Inside the Data That Could Save Democrats: A Conversation with Searchlight’s Scotty Moore
Thu Oct 30 2025
Ben, Dylan, and Beleh sit down with Scotty Moore, Policy Associate at the Searchlight Institute, for a candid conversation about how Democrats can talk like humans again — and why breaking from fear-based messaging may be the key to sparking a new political realignment.
Scott opens with a reframing that sets the tone: there are climate-concerned voters, not climate voters (01:40). From there, the group digs into the “activist guardrails” that quietly cost Democrats battleground votes (06:55), and how one national soundbite can taint every local candidate on the ballot (08:16). They explore what a heterodox, real-world message sounds like on crime and immigration — secure the border without cruelty, punish crime while believing in second chances (10:11) — and how Searchlight’s independent polling builds permission structures that let candidates say what normal people already think (13:19).
Midway through, Scott unpacks the difference between salience and agreement (14:33) and why long-form formats expose slogan politics (19:41). The crew then breaks down how to move primary voters by making “electability” personal (21:00), and how to apologize without looking weak — “I learned and changed” beats lawyering every time (23:39).
They close with a sharp read on why 2024 Democrats sounded trapped on immigration and energy (31:58), how the lack of top-down permission let Twitter fill the vacuum (35:28), and Scott’s own path from Alaska Native advocacy to the DCCC to building Searchlight — an institute built to disrupt purity politics and power the next realignment.
Follow Scotty, Searchlight Institute, Beleh, Ben, and Brogressive on Twitter/X.
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Ben, Dylan, and Beleh sit down with Scotty Moore, Policy Associate at the Searchlight Institute, for a candid conversation about how Democrats can talk like humans again — and why breaking from fear-based messaging may be the key to sparking a new political realignment. Scott opens with a reframing that sets the tone: there are climate-concerned voters, not climate voters (01:40). From there, the group digs into the “activist guardrails” that quietly cost Democrats battleground votes (06:55), and how one national soundbite can taint every local candidate on the ballot (08:16). They explore what a heterodox, real-world message sounds like on crime and immigration — secure the border without cruelty, punish crime while believing in second chances (10:11) — and how Searchlight’s independent polling builds permission structures that let candidates say what normal people already think (13:19). Midway through, Scott unpacks the difference between salience and agreement (14:33) and why long-form formats expose slogan politics (19:41). The crew then breaks down how to move primary voters by making “electability” personal (21:00), and how to apologize without looking weak — “I learned and changed” beats lawyering every time (23:39). They close with a sharp read on why 2024 Democrats sounded trapped on immigration and energy (31:58), how the lack of top-down permission let Twitter fill the vacuum (35:28), and Scott’s own path from Alaska Native advocacy to the DCCC to building Searchlight — an institute built to disrupt purity politics and power the next realignment. Follow Scotty, Searchlight Institute, Beleh, Ben, and Brogressive on Twitter/X.