WASHINGTON, DC — With less than two weeks to go until the midterm elections, political messaging is at a high, particularly around the number of divisive, high-profile races.

Yet the impact of such communications is curtailed if voters don't see candidates on the ground as well, Erin Meade, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s associate director of media relations, said Wednesday at PRovokeGlobal in Washington.

“If you are not out there canvassing, it doesn’t matter what you say,” Meade said. “You can’t win by having great tweets.”

Meade’s comments were part of a ROKK Solutions-sponsored panel discussion looking at the many factors influencing the midterm elections, including communications. ROKK partner & co-founder Rodell Mollineau and Steve Rochlin, CEO and founder of Impact ROI, also participated.

Speakers said candidates need to leverage the power of communications in politicking in the days leading up to the midterms, particularly given the election's high stakes — control of Congress — and vitriol.

However, social and economic factors are also influencing the elections — and while communicators can use messaging to address those issues, they can’t necessarily change them.

“Inflation is hurting millions of Americans, but there’s nothing the government can do in the next election,” Meade said.

Mollineau said he sees those kinds of issues being the determinants in congressional races.

“Due to redistricting, due to the number of retirements on the House side, due to that gas prices are high, there is a slim chance that Democrats keep the House,” Mollineau said. Thanks to bigger comms budget, Senate Democrats may fare better, he said.

Yet with nearly two weeks to go, election outcomes are far from guaranteed, especially in close races like the battle for Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz.

“Thirteen days before an election, I’d rather be up by two points than down two points,” he said.

How much the election serves as a referendum on President Biden’s performance remains to be seen — though it very well may be. “The impulse to vote for the guy who is not in charge is very strong,” Meade said.

Yet, as Mollineau said, voters should perform due diligence in selecting candidates, as the people and their platforms are more multi-dimensional, and more complex, than any one issue. “We should never assume that the people we elect to Congress are smarter than the average bear,” he said.