Largest effort focused on state legislatures expands target map to 21 key states.
NEW YORK — The States Project (TSP) is announcing it raised $100 million to support state legislative efforts this cycle – the largest ever single-cycle investment focused on state legislatures, shattering the group’s previous record investment in the 2024 cycle.
The program includes a focus on 21 states – TSP’s largest map since its 2017 founding – as public polling indicates growing dissatisfaction with Donald Trump and his rightwing allies. The outcomes in state legislatures this cycle could determine who controls Congress in 2028 and will be critical to defending the integrity of the next presidential election.
“We founded The States Project nine years ago because decades of radical rightwing dominance in state legislatures had undermined our country’s founding principle that all Americans are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Every dollar spent to win state legislative races goes farther than at any other level of the ballot to ensure that founding promise is upheld,” said Daniel Squadron and Adam Pritzker, co-founders of The States Project. “Today, The States Project has the country’s most potent network of donors focused on state legislatures and we’re grateful to the tens of thousands of people that helped us get here. But the attention and resources committed to renewing the American promise in states is still a fraction of what it should be.”
“This is a once in a generation opportunity to build state legislative power after decades of rightwing dominance. The States Project is working to capitalize on the national environment to fuel every win that could happen in critical states,” said Mandara Meyers, Executive Director of The States Project. “While national attention remains focused on Congress, it’s state lawmakers who will be taking action to address the quality of local schools, funding for roads, and the cost of living whether at the grocery store or the gas pump.”
Since its founding in 2017, The States Project has become the largest effort focused on building governing power for lawmakers committed to improving people’s daily lives. Razor thin margins in state legislative chambers can be decided by as few as a handful of votes. The States Project takes a data driven approach – and its electoral spending helps fund candidate door-knocking, ad testing, press specialists, and an optimized paid media strategy.
The States Project’s strategy this cycle includes:
- Building new trifectas in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
- Breaking or defending against rightwing supermajorities to ensure Governors’ vetoes in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, and Ohio
- Breaking a rightwing trifecta in New Hampshire, Texas, and Georgia
- Protecting against rightwing overreach and defending effective government in Montana, Nebraska, Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, and Missouri
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The States Project connects the importance of state legislatures to every aspect of our lives and brings together communities to help build a healthy, sustainable, and prosperous future for all. Our electoral work focuses on winning governing majorities in the states by making state legislative campaigns more effective and better funded. We do it because we believe that state legislatures are the strongest force for change in this country.
