Madeleine Baldwin, 31, and Rhiannon Payne, 28, flew to Des Moines from their hometown of San Francisco a few days ago to help drum up support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses this Monday. Laying on the bed in their hotel, watching the impeachment trial while eating Cracker Barrel delivery and getting increasingly frustrated with Republican behavior, Payne scrolled to Bumble on her phone out of boredom and distraction.
“I was like, ‘I wonder what the guys are like in Iowa,’” Payne told Refinery29. Then a light bulb went up over her head. “I pulled out Bumble and realized they were all possible voters.”
To be clear, neither of them was looking for love. Payne was too busy and focused on volunteering. Baldwin is in a committed relationship. “I made sure to be super-clear about that because I didn’t want it to feel like a catfish situation,” Baldwin told Refinery29. “I genuinely sought to have meaningful conversations about caucusing and the issues they cared about and figured this was the perfect digital venue to facilitate those conversations: geo-targeted, straightforward. My boyfriend was aware and fully supportive. I even sent him screenshots when I’d get a new commit!”
But instead of getting dates, they signed up some newly minted Elizabeth Warren fans. Baldwin says she spoke with around 50 men and got eight “commits,” meaning they committed to caucus for Warren. “I got close to eight new commits, which is WILD,” she says. “It was the best ‘commit-to-caucus’ ratio I’ve seen in any kind of organizing.” Payne says she got well over a dozen guys on Bumble to lean or commit to Warren.
Since Friday, they have messaged hundreds of men on both Bumble and Tinder. (They’re not the only ones: Others have been doing it on Grindr as well.) “As we messaged people and initiated conversations around caucusing, we were shocked at how many people were willing to engage and have meaningful conversations about the issues they care about and who they’re considering,” says Baldwin.
“Using Bumble in particular as a tool for outreach, I’ve found that it’s important just to be genuine, open, and respectful of the person you’re talking to. I just ask them questions, like who they’re caucusing for and what issues are important to them, and I try to share information and share my own story,” says Payne, who says this was her first time doing anything for a political campaign.
One guy in particular, she says, wasn’t super-open to talking about politics at first, but by the end of the conversation, he was really interested in Warren’s platform and ready to look into it more. As an electrician, worker’s rights and labor unions were a big issue for him, and when Payne shared Warren’s ambitious plan for empowering workers and raising wages, it won him over.
Our #BumbleForWarren game in Des Moines is strong, y’all! 🔥 Talked to some really cool people & got at least a dozen undecided folks to lean/commit for @ewarren! (Before > After) #IowaForWarren https://t.co/7eLZG322ux pic.twitter.com/xuEdHuZ7aT
— Rhiannon Payne 🌙 (@rhiannon_io) February 2, 2020
In all honesty, @rhiannon_io and I have gotten a bunch of people who were on the fence to now lean or commit to caucus for Warren on Bumble and Tinder. We’re seriously encouraged by the conversations we’ve been having. Iowa likes Warren. It just might need an extra nudge 😉
— Maddy-care for all #LFG🗽 (@madsmaru) February 1, 2020
Look, idk who I’ll be caucusing for tomorrow night after my man @CoryBooker but @ewarren folks out here organizing and meeting folks where they at. Gotta respect the hustle…bumble? #IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/sifDq0ny2a
— Zach (@Zach_Bernstein) February 2, 2020
Bumble seems to be open to their efforts. “On Bumble, we’re huge advocates for being your most authentic self on the app – be who you are, and the right person will gravitate towards that. We want to empower our users to openly discuss things that are important to them, including their political beliefs,” a Bumble representative told Refinery29.
We reached out to the Elizabeth Warren campaign and will update this story when we hear back.
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