The States Project’s electoral work focuses on building state legislative majorities — identifying and supporting candidates in the tightest races, incentivizing them to use evidenced-backed tactics to help create impactful campaigns, and building a grassroots community committed to electing these candidates.
The goal? To build governing power for state lawmakers committed to improving lives. Here’s what differentiates our work.
We’re Laser-Focused on State Legislative Majorities: We ONLY Work on State Legislatures.
We examine every path to power in a state legislature and only work in the State House and State Senate districts where we see a path to power for lawmakers committed to improving lives.
In 2022, The States Project invested in protecting the bipartisan coalition in the Alaska State House, a critical buffer against a rightwing Governor who has defunded education and attacked Alaskans’ quality, affordable healthcare.
Our endorsees won four seats, including two flips. With a 20-20 deadlock in the Alaska House at the start of the legislative session in January 2021, these four seats accounted for 20 percent of the coalition’s votes — they were instrumental in persuading a like-minded lawmaker to step across the aisle to rebuild the coalition to stand for all Alaskans.
We Help Candidates Run Smarter, More Effective Campaigns.
Most candidates running to become state lawmakers are not career politicians. They’re everyday people seeking to make changes in their communities. Our partnership means identifying gaps and filling them with right-sized, right-timed, evidence-based strategies to deepen their impact.
The Analyst Institute — the leading research organization on political campaign tactics — partnered with us in Virginia in 2021 to help us assess and improve campaign impact. An early budget evaluation for one of our endorsees identified that their direct mail budget would go beyond the point of diminishing returns. We helped redirect these resources towards hiring an organizer and field staffers, a critical decision in a race won by just over 800 votes. We are partnering with the Analyst Institute to provide this critical impact in our 2022 states.
With Your Organizing and Our Research and Strategy, Together we Can Build Power to Improve Lives.
Want to ensure that your dollars are going where they can make the most meaningful difference? Your financial contributions become game-changing as they power majority-making candidates and campaign infrastructure in each state that creates an impact beyond any single election.
Giving Circles powered The States Project’s work to help elect a new Maine Senate majority in 2018, and expand it in 2020. With governing power, Maine’s lawmakers have enacted policy after policy to improve lives including:
- passing paid sick leave
- raising teacher pay
- banning conversion therapy
- lowering the cost of prescription drugs
- passing automatic voter registration
- expanding Medicaid
We believe that state legislatures are the strongest force for change in this country. That’s why we work with people like you to help build a healthy, sustainable, and prosperous future for all.
Your dollars can fuel our strategy and make a meaningful difference in who holds power in a state.
You can do this. Yes, YOU.
