2020 feels like (yet again) the most important election of my lifetime. We can phonebank, canvas (maybe), and volunteer our time. But cash contributions are also key — and we all wish we had deeper pockets to help elect our candidates.
So here’s our home recipe to maximize the value of those political contributions (especially right now, so candidates can include them in their 2nd quarter fundraising totals). Come inside to see how your dollars can do double-duty -- or better yet, triple and quadruple duty. Plus a spreadsheet with all the links you need for research and action.
Here’s the recipe:
First, we’re talking about donating directly to candidates. Which means they can take advantage of discounted ad rates, compared to 3rd-party groups, PACs, etc. (You might separately consider strategically giving to GOTV efforts for up and down ballot, e.g. reaching voters of color and young voters through movement.org)
Second, we’re emphasizing winnable down-ballot races that don’t get as much attention from donors. Those premier Senate races are raking in the dollars. Maybe our couple of bucks would help, but with races like state legislators, our relatively few dollars can have more impact. At least as important, those campaigns will have GOTV and other community-based campaign activities that are different from the big campaigns, reaching different voters through different kinds of relationships. So turning out voters for those state house and state senate candidates leads to more D votes for President and Senate too!
Third, we’ve picked out state legislative chambers that are close to flipping from Red to Blue, and even better, where that flip would prevent Republican gerrymandering for new districts after the 2020 census (e.g. Iowa, North Carolina, Texas). We then narrowed that list again, to pick states that are also important in electing Biden, and/or giving Biden a Senate majority once he’s in the White House (please, please, please….)
Finally, we prioritized candidates who are women and/or people of color, and who support our policy priorities (e.g. no Blue Dogs or law-and-order Democrats).
Boil it all down, and we landed on a dozen or so candidates where our dollars will help:
- Elect progressive women and people of color and build our bench in critical swing states
- Flip state house and state senate seats from Red to Blue
- Flip state legislative chambers from Red to Blue
- Block Republic gerrymandering after the 2020 census
- Turn out voters for key US Senate races
- Turn out voters for Biden in key swing states
All at the same time!
Here's a sample spreadsheet with specific candidates and links to analysis:
We're using it to make our big push of contributions today and tomorrow, and hope it will be helpful for others too.
P.S. The spreadsheet also identifies key House races that could swing the election away from Trump in the unlikely (but terrifying) scenario of no candidate winning a majority of the Electoral College. That case had better be irrelevant...but for election junkies, it’s kind of fascinating.
P.P.S. Especially now, there are critical district attorney, sherrif, and similar races on the primary or November ballot that also deserve attention. The indefatigable @Taniel serves up
everything you need for prioritizing those contributions.