PRIMARY & midtern CANDIDATES
Early Donations Matter
The 2026 midterms are upon us. Donate now to promising primary candidates.
Funds given now — or in recurring increments from now until November, will be far more effective than the same amount of financial support given in the fall.
Path to Take Back the Senate
Democratic Candidates
Georgia (Jon Ossoff) Hold
Michigan (Haley Stevens, Mallory McMorrow) Hold
Minnesota (Peggy Flanagan, Angie Craig) Hold
New Hampshire (Chris Pappas) Hold
Alaska (Mary Peltola) Flip
Maine (Graham Platner, Janet Mills) Flip
North Carolina (Roy Cooper) Flip
Ohio (Sherrod Brown) Flip
http://secure.actblue.com/directory
Sources: Cook Political Report, Ballotpedia, Claude
Democratic Candidates - 8 Toss-up House Seats
AZ-06 JoAnna Mendoza
IA-03 Sar ah Trone Garriott
IA-03 Sarah Trone Garriott
OH-01 Greg Landsman
OH-09 Marcy Kaptur PA-10 Janelle Stelson
TX-34 Vicente Gonzalez WI-03 Rebecca Cooke
http://secure.actblue.com/directory
Sources: Cook Political Report, Ballotpedia, Claude
Donate Early
Funds given now or in recurring increments from
now until November will be far more effective than the same
amount of financial support given in the fall. Here are some
reasons why early support is so important.
Campaigns can use early funds for hiring staff, building
infrastructure, and voter outreach — investments that compound
over months. A dollar in April is worth far more operationally
than a dollar in October. Early money allows candidates to hire
staff before the best campaign professionals get snapped up by
other races.
The FEC quarterly reporting matters enormously. Strong early
fundraising numbers signal viability to major donors, party
committees, and the media. A candidate with sizable funds
raised by June looks far more credible than one who raises it all
in October.
Campaigns love recurring donors because they can budget and
plan around predictable income.
By the fall, ads are extremely expensive. Costs spike as every
campaign floods the market simultaneously. Early money buys
the same ads at a fraction of the cost. Late donations often arrive
too late to be deployed effectively.
POLITICAL DONOR ADVISORS
Mind The Gap (MTG)
DONATE: In the 2026 election cycle, nothing is more important than restoring Congress’ ability to exert its constitutional authority and serve as a real check on the Trump administration’s abuses. Mind the Gap (MTG) is focused on building a strong Democratic majority in the U.S. House. That fight begins in the primaries, where money and strategy can make an outsized impact. By intervening in primaries, we can strengthen the field of Democratic nominees in Republican-held and open districts, giving Democrats a far greater chance of winning the critical seats needed to achieve a significant majority.
Mind the Gap has announced a slate of seven primary candidates in key races where candidate quality will be decisive in November. Early investment in the right candidates is one of the most effective ways to shape outcomes—and we’re already seeing that impact, with MTG-backed candidate Bobby Pulido winning his primary in TX-15.
How to act now:
MTG 2026 endorses and encourages direct donations to the following primary candidates.
- Support our primary candidates: The individual limit is $3,500 per candidate in a primary and another $3,500 in the general election.
- Give to Project 218: For greater flexibility and impact—including for those able to give above candidate limits—this fund allows us to deploy resources where they matter most. We’re currently working to close a $3M gap.
- Support voter registration (EVC): A high-impact, targeted way to fund registration efforts in key areas through tax-deductible giving. (Note: please contact info@mtg.org if you need instructions on contributing from your DAF to EVC.)
If you contributed outside our links, please let us know at contributions@mtg.org so we can track the network’s impact.
Questions? Contact info@mtg.org.
Focus for Democracy
Strengthening our Democracy with Impactrful Donations
Research on Election Programs
Rather than attempting to evaluate every possible program, we believe it's more strategic to fund a smaller set of deeply researched, highly effective programs. Concentrating our efforts has a greater impact than spreading donations across dozens of programs that do not meet the same standards or have not been thoroughly researched. https://www.focus4democracy.org
We recommend programs with the highest impact per dollar spent that:
- Strengthen democracy in competitive states and districts. Some of the programs that do this are run by non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations. Those organizations do not seek to help any candidate or party. Instead, they aim to increase voter information and participation.
- Win votes for pro-democracy candidates in key competitive races through programs operated by 501(c)(4) organizations and political action committees (PACs).
We examine potential funding opportunities, conducting thorough evaluations guided by the following criteria:
- Targeting key competitive races that strengthen our democracy, focused on the following types of contests:
- Closely contested presidential, Senate, House, gubernatorial, and state legislative races can tip the balance of power, and they are where either party has a realistic chance of winning.
- Races with an outsized impact, such as presidential and gubernatorial races.
- Races critical to maintaining a functioning democracy and upholding the rule of law, such as Secretary of State or state supreme court seats.
- Cost-Effective
- We focus on identifying programs that we believe will maximize the impact of additional donations.
- Wherever possible, Focus for Democracy Action estimates, for partisan programs, both the number of votes likely to be produced and the total “votes per $1,000” for each program we consider.
- We seek out programs that yield more net votes per dollar than other election tactics.
- Evidence-Based and Rigorously Tested
- We prioritize programs with strong, measurable evidence of their effectiveness, preferably through randomized controlled trials.
- For programs and tactics that can’t be evaluated by randomized controlled trials, we dig deeply into all the available data, including the organization’s reputation and track record.
- Otherwise Underfunded
- We ensure our donor contributions are additive by recommending donations to programs we believe would not be adequately funded without support from our network. Our evaluators track real-time budget gaps for our recommended programs and convene with funders outside our network to discuss their interest and capacity to fund them.
- We ensure our donor contributions are additive by recommending donations to programs we believe would not be adequately funded without support from our network. Our evaluators track real-time budget gaps for our recommended programs and convene with funders outside our network to discuss their interest and capacity to fund them.
- Strategically Timed
- Investing early can often have a greater impact, but if deployed too early, the impact of some tactics may decay before the election.
- Knowing how much runway is needed and being informed about other donor networks' plans enables our network to donate not only where but also when, thereby optimizing effectiveness.
- With future Election Payoff
- We prioritize investing in programs that impact current and future cycles and long-term voter empowerment.
- We prioritize investing in programs that impact current and future cycles and long-term voter empowerment.
We have exacting standards and hope to shed light on our thinking and process. But it’s important to note that not everything important fits all of these criteria, and we pride ourselves on our flexibility to support other approaches when they address key strategic gaps and appear to be the most effective way to protect democracy.