The Netroots Nation Conference was held in Philadelphia this year to coincide with America 250. I attended to network and interview some attendees. One of the things I noticed at Netroots Nation 2026 was the proliferation of Data and AI trainings and exhibitors.
Data Storytelling
The first training that I recorded was one titled Beyond the Numbers: Using Data to Effectively Communicate. It was taught by a panel from a company called Navigator Research. They discussed how to write and interpret survey questions and results. They have a nice online data tool showing monthly trends in American’s net approval of the economy. Net approval means subtracting the percentage of those with a negative view of the economy from those with a positive view. The most recent numbers have it at -39% in the graph below.
Surveying Vendors and Disaffected Voters
On day 2 I went to a great panel titled Reaching the Disillusioned: What Organizers Need to Know. They presented a survey to profile disillusioned voters. The take home message was that it is important to talk to them where they are at. One variable that they did not look at were regional differences in disaffected voters, especially rural vs. urban voters. I asked the moderator, Katrina Gamble, at the beginning of the above video why this is. You can hear her response above. The panel was live streamed but the video of it is no longer available on their Facebook page or YouTube channel.
The rest of the video shows the exhibitors at the conference. Of the 88 listed on their app, 19 of them were grass roots activist organizations. Two organizations had AI in their title. The remaining 69 exhibitors were selling software, data analytics platforms, and media services. The data platforms use AI to attract voters. It takes more than data and AI at Netroots Nation to engage disaffected voters. It cost $1,000 to have an exhibit at the conference.