Our 2026 Strategy - Take Back the House!
We're backing nine Democrats challenging incumbent Republicans in very close races. Republicans have targeted all these races and are pouring vast amounts of money into them.
Most races are in states where redistricting didn't occur. Instead, we're trying to flip the very close races Democrats lost in 2024 to offset the attacks on democracy from Republican redistricting and the Supreme Court.
As some states hold their primaries later in the summer, and if conditions change, we may revise our list. But the need for money is now, so please give today!
Why the House?
Democrats need to pick up only three seats to win the House. Since Trump won reelection, Republicans have lost nearly every contested partisan race in the country, often with swings toward the Democrats of ten percentage points or more.
Republicans have responded with outrageous gerrymandering and the Supreme Court piled on by gutting the Voting Rights Act. While this helped Republicans, we believe Democrats still hold the advantage. Trump's approval rating has dropped from 51% when he was inaugurated to 37% in late July. While Republican House candidates barely won a majority of seats in 2024 by collecting 51.3% of total House votes cast, polling in late July shows that the "generic" Democratic House candidate would beat the "generic" Republican by five points or more. These are shifts in voter sentiment that Republican redistricting won't likely overcome.
By contrast, winning the Senate will be tough. In 2026, Democrats would have to win four of the 22 seats currently held by Republicans and hold onto all of their seats. Even if Democrats hold onto vulnerable seats in Georgia, New Hampshire, and Michigan, they'd need to win four of the six Republican seats that can reasonably expected to be in play - most likely Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska and, in our dreams, Texas and Iowa. A blue wave may get us there, but the House is a better bet and our money stretches further in those races.
Our Three Guiding Principles
Target money where it matters
We only give to candidates in close races where our money will matter. We want our money to be used to fight Republicans, so we don't give to candidates in seriously contested Democratic primaries.
Break the Republican trifecta
We're focused on taking back the House, believing that's easier this year than the Senate. There are many great candidates out there, but taking back the House means giving our limited dollars only to candidates in the handful of tight races that will determine control of the House.
Maximize the impact of contributions
Some of our House candidates are in states with winnable Senate races, so while the focus is the House, our money may also help elect Democratic Senators by increasing voter turnout.