This is part 5 of our look back on our fundraising and GOTV efforts in 2022. Up today?
The Color Purple: A Look Back at Winnable House Races in Purple Districts
Purple districts in (mostly) Purple States!
While most of our fundraising focused on organizations supporting voter protection and turnout, we also raised money for select candidates. Sticking with our commitment to strategic fundraising, we targeted winnable Congressional races in purple districts in 2022. We started with just 4 candidates, and with nominations from the comments, and followup research to confirm that more money and a boost from us could make a difference, that expanded to 19!
A bit of background
You will recall that after the 2020 fundraising cycle, we made the decision to become more strategic with our fundraising, with much more focus on boots on the ground, particularly in under-served communities. We also selectively targeted underfunded and overlooked races where: 1) polling was close, and 2) where our money could make a difference, and 3) where the difference would have nationwide consequences.
We resisted the urge to support Beto and Stacey and any other races where our funds would be like salt in the ocean.
Who did we support?
We will share a bit about each of our 19 candidates in the comments below, in descending order of funds raised. So that the post itself isn’t too long, each of our “purple” candidates will get their own comment.
What do we have to show for our “Purple House” fundraising?
In total we raised $73,931 for 19 candidates. Our win/loss record include 12 wins, 6 losses (and one additional loss we expected). We helped flip three Republican seats, and put a Democrat in an open seat in Colorado. Pretty good results, yes? If we had won them all, I would question our choices. Too many losses would have meant that our analytics were off.
We also helped the careers of promising younger candidates – an investment in the future.
What do we want to do in 2024, with regard to House candidates in purple districts?
Let’s have a conversation.
What are your thoughts about re-running the purple Congressional district concept in 2024?
Did we do it just right? Should we support more Congressional candidates? Concentrate on a smaller number of races?
Should we concentrate on candidates in swing states, and let the Blue States take care of their own? Or should we stay flexible?
And finally, putting on our 20/20 hindsight glasses, were there any candidates that it was a mistake to support? Who did we overlook?
As always, great job everyone!
Open thread.