mericans for Prosperity, the Tea Party-aligned group part-funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, is building a state-of-the-art digital ground operation in Ohio and other vital battleground states to spread its anti-Obama message to voters who could decide the outcome of the presidential election.

The group hopes that by creating a local army of activists equipped with sophisticated online micro-targeting tools it will increase its impact on moderate voters, nudging them towards a staunchly conservative position opposed to President Obama’s economic and healthcare policies. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is spending tens of millions of dollars developing its local strategy, already employing more than 200 permanent staff in 32 states.

Classified a non-profit ‘social welfare’ organisation, AFP is legally obliged to project itself as a non-partisan campaign that neither endorses nor opposes candidates for public office. But there is no disguising its targets, nor their political nature.

In Ohio, volunteers are given a script which they follow when engaging voters. ‘President Obama took office three years ago and promised to fix our economy,’ they say, ‘yet unemployment is still high and our debt is up to $6tn.’

AFP has already spent $30m so far this election cycle in opposing President Obama and other prominent Democratic candidates […]