Doorknocks and dog bandanas: a new conception of field campaigning activities

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite pundit claims that field campaigns contributed to the Australian Greens Party and independent candidates’ successes in the 2022 federal election, little is known about the activities conducted. The use and development of novel activities has been established, but what happens on the ground remains largely invisible. Comparing the results of semistructured interviews with participants from across the Australian Greens Party and the ‘teal’ independents (N = 73), this article develops a new understanding of the activities of field campaigning and illuminates the differences between independent and party campaigns. The Greens are shown to focus more on traditional voter contact activities, while the independent campaigns prioritise visibility and volunteer participation. From these results, this study establishes a new definition of field campaigning and clarifies the way in which institutional knowledge, or the lack thereof, shapes the conception and development of campaign activities.