Political texting works because the numbers are lopsided in its favor: texts get opened at over 90% within minutes, while email sits around 20% and cold calls mostly go unanswered. But the headline open rate is the least useful number you can track. The metrics that actually tell you whether a program is working are reply rate, opt-out rate, and deliverability. This post lays out the benchmarks that matter, what's normal, and how to read them.
What's a normal open rate for political texts?
Text open rates run above 90%, often cited near 98%, with most messages read within three minutes of delivery. That's the number everyone quotes, and it's real. It's also nearly useless as a management metric, because it barely moves. Almost every text gets opened, so a high open rate tells you texting works as a channel, not whether your program is working. Track it once to confirm the premise, then stop optimizing for it.
What's a good reply rate?
Reply rate is where the signal is, and it depends heavily on format. Broadcast messages draw low single-digit reply rates, because they're one-to-many and most people just read and move on. Peer-to-peer draws far higher engagement, often in the double digits, because a real person asked a real question. Advocacy action alerts have been shown to drive participation rates well above what email achieves for the same ask.
The way to read reply rate: rising replies on a P2P program mean your script and your list are working; a flat reply rate means the ask is wrong, the list is cold, or the message reads like a robot. It's the closest thing texting has to a real-time quality gauge.
What opt-out rate should worry you?
Opt-out rate is your early-warning system. A low, steady opt-out rate is the cost of doing business. A spike is a signal something's off, you're texting too often, texting the wrong list, or texting people who never really opted in. Watch it per send, not just in aggregate, because a single bad blast can spike opt-outs and quietly shrink the list you spent months building. If opt-outs jump, stop and diagnose before the next send rather than pushing through.
Why deliverability is the number nobody sees
The most important metric in political texting is the one that's hardest to observe: whether your messages actually arrive. Unregistered or non-compliant traffic gets filtered by the carriers, and they don't tell you. Your engagement numbers just fall, and it looks like bad content or a cold list when the real problem is a filtered sender reputation.
This is why 10DLC registration matters so much: it's the difference between messages that land and messages that vanish. A program with great copy and a filtered sender is spending money on texts nobody receives. If your numbers drop for no clear reason, check deliverability before you rewrite the message.
How to read your numbers together
No single metric tells the story. Read them as a set: open rate confirms the channel works, reply rate tells you the message and list are landing, opt-out rate warns you when you're overreaching, and deliverability underpins all of it. A healthy program has high opens, a reply rate appropriate to its format, a low and stable opt-out rate, and a registered, deliverable sender. When one of those breaks, it usually explains a drop the others can't.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good open rate for political texting?
Above 90%, often near 98%, with most texts read within minutes. It's a near-constant, so it confirms texting works as a channel but doesn't tell you whether your specific program is effective.
What's a normal reply rate for political texts?
It depends on format. Broadcast draws low single-digit replies; peer-to-peer often reaches double digits because a person asked a real question. Rising replies on a P2P program are a good sign the script and list are working.
What opt-out rate is too high?
There's no single threshold, but a sudden spike is the warning sign to watch. It usually means too-frequent sends, a cold or non-consented list, or the wrong audience. Track it per send and diagnose spikes before the next blast.
Why did my text engagement suddenly drop?
Check deliverability first. Unregistered or non-compliant traffic gets filtered by carriers silently, so a drop that looks like bad content is often a sender-reputation or registration problem.
Keep reading: what 10DLC means for your campaign and P2P vs broadcast texting. For carrier registration, see The Campaign Registry.