I’m excited, but cautiously optimistic. Dems need to greatly expand and improve their messenging tactics. There’s no time to be soft on the issues against any Republican or MAGA candidates.
Yes, the msm seldom reports on any accomplishments of the democrats, and there have been some. Jamie Raskins comes to mind. We should request that they give more coverage other than trump 24/7.
yes, Raskin is one I'm thrilled that they reach out to.
requests have been since 2015 for more coverage of Dems, but MSM's both-siderism is a core value, USUALLY for good reason. also, they have to cover the newsworthy based on their sense of what readers want to hear.
usually that combo is exactly what democracy needs, but during T#%$@, that combo has been terrible for democracy, and T$#%@ knows and uses it. MSM has made some changes, esp on NPR, but not enough to help us.
SO THAT'S WHY I SAY WE HAVE TO DO IT OURSELVES. That's what The Contrarian was formed to do, along with several other newer and smaller media outlets. That's where we get the stories that we can share ourselves as if we are MSM.
I want to draw attention to Mary Allen, a stellar candidate in Indiana's 8th District who is running against the MAGA candidate, Mark Messmer, for US Congress. Mary is smart, approachable, engaged with voters, a small business owner (she just sold her successful business to focus on her campaign), a grandmother, a veteran, and a longtime public servant. She has travelled to all 21 counties in our district since announcing her candidacy in the early fall, where she has connected with thousands of her soon-to-be constituents, many of whom have voted GOP all of their lives, but are so dissatisfied with Messmer and the GOP in general that they see Mary as an alternative candidate in whom they can place their trust to be well-represented in DC. It will be a huge coup when Mary wins this race, in red Indiana, and she needs all of us to support her campaign. Please donate as you are able. (https://www.maryallenforcongress.com). More importantly, she needs to garner the attention of the Dem machine to support her ascendency into this US Congressional seat.
I'm happy to have an Indiana Democrat step up to challenge a Republican in a House race. Now if someone would just step up against MAGA Rudy Yakym in the 2nd Congressional District.
On this sub stack, go down to the bottom and look for the little magnifying glass. Just click on that and put in his name, he has a sub stack column and it’ll come up with the link to that and he’s also on Instagram. I would’ve copied the link but I’m not using a computer that’s mine. Good luck, let me know if you get him!
Many thanks to Ms. Rubin for writing about races that get little coverage in the mainstream media. Trump provides talking points every single day, and all the Democratic candidates should emphasize pushing back on or defunding, depending on whether they will be in state offices or Congress, his policies.
I recommend the Substack "The Down Ballot," which tracks every race but the presidential race. It is well-worth the subscription, although it is also free for anyone to read.
He’s only the dumbest, most useless piece of superfluous carbon in the US Senate (and the competition for that coveted award has been fierce this year).
I'm concerned for the states with mail in voting. We have had it for many years in Washington state and it has proven to be safe and to bring out voters. We can check online after sending in our ballots and see if it has been received and counted. BUT DJT wants to mess with us!!! He wants to go over our voters roles and determine if we are legal voters. We have to register just like in any other state and show proof of citizenship and address, etc. We also can register and vote at our precincts if we choose. Mail-in ballots are paper ballots which can be checked and/or recounted if necessary. I bring this up, because this is a simple system that works!! And, that DJT hates because he can't send out MAGA creeps out to mess with us. I am concerned that he might play some shenanigans with the US Mail or other schemes. Other than that, I love seeing the country's energy to get out the vote and move on from this dreadful administration!!!! :-)
Trump himself voted by mail in Florida. He also tried to upset the mail service by installing Louis DeJoy the last time around. From the evidence, it didn't work.
Yes, wasn't DeJoy a beauty!?!? I run a small business that relies heavily on mail service across the country. Not huge numbers, but weekly mailings with customers. The overall service is noticeably slower now while being much more costly for packages. In an effort to 'streamline service' a few bigger sorting hubs have been created that turn-out to be a very inefficient. As an example here is Washington state, I am located on the Olympic peninsula. If I mail a greeting card to someone in a nearby town, it goes to Seattle and then back to the town on the peninsula. This takes a few days rather than the 1-2 day service we have had for years. Packages with either Priority or Ground Advantage service can sit in sorting sites for a couple days before move to the next sorting site where they can again sit for a couple days. There seems little attempt to make deliveries in the timely fashion that the US Mail had been doing for many years. The US Mail has always played a bit of a shell game with their services, making it a challenge to stay on top of what things cost. But now we are getting into real money to mail items across the country, without any serious attempt to deliver on time. I do want to point out, that I have had wonderful mail carriers for more than 30 years!!! For my money, they are the ones who provide me with great service!
Try tracking a parcel headed for Illinois that started out in New Jersey, went to Florida, then to Kansas City, Denver, Chicago, St. Louis, and was finally routed to Springfield, Illinois! It was then sent to the home post office here in Carlinville. All of the travel and handling can't be cost effective, and it sure takes time.
Oh dear Steve!! Until one has seen it, it is beyond belief!!! The only thing good about hearing your story of where all that package traveled, is the I had two such experiences in recent months! I ordered some seeds from a local nursery here in Washington state, that went by way of New Orleans! Then Colorado and California, back up to Seattle and then finally to my hometown!! I kept a print out of the record just in case anyone would question how that could be! The other pack also traveled far and wide before finally being received. In both cases I could see nothing about the packages that accounted for them being difficult to deliver. ?!?! I know DeJoy had some very costly sorting equipment ripped out when he arrived on the scene and there was a noticeable slowing down of service after that. So maybe there is a chance for improvement, if we ever have a government that wants to be proud of our mail service again.
Just today, the U.S. Postal Service announced a new process (rules) for how letter mail, which includes ballots, will be postmarked and what the postmark means. According to Brookings.edu, "a postmark will no longer indicate the date a piece of mail was deposited with U.S. Postal Service (USPS)." This is because of, as with your example below of mail traveling from your location to a sorting hub in Seattle, the move away from local Post Offices applying the postmark, usually the same day a letter is dropped off, to shipping the mail to a sorting hub, where the postmark will be applied by an automatic sorting machine, most likely days later. Best advice for voting: Get your ballot early and return it as quickly as possible. There is one exception to this new rule: You will still be able to walk into your local Post Office and go the counter (if it still has clerks and hasn't been totally automated) and request a handstamp postmark.
Thanks Fritz for breaking this news! Yikes! Well there you go. Now they can say you were warned. You are right about getting our ballots in early. Luckily I live near our County Seat and can drop my ballot of at the Ballot Box there. It has 3 cameras focused on it and is in front of a wall of windows that has constant activity and a security guard inside. Little chance of driving up to the box. Our ballots actually get counted inside that building! Phew! I only wish everyone could feel secure in voting. ... Of course DJT is still trying to get a hold of our registered voters role. Maybe we should make a deal with him. We'll consider showing him our voters role when he shows us his last 20 years of Income Tax forms!!!!
Vik, I agree that the donation “game” feels unwinnable.
I am happy to have discovered postcarding for races that I care about. Paying for stamps and spending my time writing to voters feels so much more satisfying than just sending endless donations via ActBlue.
Yes here in Maine the Democratic primaries for governor, u.s. senate and c.d.2 are all full of interesting, dedicated, public servants..well, few not, but mostly we have some wonderful choices. Such a time!
No mention right up front of whether Trump will secure maybe a 5% loss of Dem votes due to skullduggery and thuggery. That is critically important, I think. He is a known cheater, convicted felon, etc. That should always be the backdrop of talk of how exciting the 2026 midterms are going to be.
I'm a lifelong Democrat, and at least a dozen times each day I get texts or emails asking me to support some Democratic candidate who's running against a particularly obnoxious Repugnican't. But I don't have Bezos' or Musk's trillions of dollars to flood the zone with money, so I need to contribute strategically.
Let me cite an example. Last election my inbox was flooded with requests for money, sent by a bright young Democrat running against Jim Jordan for his House seat. Certainly I hate Jordan's guts, and I'd love nothing more that seeing this challenger boot him out of the House. But I know his district, and the sad fact is that in that deep sea of Ruby Red, even if the challenger somehow managed to raise a BILLION dollars, Jordan would still win! So, sad to say, contributing to that Democrat would be equivalent to flushing my money down the toilet.
On the other hand, there are probably races out there that are winnable for a Democrat, and therefore where every dollar contributed might be the difference between a Democrat or a Repugnican't winning the election. The problem is that I don't do politics for a living, and I have neither the time, expertise nor patience to figure out which of the dozens of Democrats who send me solicitations actually has a chance to win and which one has close to zero chance to win, regardless of how much money they raise.
So my question is how can I contribute strategically to races where it matters? Should I send money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee? Any other places where my contribution might actually do some good?
I suggest you take a look at Simon Rosenberg's Hopium Chronicles and subscribe to his substack (free if you want). He maintains a list reproduced at the end of every email of the key races to support, and he runs funds that support particularly promising Democrats. It's a pretty efficient way to support the most hopeful candidates, or the most promising newcomers. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/
There are indeed, but it’s not the DCCC or the DSCC. Here are three good ones: Sister District Project, The States Project, and Swing Blue Alliance. These organizations focus on under-recognized, under-resourced, but good potential races for state legislative seats. Gaining stronger positions in state legislatures—too often ignored by most Dem donors—is a huge lever in eventually breaking the widespread dominance of the GOP and making many more states purple or even blue. It’s also the key to correcting the gerrymandering issue. Focus your dollars where they make the most impact. It’s usually not in high profile races.
If I had a nickel for every time I got a solicitation from some PAC I've never heard of, I probably would have enough money to flood the zone with billions of bucks!
That's why I wonder if it's best to contribute to a PAC I've heard of, like the DCCC.
I operate on the assumption that in our current political climate, the worst Democrat is still head and shoulders better than the best Repugnican't. So I'm not particularly concerned with how centrist or progressive the supported candidates are-- I just want to support the one with the best chance to win. Or as Nancy Pelosi put it
me, too, esp this cycle. we don't have the luxury of deep critique or purity tests on Dem candidates right now. coalition and unity are key.
EXCEPT to make sure we are not supporting DINOS. as much as i liked Graham Platner when he first appeared in ME (I'm in MA), i worry about him on that score. my friend who lives in ME feels the same way but she is not at all enamored of Mills, so i'm not either. however, we both agree that Mills is more predictable and effective than Collins.
Ivan, your post generated a lot of good replies— I second the commenter who recommended Simon Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles. Note that Hopium is strongly recommending donations now to get the most bang for the buck through early organizing.
Also, I am happy to have discovered postcarding for races that I care about. Paying for stamps and spending my time writing to voters feels so much more satisfying than just sending endless donations via ActBlue. There is evidence that postcarding works to boost turnout-out!
You should include the House race in Colorado between Democrat Eileen Laubacher (a retired Navy rear admiral with a heck of a life story of public service) and Lauren Boebart, a...well, fill in the blank...lots to fill.
I have long believed Democrats will storm to victory and retake the House, if they don’t do it sooner than the midterms because of Republicans jumping off a sinking ship. This column gives me hope Dems can also take back the Senate. The good news about Trump and his anti democracy goons is that, despite the fact some have Ivy League educations, they are dense, blinded by ideology or even hatred, and most importantly, inept. People of all political persuasions have finally begun to realize this. Fox cannot shove all the chaos, screw ups and corruption under the rug.
Some of it boils down to the kitchen-table economy, which has been severely strapped. We were promised lower prices. We got higher prices. We have been promised (from time to time) better prescription prices and lower healthcare costs. Neither of these are happening. When promises are broken, people move away from those who made them. We aren't buying this bill of goods.
The comment about gerrymandering in Ohio is not relevant. The US Senate seat is a statewide race, obviously, so gerrymandering plays no role. Prediction: Sherrod Brown will win this one. Donations and support are needed to make sure that happens.
Thank you for your summary. Many of us in NJ were cheered by the election performance of Congresswoman and Navy veteran Mikie Sherrill. We hope for 2026 results that will move our country forward.
Kathy Morelli: From a 79-year-old, I must agree with you, on principle. I am still capable of doing lots of really good things; but run for office? Not so much.
I am still working and productive, but 76 ? with a 6 year term? I cannot believe Diane Feinstein was allowed to keep her seat ...The age statistics for this Congress indicate that this is one of the oldest ever. And the age statistics of the Congress do not reflect the population of the US. We need real representation. IMHO we need fighters and people who are willing to modify SCOTUS and other institutions so that this mess doesn't happen again,
To Kathy Morelli: I won't say it's impossible for an "older" person to make a valuable contribution, especially someone with scads of experience; but that one's energy does dissipate over time--maybe for some, it doesn't so much, but that's to be judged on an individual basis in a greater context where the numbers do raise valid questions. We do not need even a modified version of age bias, however.
For someone like Feinstein, it seems to me it would be appropriate to create a formal position of consultant to those who gain a specialized position as having a "seat." Or maybe that exists already. It's a high power and needs a succession grounded in history and overlap, and not in cold turkey.
The point, I think, is for the person themselves to NOT be dropped like a hot rock after all that valuable time, effort, and contributions, as well as being a holder of corporate history. It would be a total waste NOT to have such a person on one's call list. To me, avoiding such a rich contact speaks of less intelligence and more ignorance, or even willful stupidity.
I agree that there need s to be a role for these older politicians, as they have a lot of institutional knowledge younger ones don’t, that can only be gained from experience, and is sometimes crucial when a vote comes down to the wire.
Pelosi is older, but she was very effective until the end, probably far more so than most of the younger politicians.
There needs to be a way to be able to elect younger politicians, but still be able to benefit from the wisdom gained from years of working in congress.
To mary thiel: I've never worked close to Congress, however, my guess is that there already is an INFORMAL network of e-mails, dinners, and phone calls that occur regularly between those who have left and those who have been "seated."
Maybe there also is a formal set up of some kind--I don't know. But if not, in my view there should be at least a framework for such inter-generational communications between holders of office, especially in a democracy, and especially if one of the people involved doesn't have any skin in the game anymore--and so can be more objective about long-range implications of policy decisions--at least through one's voice. Maybe if there were a formal set up that had some respect and appreciation associated with it, someone like Feinstein wouldn't take an all-or-none attitude about their seating in Congress. I don't know why she acted as she did, though, so I cannot judge her or speculate.
The problems, of course, also concern the place of lobbyists, oligarch/ funders, and political pacs--the great cancers on the body politic, again, especially in a democracy.
Even the King of England has a similar kind of position with regard to his diminishment of power.
It seems like many of those you mention could ride the current "anti-Trump" wave and get elected. My concern is - then what? Turn back the clock and restore all policies and programs in place before the Project 2024 takeover? That would waste an entire election cycle. Rather, wouldn't it be better to identify all the flaws in the programs Dems want to restart or repair? Then, start educating the public on the potential changes and assess its support, and create a better, more responsive (and effective) policy to enact. Half the country voted for Trump. All BS aside, there is room for compromise. We will need policies in place that most Americans will support, even if they don't all agree with some specifics. Those specifics can then be the ones future Congress works to resolve. Policies that are not cancelled every time a new Administration takes over, only to reinvent the wheel. Americans are tired of that wasteful approach.
You have convinced me, Jen, that there is real hope and a lot of work ahead. This is an excellent palette to work with.
I’m excited, but cautiously optimistic. Dems need to greatly expand and improve their messenging tactics. There’s no time to be soft on the issues against any Republican or MAGA candidates.
Dems need to find a way to get MSM coverage. and more than the usual glittery Dem stars.
i think we can all name important Dems we'd like to hear a LOT more about in MSM.
so, we need to be the MSM we want to see! spread our own Dem news, which is exactly why The Contrarian was formed.
Yes, the msm seldom reports on any accomplishments of the democrats, and there have been some. Jamie Raskins comes to mind. We should request that they give more coverage other than trump 24/7.
yes, Raskin is one I'm thrilled that they reach out to.
requests have been since 2015 for more coverage of Dems, but MSM's both-siderism is a core value, USUALLY for good reason. also, they have to cover the newsworthy based on their sense of what readers want to hear.
usually that combo is exactly what democracy needs, but during T#%$@, that combo has been terrible for democracy, and T$#%@ knows and uses it. MSM has made some changes, esp on NPR, but not enough to help us.
SO THAT'S WHY I SAY WE HAVE TO DO IT OURSELVES. That's what The Contrarian was formed to do, along with several other newer and smaller media outlets. That's where we get the stories that we can share ourselves as if we are MSM.
I want to draw attention to Mary Allen, a stellar candidate in Indiana's 8th District who is running against the MAGA candidate, Mark Messmer, for US Congress. Mary is smart, approachable, engaged with voters, a small business owner (she just sold her successful business to focus on her campaign), a grandmother, a veteran, and a longtime public servant. She has travelled to all 21 counties in our district since announcing her candidacy in the early fall, where she has connected with thousands of her soon-to-be constituents, many of whom have voted GOP all of their lives, but are so dissatisfied with Messmer and the GOP in general that they see Mary as an alternative candidate in whom they can place their trust to be well-represented in DC. It will be a huge coup when Mary wins this race, in red Indiana, and she needs all of us to support her campaign. Please donate as you are able. (https://www.maryallenforcongress.com). More importantly, she needs to garner the attention of the Dem machine to support her ascendency into this US Congressional seat.
I'm happy to have an Indiana Democrat step up to challenge a Republican in a House race. Now if someone would just step up against MAGA Rudy Yakym in the 2nd Congressional District.
this is awesome: being the MSM we Dems want and need to see.
i hope you have shared this on all your social media platforms.
I want to get the attention of Pete Buttigieg! His support of Mary's candidacy will be very helpful! Does anyone know him?!
Write him, call him! He’s approachable! And he is on some stack!
I just looked him up to find his contact info...but could not. Do you have an idea of to where I could write him? Thank you.
On this sub stack, go down to the bottom and look for the little magnifying glass. Just click on that and put in his name, he has a sub stack column and it’ll come up with the link to that and he’s also on Instagram. I would’ve copied the link but I’m not using a computer that’s mine. Good luck, let me know if you get him!
I just wrote to him! How exciting! Stay tuned...
Many thanks to Ms. Rubin for writing about races that get little coverage in the mainstream media. Trump provides talking points every single day, and all the Democratic candidates should emphasize pushing back on or defunding, depending on whether they will be in state offices or Congress, his policies.
I recommend the Substack "The Down Ballot," which tracks every race but the presidential race. It is well-worth the subscription, although it is also free for anyone to read.
YES YES YES YES!!! Most things Dem "get little coverage in the mainstream media."
you are being the MSM we need to see. hope you share this on all your soc med platforms.
IQ affects races in Alabama for sure, but not the way you’d hope.
He’s only the dumbest, most useless piece of superfluous carbon in the US Senate (and the competition for that coveted award has been fierce this year).
The people of Alabama will be out of the frying pan and into the fire if they make Tuberville the governor of the state.
he matches them...it's all about the football folks
::hunts for laugh (nervously) emoji::
Yes, this could be really fun!!
I'm concerned for the states with mail in voting. We have had it for many years in Washington state and it has proven to be safe and to bring out voters. We can check online after sending in our ballots and see if it has been received and counted. BUT DJT wants to mess with us!!! He wants to go over our voters roles and determine if we are legal voters. We have to register just like in any other state and show proof of citizenship and address, etc. We also can register and vote at our precincts if we choose. Mail-in ballots are paper ballots which can be checked and/or recounted if necessary. I bring this up, because this is a simple system that works!! And, that DJT hates because he can't send out MAGA creeps out to mess with us. I am concerned that he might play some shenanigans with the US Mail or other schemes. Other than that, I love seeing the country's energy to get out the vote and move on from this dreadful administration!!!! :-)
Trump himself voted by mail in Florida. He also tried to upset the mail service by installing Louis DeJoy the last time around. From the evidence, it didn't work.
Yes, wasn't DeJoy a beauty!?!? I run a small business that relies heavily on mail service across the country. Not huge numbers, but weekly mailings with customers. The overall service is noticeably slower now while being much more costly for packages. In an effort to 'streamline service' a few bigger sorting hubs have been created that turn-out to be a very inefficient. As an example here is Washington state, I am located on the Olympic peninsula. If I mail a greeting card to someone in a nearby town, it goes to Seattle and then back to the town on the peninsula. This takes a few days rather than the 1-2 day service we have had for years. Packages with either Priority or Ground Advantage service can sit in sorting sites for a couple days before move to the next sorting site where they can again sit for a couple days. There seems little attempt to make deliveries in the timely fashion that the US Mail had been doing for many years. The US Mail has always played a bit of a shell game with their services, making it a challenge to stay on top of what things cost. But now we are getting into real money to mail items across the country, without any serious attempt to deliver on time. I do want to point out, that I have had wonderful mail carriers for more than 30 years!!! For my money, they are the ones who provide me with great service!
Try tracking a parcel headed for Illinois that started out in New Jersey, went to Florida, then to Kansas City, Denver, Chicago, St. Louis, and was finally routed to Springfield, Illinois! It was then sent to the home post office here in Carlinville. All of the travel and handling can't be cost effective, and it sure takes time.
Oh dear Steve!! Until one has seen it, it is beyond belief!!! The only thing good about hearing your story of where all that package traveled, is the I had two such experiences in recent months! I ordered some seeds from a local nursery here in Washington state, that went by way of New Orleans! Then Colorado and California, back up to Seattle and then finally to my hometown!! I kept a print out of the record just in case anyone would question how that could be! The other pack also traveled far and wide before finally being received. In both cases I could see nothing about the packages that accounted for them being difficult to deliver. ?!?! I know DeJoy had some very costly sorting equipment ripped out when he arrived on the scene and there was a noticeable slowing down of service after that. So maybe there is a chance for improvement, if we ever have a government that wants to be proud of our mail service again.
Just today, the U.S. Postal Service announced a new process (rules) for how letter mail, which includes ballots, will be postmarked and what the postmark means. According to Brookings.edu, "a postmark will no longer indicate the date a piece of mail was deposited with U.S. Postal Service (USPS)." This is because of, as with your example below of mail traveling from your location to a sorting hub in Seattle, the move away from local Post Offices applying the postmark, usually the same day a letter is dropped off, to shipping the mail to a sorting hub, where the postmark will be applied by an automatic sorting machine, most likely days later. Best advice for voting: Get your ballot early and return it as quickly as possible. There is one exception to this new rule: You will still be able to walk into your local Post Office and go the counter (if it still has clerks and hasn't been totally automated) and request a handstamp postmark.
Thanks Fritz for breaking this news! Yikes! Well there you go. Now they can say you were warned. You are right about getting our ballots in early. Luckily I live near our County Seat and can drop my ballot of at the Ballot Box there. It has 3 cameras focused on it and is in front of a wall of windows that has constant activity and a security guard inside. Little chance of driving up to the box. Our ballots actually get counted inside that building! Phew! I only wish everyone could feel secure in voting. ... Of course DJT is still trying to get a hold of our registered voters role. Maybe we should make a deal with him. We'll consider showing him our voters role when he shows us his last 20 years of Income Tax forms!!!!
great Q.
The primaries are going to be really interesting this year. The ones I'm most interested in are Maine and Texas
If Collins doesn't lose this time, only old age might rid us of her perpetual "concern."
We are so "concerned" for her. Almost as deeply concerned as she is about her voters..../s
i'm just beginning my process of figuring out who to donate to. either way, i will try hard to share Dem policies and races widely.
Pete Buttigieg’s group “Win the Era” has lists of such worthy folk, not just at national, but state and local levels, too.
https://www.wintheera.com/issues/
thanks for that. love Buttigieg.
also Emily's List for people interested in women candidates.
there are several good sources for lists of peops to support depending on your specific interests.
none of us can support every Dem, right?
I'm staying out of the donation game this cycle. I just want to see it all play out
i hear you on why that makes sense.
but i hope you find at least 3 people you think merit help bc we Dems are going to need all the help we can muster.
Vik, I agree that the donation “game” feels unwinnable.
I am happy to have discovered postcarding for races that I care about. Paying for stamps and spending my time writing to voters feels so much more satisfying than just sending endless donations via ActBlue.
Highly recommended: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/
Yes here in Maine the Democratic primaries for governor, u.s. senate and c.d.2 are all full of interesting, dedicated, public servants..well, few not, but mostly we have some wonderful choices. Such a time!
No mention right up front of whether Trump will secure maybe a 5% loss of Dem votes due to skullduggery and thuggery. That is critically important, I think. He is a known cheater, convicted felon, etc. That should always be the backdrop of talk of how exciting the 2026 midterms are going to be.
I'm a lifelong Democrat, and at least a dozen times each day I get texts or emails asking me to support some Democratic candidate who's running against a particularly obnoxious Repugnican't. But I don't have Bezos' or Musk's trillions of dollars to flood the zone with money, so I need to contribute strategically.
Let me cite an example. Last election my inbox was flooded with requests for money, sent by a bright young Democrat running against Jim Jordan for his House seat. Certainly I hate Jordan's guts, and I'd love nothing more that seeing this challenger boot him out of the House. But I know his district, and the sad fact is that in that deep sea of Ruby Red, even if the challenger somehow managed to raise a BILLION dollars, Jordan would still win! So, sad to say, contributing to that Democrat would be equivalent to flushing my money down the toilet.
On the other hand, there are probably races out there that are winnable for a Democrat, and therefore where every dollar contributed might be the difference between a Democrat or a Repugnican't winning the election. The problem is that I don't do politics for a living, and I have neither the time, expertise nor patience to figure out which of the dozens of Democrats who send me solicitations actually has a chance to win and which one has close to zero chance to win, regardless of how much money they raise.
So my question is how can I contribute strategically to races where it matters? Should I send money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee? Any other places where my contribution might actually do some good?
I suggest you take a look at Simon Rosenberg's Hopium Chronicles and subscribe to his substack (free if you want). He maintains a list reproduced at the end of every email of the key races to support, and he runs funds that support particularly promising Democrats. It's a pretty efficient way to support the most hopeful candidates, or the most promising newcomers. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/
There are indeed, but it’s not the DCCC or the DSCC. Here are three good ones: Sister District Project, The States Project, and Swing Blue Alliance. These organizations focus on under-recognized, under-resourced, but good potential races for state legislative seats. Gaining stronger positions in state legislatures—too often ignored by most Dem donors—is a huge lever in eventually breaking the widespread dominance of the GOP and making many more states purple or even blue. It’s also the key to correcting the gerrymandering issue. Focus your dollars where they make the most impact. It’s usually not in high profile races.
THIS IS THE KEY Q FOR 2026.
Thanks for putting it so well. i came here to ask exactly this Q.
If I had a nickel for every time I got a solicitation from some PAC I've never heard of, I probably would have enough money to flood the zone with billions of bucks!
That's why I wonder if it's best to contribute to a PAC I've heard of, like the DCCC.
I operate on the assumption that in our current political climate, the worst Democrat is still head and shoulders better than the best Repugnican't. So I'm not particularly concerned with how centrist or progressive the supported candidates are-- I just want to support the one with the best chance to win. Or as Nancy Pelosi put it
"JUST WIN, BABY, WIN!"
me, too, esp this cycle. we don't have the luxury of deep critique or purity tests on Dem candidates right now. coalition and unity are key.
EXCEPT to make sure we are not supporting DINOS. as much as i liked Graham Platner when he first appeared in ME (I'm in MA), i worry about him on that score. my friend who lives in ME feels the same way but she is not at all enamored of Mills, so i'm not either. however, we both agree that Mills is more predictable and effective than Collins.
Ivan, your post generated a lot of good replies— I second the commenter who recommended Simon Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles. Note that Hopium is strongly recommending donations now to get the most bang for the buck through early organizing.
Also, I am happy to have discovered postcarding for races that I care about. Paying for stamps and spending my time writing to voters feels so much more satisfying than just sending endless donations via ActBlue. There is evidence that postcarding works to boost turnout-out!
Highly recommended: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/
You should include the House race in Colorado between Democrat Eileen Laubacher (a retired Navy rear admiral with a heck of a life story of public service) and Lauren Boebart, a...well, fill in the blank...lots to fill.
I have long believed Democrats will storm to victory and retake the House, if they don’t do it sooner than the midterms because of Republicans jumping off a sinking ship. This column gives me hope Dems can also take back the Senate. The good news about Trump and his anti democracy goons is that, despite the fact some have Ivy League educations, they are dense, blinded by ideology or even hatred, and most importantly, inept. People of all political persuasions have finally begun to realize this. Fox cannot shove all the chaos, screw ups and corruption under the rug.
Some of it boils down to the kitchen-table economy, which has been severely strapped. We were promised lower prices. We got higher prices. We have been promised (from time to time) better prescription prices and lower healthcare costs. Neither of these are happening. When promises are broken, people move away from those who made them. We aren't buying this bill of goods.
The comment about gerrymandering in Ohio is not relevant. The US Senate seat is a statewide race, obviously, so gerrymandering plays no role. Prediction: Sherrod Brown will win this one. Donations and support are needed to make sure that happens.
Thank you for your summary. Many of us in NJ were cheered by the election performance of Congresswoman and Navy veteran Mikie Sherrill. We hope for 2026 results that will move our country forward.
Don't like that 76 year old in Maine....I;m a senior citizen and she is too old.
Kathy Morelli: From a 79-year-old, I must agree with you, on principle. I am still capable of doing lots of really good things; but run for office? Not so much.
I am still working and productive, but 76 ? with a 6 year term? I cannot believe Diane Feinstein was allowed to keep her seat ...The age statistics for this Congress indicate that this is one of the oldest ever. And the age statistics of the Congress do not reflect the population of the US. We need real representation. IMHO we need fighters and people who are willing to modify SCOTUS and other institutions so that this mess doesn't happen again,
To Kathy Morelli: I won't say it's impossible for an "older" person to make a valuable contribution, especially someone with scads of experience; but that one's energy does dissipate over time--maybe for some, it doesn't so much, but that's to be judged on an individual basis in a greater context where the numbers do raise valid questions. We do not need even a modified version of age bias, however.
For someone like Feinstein, it seems to me it would be appropriate to create a formal position of consultant to those who gain a specialized position as having a "seat." Or maybe that exists already. It's a high power and needs a succession grounded in history and overlap, and not in cold turkey.
The point, I think, is for the person themselves to NOT be dropped like a hot rock after all that valuable time, effort, and contributions, as well as being a holder of corporate history. It would be a total waste NOT to have such a person on one's call list. To me, avoiding such a rich contact speaks of less intelligence and more ignorance, or even willful stupidity.
I agree that there need s to be a role for these older politicians, as they have a lot of institutional knowledge younger ones don’t, that can only be gained from experience, and is sometimes crucial when a vote comes down to the wire.
Pelosi is older, but she was very effective until the end, probably far more so than most of the younger politicians.
There needs to be a way to be able to elect younger politicians, but still be able to benefit from the wisdom gained from years of working in congress.
To mary thiel: I've never worked close to Congress, however, my guess is that there already is an INFORMAL network of e-mails, dinners, and phone calls that occur regularly between those who have left and those who have been "seated."
Maybe there also is a formal set up of some kind--I don't know. But if not, in my view there should be at least a framework for such inter-generational communications between holders of office, especially in a democracy, and especially if one of the people involved doesn't have any skin in the game anymore--and so can be more objective about long-range implications of policy decisions--at least through one's voice. Maybe if there were a formal set up that had some respect and appreciation associated with it, someone like Feinstein wouldn't take an all-or-none attitude about their seating in Congress. I don't know why she acted as she did, though, so I cannot judge her or speculate.
The problems, of course, also concern the place of lobbyists, oligarch/ funders, and political pacs--the great cancers on the body politic, again, especially in a democracy.
Even the King of England has a similar kind of position with regard to his diminishment of power.
Thank you for that measured comment, of which I agree, including the “the great cancers on body politic”.
Oh I agree with most of what you say but Dianne Feinstein could not consult in away the past at least two years of her tenure. It was appalling
Kathy Morelli: I didn't know that.
If you look it up, it's pretty appalling. It's sad they would do that to such a fine person.
It seems like many of those you mention could ride the current "anti-Trump" wave and get elected. My concern is - then what? Turn back the clock and restore all policies and programs in place before the Project 2024 takeover? That would waste an entire election cycle. Rather, wouldn't it be better to identify all the flaws in the programs Dems want to restart or repair? Then, start educating the public on the potential changes and assess its support, and create a better, more responsive (and effective) policy to enact. Half the country voted for Trump. All BS aside, there is room for compromise. We will need policies in place that most Americans will support, even if they don't all agree with some specifics. Those specifics can then be the ones future Congress works to resolve. Policies that are not cancelled every time a new Administration takes over, only to reinvent the wheel. Americans are tired of that wasteful approach.