Technology that enables campaigns to monitor text messaging conversations with voters in real time is generating more personalized data that candidates are using to craft targeted political appeals.

Two weeks after the coronavirus pandemic grounded most 2020 campaigns, text messaging is emerging as the primary method for establishing relationships with voters and encouraging turnout. Backed by technology that records and stores individual text exchanges, the transition to a virtual footing is expected to lead to a spike in the “qualitative” data collected by campaigns. The information, a mass compilation of millions speaking in their own words, is both shaping politicians’ messages and speeding their ability to adapt as voters’ concerns evolve.