Past Updates

Between the impending midterms and the recent Kavanaugh Supreme Court debacle, there has been a huge amount of attention on the U.S. Senate. So where do we stand just weeks out from the election? 

• The Senate currently has 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats (including two independents), which means that Democrats need to hold every seat they currently have and pick up two seats to get the Senate back – not an easy task.
• Ten of the seats Democrats need to defend are in states Trump carried in 2016 (the big one being Florida) — and five are in states Trump won by double-digit percentages: Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia.
• Meanwhile, Republicans only have one seat up in a state Trump lost two years ago: Nevada.
• But there are some surprising opportunities in more traditionally Republican states like Arizona, Texas, Tennessee – and possibly even Mississippi, where Democrats are rising in the polls.

There are more than just numerical challenges at play here, though. The Senate races this year don’t offer nearly as many progressive champions to rally behind as House races do. So in addition to Democrats having to defend all open seats and pick up two more, they also face the challenge of mobilizing ground games around candidates that do little to inspire with youth, communities of color, and progressives in most cases (with perhaps Beto O’Rourke being the exception this year).

Despite these challenges, though, organizations throughout the country are rising to the challenge of working tirelessly to attempt to win control of the Senate.

Bottom line: even if we don’t love all of the candidates, we might need them when it’s time to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

And the beauty of this fund is that it doesn’t directly support the candidates, but rather the groups in these states who will actually hold Senators accountable after they are elected. For example, Act Indiana, was the main force pushing Donnelly to vote the right way on Kavanaugh and on key issues like immigration this year.

Donate to the Senate Fund here!

The time for the 2018 wave is here and NOW! And it won’t happen on its own. We have to be the biggest, most beautiful moon pushing up the tide!

That’s why Movement Voter Project has put a ton of time and energy over the last few months figuring out 78 organizations in 66 House Districts that are critical to taking back the House – which is a start to taking back this country!

We know that just pouring money into TV ads and candidate campaigns doesn’t turn out the low-propensity voters we need coming out in huge numbers this midterm election. What does turn these voters out? Authentic, robust, and dogged grassroots, community-based organizing!

But this organizing needs way more resources and support to take the wave to its full potential this year.

Here’s the truth – and some numbers: we think Democrats are overconfident about their chances for winning back the House. Democrats need to net 23 seats to regain control. Due to extreme partisan gerrymandering in 2011, and lower comparative Democratic base turnout in midterm cycles in general, Democrats will face a steep climb – even in a potential wave election year. There are 23 House seats won by Clinton but carried by a Republican – which sounds like good news. 23 is the magic number. But only three of those incumbents won by less than 5% in 2016. Another four won by less than 10%. A full sixteen of these 23 GOP incumbents won by double digits. Defeating them in 2018 is by no means a slam dunk.

Toss-up races are obviously our top priority.But they aren’t our only top priority. Protecting vulnerable Democratic seats is also a top priority – not to be taken for granted (it’s usually easier to protect a Dem seat than to pick up a new one). And we can’t depend solely on the Toss-up races to get us to 23. Inevitably, we’re going to lose some of them. That’s why we have put a comprehensive list together of all key races that have strong local organizing going on in them that can help make the difference between winning and losing.

At the end of the day, we have the responsibility to invest in the grassroots. At MVP we work hard every day to make this happen because we strongly believe that one day poor people will rise up, immigrants and the Muslim community will be protected, people of color will live without fear in their own communities, everyone will have access to healthcare, women and our LGBTQ community will have the respect they deserve, and our environment will stop suffering the consequences of our actions.

Take a look at our recommendation memo to see all of the toss-up, defend Dem, and likely Dem seats that you can help support organizing in.

The wave isn’t a given. The wave is US. And it must happen now.