Donating, etc., to help protect U.S. democracy?

July 4, 2022 9:34 PM

So, the conservative extremists are doing everything they can to subvert U.S. elections and democracy. What are the most efficient and effective ways for an individual to help fight against this?

See January 6 Was Just Practice and Minority Rule.

Mainly, I am thinking of donations to elect reasonable elections officials in pivotal races. But I am also open to other suggestions (such as other donations or volunteering).

I have little interest in lawsuits. With the Supreme Court as it is, I think lawsuits generally won’t favor the left anytime soon. But maybe you can convince me otherwise. I am also not asking about political volunteering in general; I already do that.

Many primaries have already passed. But better late than never.

posted by NotLost to Law & Government (7 answers total)

Here is a suggested short list of House races to consider. It's not comprehensive, there could be other worthwhile races to support. Also, there could be issues with individual candidates in some, so you'll want to do further research before committing money or time:

AZ-4
CA-41
CO-8
FL-27
IL-17
IA-1, 2
MD-6
MI-3, 7, 8, 10
MN-1, 2
NE-2
NV-3
NH-1
NJ-7
NY-19
NC-13
OH-1, 13
OR-5
RI-2
TX-15
VA-2, 7
WA-8

Vast majority of House races are not competitive at all: 90% or more depending on how one defines competitive.

Senate outlook:

GA - Warnock has strengthened slightly, still a tossup. (Only seat where a seated D senator is currently in a tossup -- this is the only Senate seat where Democrats are playing defense for real.)

PA - Fetterman is doing okay in the limited polling that's been publicly released.

OH - Dead heat at this point. Ryan is competitive.

NC - Tossup, Beasley slightly behind in polls but competitive.

FL - Demings doing better than expected in polls, still a tough race to catch up to Rubio.

WI - Republican Johnson doing lousy in polls even through D candidate won't be certain until after primary.

GA, NC, OH, PA could use resources, and maybe also FL at this point. WI will be a good race to support once primary is done.

You'll see a lot of fundraising appeals for KY, MO, maybe IA, maybe others. Nice candidates, but those are longshots.

You'll also see a lot of mass-media claims that CO, for one example, are in play; in my opinion, those are evidence-free assertions. Pundits gotta pundit, and writers gotta have a story. Don't fall for it.

Other people can chime in on organizations, etc.
posted by gimonca at 5:15 AM on July 5, 2022 [4 favorites]

Governor's races:

AZ - Dobbs has a genuine chance here, chance of a D pickup.

FL - Polling is all over the place, but it's possible that DeSantis is weaker than the media portrays. Crist on the D side is pretty old-school, but could be worth contributing to to oppose one of the most hateful politicians in the US today.

GA - Abrams (D) is competitive, but Kemp maintains a slight and consistent lead.

PA - National media types have crowned Shapiro (D) already, but this race is still close, not over.

NV - Another one where polling is all over the place. Averages still favor Sisolak (D), but who knows. Lombardo (R) is Trump-endorsed.

OR - Kotek (D) has had at least one trailing poll recently, possible the campaign could use some shoring up.

KS - Kelly, sitting D governor, is in a tough race to hold the office. One public poll in late April shows Kelly trailing, but not by a lot.

TX - O'Rourke (D) has been behind Abbott by an average of 7 points all year. Contribute if you really, really like Beto (or really, really hate Abbott, which is tempting), but this one's becoming a longshot.

ME, MN, WI - Current D governorships *should* hold, but any of these races could become competitive and need resources.
posted by gimonca at 5:34 AM on July 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

Finally, the following states have elected Secretaries of State:

AZ, GA, IA, KS, MI, MN, NV, OH, WI

I might have missed one or two; I think all the above would be on the ballot this year. Electing non-crazy candidates (typically Democrats) to Secretary of State offices is important this year, and for 2024 and beyond.
posted by gimonca at 5:43 AM on July 5, 2022 [3 favorites]

For taking direct action to preserve the democratic process, it is hard to beat the League of Women Voters.
posted by rockindata at 6:07 AM on July 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

I visit and donate to Swing Left who kind of does the leg work of researching possible swing elections. You can donate to funds where they distribute donations to candidates they think most need it, or you can research how to support specific people. It's a great resource.
posted by greta simone at 9:11 AM on July 5, 2022 [4 favorites]

Seconding Swing Left if you want a one-stop shop for donating to specific races efficiently. Easy to donate through them. Or do more research. In 2020 you could just read off the list of candidates they recommended, but now in 2022 it seems everything requires a login.

gimonca has a good list of races to look at. I wrote up my own process for finding races in 2020. It boils down to "find close races and give to the Democrat". The most useful resources for finding those races for me was the Cook Report: Senate and House. I also wrote up notes on managing the spam you get. Don't ever give a valid phone number and create a burner email address for donations. Pretty much all your Democrat donations will go through ActBlue so be sure to set that account up right.

I don't find candidate donations very satisfying. What does make me feel better is giving donations directly to activist groups that have more longevity than any random Congressperson. For me voting rights is a very important issue. So I give to the ACLU and the Brennan Center. I really like the latter; their newsletter is one of the few emails I care to read.
posted by Nelson at 6:44 AM on July 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh, I see the poster here is in New Mexico. According to the Cook Report two of your three Congressional districts are close races: Gabe Vasquez in NM-02 for south of ABQ and the incumbent Teresa Leger Fernandez for NM-03 north of ABQ. In addition to donating, consider volunteering for the campaign; it might make you feel better to be doing something active. The NM-01 race in ABQ itself is listed as "Solid Democratic" but judging by the primary vote isn't a complete lock.
posted by Nelson at 6:55 AM on July 6, 2022 [1 favorite]