campaigntrend.com. Thanks for listening—we’ll see you next time.