Help me strategize US political donations
September 18, 2020 2:43 PM Subscribe
I found Maciej Cegłowski's guide to effective political giving to be persuasive, helpful, and inspiring. I'm planning on following the basic recommendation to donate to state level candidates in swing states as the best way to help GOTV to defeat Trump. The states that make sense to me to donate to are Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Michigan (because the first two seem most likely to be crucial to the election and the last is where I grew up).
So I've been researching the candidates in the SwingLeft SuperState list. I've also cross referenced the Justice Democrats list and the DSA endorsement list. I'm most interested in supporting candidates who are POC, queer, and/or Democratic Socialists but also am okay with just supporting any Democrats who have a reasonable chance of winning and who are going to use my contribution to help get out the vote both for themselves and for Biden.
My current budget for donations is probably $200-400. I'm leaning towards giving money to 2-3 candidates in each of the three states, one who is definitely one the SwingLeft SuperState list and one who fits my "most interested" criteria. Is this a reasonable plan? Like if I gave something like $20 to each of 9 candidates? Or is it much more effective to narrow in on a smaller amount of races and give like $70 to 3 candidates? Also, how much does it make sense to prioritize the SwingLeft SuperState list versus supporting POC and Democratic Socialists? (I realize that last question might be a values call, still interested in hearing perspectives on it!)
So I've been researching the candidates in the SwingLeft SuperState list. I've also cross referenced the Justice Democrats list and the DSA endorsement list. I'm most interested in supporting candidates who are POC, queer, and/or Democratic Socialists but also am okay with just supporting any Democrats who have a reasonable chance of winning and who are going to use my contribution to help get out the vote both for themselves and for Biden.
My current budget for donations is probably $200-400. I'm leaning towards giving money to 2-3 candidates in each of the three states, one who is definitely one the SwingLeft SuperState list and one who fits my "most interested" criteria. Is this a reasonable plan? Like if I gave something like $20 to each of 9 candidates? Or is it much more effective to narrow in on a smaller amount of races and give like $70 to 3 candidates? Also, how much does it make sense to prioritize the SwingLeft SuperState list versus supporting POC and Democratic Socialists? (I realize that last question might be a values call, still interested in hearing perspectives on it!)
I like Maciej's energy, and the logic in his post is sound (and not new!), but I quibble with his specific selections, his track record is not great by his own admission, and state races are harder to follow than Congressional races, so I'd be surprised if his selections improved. So this year I donated to GiveSmart from the Future Now. A couple of drawbacks with the GiveSmart approach, given your goals:
Their slate doesn't cover Pennsylvania or Michigan (on the basis that the statehouses themselves are less up-for-grabs).
The organizer seems pretty obviously to the left of Maciej, but in this situation I don't think he cares about the candidate, as long as they're a sane Democrat. The entire is focus on the specific circumstances that mean that small donations to a particular race have high marginal value. In other words, there's not a lot of overlap with DSA endorsements here!
If you want to go deep on this, subscribe and read the MI/PA/AZ back issues of Primaries for Progress.
posted by caek at 3:15 PM on September 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
Their slate doesn't cover Pennsylvania or Michigan (on the basis that the statehouses themselves are less up-for-grabs).
The organizer seems pretty obviously to the left of Maciej, but in this situation I don't think he cares about the candidate, as long as they're a sane Democrat. The entire is focus on the specific circumstances that mean that small donations to a particular race have high marginal value. In other words, there's not a lot of overlap with DSA endorsements here!
If you want to go deep on this, subscribe and read the MI/PA/AZ back issues of Primaries for Progress.
posted by caek at 3:15 PM on September 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
I look to my political donations as mostly being about me and my emotions. I've found that supporting "my team" makes me feel better about politics, gives me a sense of personal involvement. So for me it's a matter of picking which players I want to root for in particular. I focus on close House and Senate races because I feel that's where my money has the most influence. Your idea to fund state races is great too!
Seconding the caution to not get paralyzed in analysis. But this kind of research can be good and fun in that it gives you more of a personal connection to the candidates you support. You should also consider if it's important to you that the candidate is likely to win (so you don't "fail") or whether you'd rather give money to close races where half of them will lose.
I suggest you pick one candidate in each state. The more you give to a campaign the more likely they are to notice you and reach out and thank you or put you on the "fancy donors" list where you get higher quality communications. $100 makes more of an impact than $20. But there's no harm in sprinkling the money around more. Do what will make you feel best, there's no right or wrong.
Of the 3 states you mentioned Maciej's slate only covers Pennsylvania where he suggests three candidates: Harold Hayes, Anton Andrew, Jonathan Kassa, and Nancy Guenst. Read what you can find about each and pick the one you like.
Swing Left, another thoughtful progressive organization, has picked several "super states" to focus on, including state races. They have recommendations for state candidates in all three states you mention. Their explicit goal with the state races is to try to influence 2021 redistricting (if the Democrats control the state legislature, maybe the gerrymandering won't be so awful.) I suspect that means their primary criterion is "any viable Democrat", so you will want to dig a bit deeper to find someone that's a match for your values. But if you only donate to 1 per state it won't take too long to pick someone.
posted by Nelson at 7:54 AM on September 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Seconding the caution to not get paralyzed in analysis. But this kind of research can be good and fun in that it gives you more of a personal connection to the candidates you support. You should also consider if it's important to you that the candidate is likely to win (so you don't "fail") or whether you'd rather give money to close races where half of them will lose.
I suggest you pick one candidate in each state. The more you give to a campaign the more likely they are to notice you and reach out and thank you or put you on the "fancy donors" list where you get higher quality communications. $100 makes more of an impact than $20. But there's no harm in sprinkling the money around more. Do what will make you feel best, there's no right or wrong.
Of the 3 states you mentioned Maciej's slate only covers Pennsylvania where he suggests three candidates: Harold Hayes, Anton Andrew, Jonathan Kassa, and Nancy Guenst. Read what you can find about each and pick the one you like.
Swing Left, another thoughtful progressive organization, has picked several "super states" to focus on, including state races. They have recommendations for state candidates in all three states you mention. Their explicit goal with the state races is to try to influence 2021 redistricting (if the Democrats control the state legislature, maybe the gerrymandering won't be so awful.) I suspect that means their primary criterion is "any viable Democrat", so you will want to dig a bit deeper to find someone that's a match for your values. But if you only donate to 1 per state it won't take too long to pick someone.
posted by Nelson at 7:54 AM on September 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Pretty much all my donations right now are going thru SwingLeft. I like their track record and their methodology. My feeling is that my money is likely to make the biggest impact if it's used to target vulnerable Republicans in the Senate and state legislatures, and that's their focus.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:14 AM on September 19, 2020
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:14 AM on September 19, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
On one hand, every dollar helps, and it's a good thing to be donating money, and you should feel good. On the other hand, let's not kid ourselves; if you give $20 to 9 candidates instead of $70 to 3, there won't be a headline in the Washington Post in November about Three Crucial Races Lost, If Only They Had Fifty Bucks More. (Substitute "Six" and "Twenty" if you do it the other way.) Even the kind of small, local races Maciej talks about have five or six figure budgets; your donation is 0.1% or less to them.
Both your plans are good; flip a coin, and donate the money. (Possible compromise: Take a list of the nine candidates you think are likely to win, from something like SuperState and pick the five you like the best for POC or DSA or whatever other reasons.) This isn't like buying electronics, where the longer you analyze the decision the more likely the price will drop or something with better features is going to come out. Do it today.
posted by Superilla at 2:57 PM on September 18, 2020 [5 favorites]