Following the Democrats' loss in the 2024 presidential election, Zee Cohen-Sanchez formed National Ground Game. She labeled NGG as her "passion project," and currently serves as the executive director.
NGG is both a political action committee and an organization serving as a counter to conservative movements on college campuses. One of its biggest adversaries is Turning Point USA, a nonprofit group that promotes conservatism on high school and college campuses across the nation.
Cohen-Sanchez realized her passion for politics while attending Wagner College in 2010, she said. Out of college, she worked for Bernie Sanders' 2015 campaign before moving into full-time operative work.
"We're reaching out specifically to the deeper red states and the swing states, the places that we know voter registration is in great trouble with the Democratic party," Cohen-Sanchez said.
The group's goal is to secure Democratic victories by winning back the youth vote, according to NGG. To achieve this, it aims to establish over 500 college chapters and get Democratic students to register to vote. To do this, NGG put on the Unfuck America tour.
The tour is intended to serve as a Democratic counterpart to TPUSA's Great American Comeback Tour. The Unfuck America Tour went to the University of Colorado and the University of Las Vegas earlier this year.
Currently, the organization is in talks with 25 schools to start chapters on campuses, including USC. So far, no college chapters have been started. Ethan Alexander, one of NGG's communication administrators and a USC alum, is spearheading the effort on USC's campus.
Alexander held an interest meeting on campus a couple of weeks ago, where he outlined his goals for the potential USC chapter. He encouraged students to get involved with the liberal movement by volunteering.
"We are here, and we need the support, and you guys being here is the first step to getting this off the ground and starting a national movement," Alexander said at the meeting. "We will beat conservatism, we will beat Trump and we will beat this fascist administration."
Will Hunt-Augustine, a non-student volunteer with NGG on campus, said colleges have an important role in getting the youth to vote. He referenced their special ability to change public thought.
"There's something really essential about that face-to-face connection," Hunt-Augustine said, "I think college is one of the few places where you can explore ideas."
Alexander said that conservatives have held the microphone on campuses for too long. He said that it is liberals' turn to come onto campus and be unafraid to debate Republican voices.
"My goal is to bring good faith debates, train these students on the current events that are going on and the disinformation surrounding them," Alexander said.
Holding these kinds of conversations on campus is meant to open others up to NGG's ideals, according to Alexander. He said that to win elections, it is necessary to gain the attention of those in the center.
"You can be a liberal and know how to debate, you can open people's minds to show that, 'No, we're willing to hear you out, and hopefully you're willing to hear us out.' And that's how you really change minds," Alexander said.
Cohen-Sanchez estimated that NGG has had around 15,000 to 20,000 volunteers get involved nationally. With efforts ranging from canvassing, phone banking and creating postcards, NGG is trying to increase the number of Democrats in local offices.
Cohen-Sanchez said Democrats have not had the same driving force on the ground as conservatives have had with TPUSA. NGG's response is to start showing up on campuses and gain a presence, and disrupt what it calls the "red pill pipeline."
However, this does not come without its challenges. It is expensive to run these tours, with the costs including the purchase of permits and insurance, Cohen-Sanchez said.
Currently, NGG has no large funders. Cohen-Sanchez said NGG is operating on 100% small-dollar donations, and it has generated nearly $1,000,000 since launching in April.
The organization's social media presence accompanies its touring efforts. Social media played a significant role in the last election, according to Hunt-Augustine. To connect with a broader audience, NGG began hiring internet content creators.
Through the Unfuck America Tour, it has partnered with over 20 influencers to counter conservative creators. Cohen-Sanchez said NGG is working to grow the platforms of smaller creators.
Alexander, one of the small creators that NGG has helped give a platform, said social media is the entire game. These creators are unpaid by the organization, but Cohen-Sanchez hopes this will change soon, she said.
The tour is focusing on short-form content and establishing a presence on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. By going viral, Cohen-Sanchez said she hopes they can encourage college students to vote blue.
"The goal is that we'll go out and we'll debate, we'll get viral content and at the same time will push people to go vote," Cohen-Sanchez said.
Cohen-Sanchez said that the tour plans to come to USC eventually, but they are not currently scheduled to visit the campus. However, since NGG is working to start a chapter at USC, there is still the opportunity for student involvement.
“We need to undo the damage that I’m going to say Turning Point has objectively done,” Alexander said. “And we want to fix the faith in our education system.”