How To Influence Elections This Year

After some time off from Blue Tent, I’m back and will be sharing recommendations over the next 9 months on where to donate to have an impact in this year’s elections.

If you're new here, I send out these emails every few weeks during election cycles to help people make smart political donations. The reason I do this — and manage the Blue Tent website — is to be useful at this moment of national crisis. And one thing is very clear to me, especially after the year that we’ve just lived through: Elections matter more than ever. 

If just 175,000 voters had made different choices in three key states in 2024, or hadn’t stayed home, Kamala Harris would be president right now — in an election where 155 million ballots were cast, and some 12 million eligible people didn't vote across seven battleground states. If fewer than 13,000 votes shifted in a handful of House races that year, Trump’s legislative agenda would have been dead on arrival on Capitol Hill. 

Thanks to such close margins, there’s never been a better time to be a political donor, of any size. In very tight races, even a small edge in well-targeted funding can make all the difference. For many of us, giving money is by far the most effective way we can shape our nation's future right now. 

But to make our donations really count, we need to be smart in how we give. My donor recommendations are based on conversations with electoral strategists and voter engagement groups. Blue Tent doesn't receive any funding for this work or gain any financial benefit. All your donations go directly to the recipients.  

Here are some initial suggestions as we look toward the midterms.

First, no goal is more important this year than helping flip the U.S. House of Representatives to check Trump’s power and investigate his abuses. Given these high stakes, nearly every Democratic candidate running in a close House race will raise a ton of money. But most of that cash will go to pay for ads, with relatively little spent on voter turnout — especially efforts to reach low-propensity voters most campaigns ignore. 

Closing this gap is where your donations can have the greatest impact to help win the House. I recommend supporting three coalitions working to engage, persuade, and mobilize voters in 46 swing districts: Battleground Alliance, Battleground California, and Battleground New York.

These coalitions are comprised of scores of organizing groups and unions with strong ties in communities and deep experience in connecting with voters. In future emails, I’ll explain the goals and strategies of each alliance. In the meantime, I hope you can donate to all three today.

State and local organizing groups won’t be alone in working in crucial House districts this year. National groups will also be in this fight, while also trying to win key Senate and gubernatorial races. 

I recommend three national organizations that focus on pulling new voters into the Democratic coalition, a critical priority right now: Working America, which runs one of the largest outreach efforts to working-class voters; Galvanize Action, which focuses on moderate women; and Rural Democracy Initiative, which supports voter engagement work in rural areas. 

In addition, I recommend the Center for Voter Information, which has an impressive track record of cost-effectively turning out voters who are underrepesented in the electorate, including Black, Latino, Asian American, and young voters. Few groups offer donors more bang for the buck than CVI.

I’ll explain the goals and strategies of each national group in future emails. Today, I hope you can donate to all four. 

One last thing before I go: Remember, the earlier you give your political donations this year, the better. Early money is crucial to organizations because it allows them to set budgets, hire staff, recruit volunteers, and begin voter outreach months before any ballots are cast.