Finding Real Voices:
48 Hours in the Heartland
Some stories have to be found.
In the final days before South Dakota’s primary election, political strategist Mike Murphy and the team at Unite America asked StorySquad to travel to Mitchell and capture something simple: voters speaking for themselves.
The state was considering a referendum on open primaries — a proposal that could change how elections worked.
Instead of explaining the issue through campaign messaging, the idea was to listen.
With only a few days to prepare, the plan came together on the flight.
One local voter had already agreed to speak on camera — a starting point. From there, the approach was simple: go find the story.
The goal was straightforward.
Get inside the day.
Unite America — Primary Day
Polling places opened early that morning.
Voters arrived quietly, many willing to stop and talk after casting their ballots.
Jay approached people the way a reporter would — a simple introduction, a single question, and space to answer in their own words.
Some spoke about frustration with the current system. Others talked about wanting something less divided, more representative.
Across dozens of conversations, something began to emerge.
Not a campaign message.
A civic mood.
Unite America — Citizenship
Working quickly in the field meant adapting constantly.
Conversations unfolded on sidewalks, outside polling stations, wherever people were willing to stop.
The strongest moments weren’t planned.
They came from people explaining the issue in plain language — often more clearly than any prepared talking point.
By the end of the day, the team had something more valuable than coverage.
A cast of real voices.
“StorySquad were great partners throughout the election cycle—from shaping creative ideas to capturing the right stories in the field, and delivering fast, effective edits. Next time we need video production, they’ll be our first call.”
Unite America — People Power
Turning voices into message.
From those interviews, a series of short pieces took shape — designed for flexibility across digital and broadcast.
Each piece stayed grounded in the voices captured that day, allowing the campaign to reflect what voters were already saying — not what it wanted to impose.
It wasn’t about building a message.
It was about recognizing one.
Knowing what matters is the craft.
The craft is recognizing what matters, shaping it carefully, and letting people speak in a way that feels real — so the message holds.