Report from the Field: Lifting Democracy in a Blue State

*Published with the generous permission of David Pepper. Read and watch his excellent work at Pepperspectives.

By David Pepper

One of the most damaging consequences of the narrative that our battle for democracy is only a federal contest, playing out in just a few swing states, is that it leaves the false impression that most of America isn’t involved in that battle.

And that false impression is so disempowering, leaving most Americans believing there’s little they can do to protect democracy from the far-right onslaught playing out across the country.

But once you see the truth—that the front line in the battle for democracy involves local and state-level offices all over the country—you realize there is so much we can each do to fight back, wherever we live and at multiple levels of politics.

In recent days, I had the honor of addressing two groups in a blue state who see this clearly, and are fighting back with smart long-game strategies.

They are perfect examples of fighting for democracy everywhere, and at all levels.“Galvanized Givers” Helping Arizona

The first group I spoke with is in the Bay Area. It’s a group of 60 or so activists who call themselves the “Galvanized Givers.” They are one of the many Giving Circles of an incredible organization called The States Project.

The States Project is a quickly growing “best practice” that empowers activists all over the country to channel their energy and dollars into strategic opportunities to gain political power in statehouses—which is where the far right has been doing most of the damage to democracy and freedom.

As an example of its work, States Project (and its Giving Circles) played a key role in 2022 and 2023, when Democrats flipped the Michigan statehouse, Michigan senate, Pennsylvania statehouse, Minnesota senate, and Virginia statehouse. Those “flips” are what allowed Governors Whitmer and Waltz to do so much good since 2022, and to stop attacks on abortion in Virginia.

This year, Giving Circles are back at it all over America. And the “Galvanized Givers” are doing all they can to fight for democracy in a neighboring state—Arizona.

The opportunity in Arizona is just as big as the Michigan and Pennsylvania opportunities in 2022. Arizona Democrats are only two seats away from flipping both their state house and state senate. And if you’ve watched the election-denying, voucher-promoting, abortion-banning Arizona GOP of late, you know just how big a deal it would be to turn the Arizona legislature blue.

To help seize this opportunity, “Galvanized Givers” and other States Project Giving Circles are raising and sending dollars to the candidates running in Arizona who have the best chance to flip seats and flip that overall majority. The States Project calls these candidates “majority makers.”

We had a fired-up session the other night, and the group has now raised almost $40,000 towards their goal of $47,000.

Combined with other Giving Circles doing the same thing, that is a huge boost to candidates who often get overlooked amid all the other races taking place. The money also goes much further in these districts.

Importantly, the benefit of these funds also goes beyond the statehouse candidates who receive the direct support. Every door these candidates knock on—and the States Project does phenomenal work to incentivize as much door-knocking as possible—is also helping boost turnout for: 1) Kamala Harris, 2) Ruben Gallego (running for Senate), 3) a referendum to protect reproductive freedom, and other races.

So by sending their support to the front-line races for democracy, the “Galvanized Givers” also are boosting our efforts to win the presidency and the U.S. Senate in the ultimate swing state. (In other words, this is not a zero-sum game. These state-level dollars help lift the top of the ticket).

If you want to help the Galvanized Givers hit their goal of $47K, go HERE. If you want to create a Giving Circle of your own for the future, go HERE.Orange County

The second stop of my trip was to Orange County, where I spoke with the Democratic Women of South Orange County (DWSOC)

Once again, I was blown away by not just the energy, but the strategy of this phenomenal group.

The DWSOC emerged several decades ago as a grassroots advocacy group for public education. (As in many places, Orange County has endured years of right-wing attacks on its public schools). Well, that initial start in deep red southern Orange County to protect public schools has grown into a juggernaut. This photo I took right before speaking shows you just how large they are — now topping over 600 members.

The group meets monthly (we’re talking big meetings like this one), and organizes on-the-ground canvassing, post carding and neighbor-to-neighbor outreach:

And through a monthly membership model, they raise hundreds of thousands of dollars into a PAC that then donates to candidates. They send their support to critical federal races throughout the country.

But as important as those federal races are, as I heard the Club president (Linda Verraster) emphasize to the crowd, the local races remain the heart of the Club’s work. Start local, she emphasized.

Before I spoke, speeches were given on behalf of priority local races, including pivotal local school board races where the far right continues to recruit and support “Moms of Liberty” extremists. And the DWOSC puts their money where those speeches were, handing out sizable checks to their local education candidates, along with candidates for state representative and other local races.

Beyond the focus on races at all levels, and the energy and the scale of the group, another impressive aspect of the DWOSC was how much they emphasized membership in the group. All new members—perhaps 15 in the prior month—were asked to stand, and received a big round of applause. The new member who I sat next to had been a Republican most of her life, as were a number of others I met.

And that celebration of and emphasis on membership translates into members who give to the PAC monthly, allowing the group to be so generous to the candidates they support. As I’ve learned myself through Blue Ohio and other states under the Every State Blue model, these is such power in creating this sense of community and membership. And in a battle over the long run, it’s a far better way to create sustained and meaningful participation (including monthly giving) than blasting out emails hoping to generate one-time contributions through hyped-up subject lines and doom and gloom content.

Bottom line: whether you’re in a deep red state or a bright blue state, YOU are on the front line in the battle for democracy. Engage in that battle locally, and if you have the energy and the wherewithal, harness it to lift democracy in other states as well.

Thank you to the Galvanized Givers and DWOSC for helping show the way!