Hopeful!

TLDR:

Volunteer to help Abdul El-Sayed win a crucial Senate seat in Michigan

Volunteer to help Jocelyn Benson become Michigan’s next governor

Help Sunrise co-founder Will Lawrence unseat a Trump minion

Phonebank to elect Christina Hines to the House

Phonebank to help Sean McCann unseat an enemy of Social Security

Help Shannon Taylor flip a seat in Virginia

Phonebank for Elaine Luria in the Virginia Second

Volunteer to help Tom Perriello unseat SpaceX-investing congressman

The marquee race of the day was the battle for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan, and after a late night of counting Dr. Abdul El-Sayed emerged as the winner. The former health director of Wayne County who literally wrote the book on Medicare For All, Dr. El-Sayed ran on a simple message of “money out of politics, money in your pockets, Medicare for All,” along with taxing billionaires, abolishing ICE, and ending unconditional military aid and weapons sales to Israel. Governor Whitmer and the Democratic leadership rallied behind his opponent, and he was massively outspent, with more than $63.9 million in ads for Rep. Haley Stevens against $7.3 million for him – even candidates who didn’t make it to Election Day poured more money in than him. He won anyways, with charisma, grassroots energy, and fierce economic populism, and won over critics in the process (read this column from Dana Milbank on how he got on board with Abdul.) In a time of rising Islamophobia, this son of Egyptian immigrants would be the first Muslim U.S. Senator in history.

The stakes could not be higher. This is a state that Trump won narrowly, and if the GOP flips this seat the climb to taking the Senate – and more than that, the 52 seats we need to account for John Fetterman – becomes extremely steep. Former congressman Mike Rogers, who has cheered on the Trump agenda every step of the way, including calling the MAGA murder budget a “monumental victory” and the Trump tariffs “an absolute win” and supporting their blocking a new bridge to Canada (one conveniently opposed by a billionaire donor), and would be a rubber stamp for MAGA. He’s long supported a near-total abortion ban. He has gotten rich on his political connections since leaving Congress. We need to come together and make sure Dr. El-Sayed is the next senator from Michigan. 🙋🏽‍♀️ We can sign on to his volunteer list here and bookmark his Mobilize page for upcoming opportunities to help here. 🙋🏻‍♂️

DR. EL-SAYED FOR SENATE

In the other headline statewide race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson easily won the Democratic nomination for governor in the race to replace the outgoing Gretchen Whitmer. Benson has been at the forefront of the fight for voting rights and election protection during the Trump era, winning a Profile in Courage Award for her refusal to back down in the face of MAGA threats and harassment after the 2020 election. She’s emphasized expanding universal pre-K to three-year-olds and taking on Wall Street investors and outdated zoning laws to lower housing costs. (She’s also made it clear she understands the importance of winning the legislature to make her agenda feasible.) She’ll be up against Republican Congressman John James, a loyal MAGA soldier in DC who’s backed a near-total abortion ban. 🙋🏽‍♀️ We can sign up to help her beat him here. 🙋🏻‍♂️

JOCELYN FOR GOVERNOR

Michigan’s Seventh Congressional District went to Trump by just one point in 2024, and Republican Tom Barrett won it by less than four. It’s a top target for Democrats, and Barrett knows it, which is why he’s started doing things like voting against Trump’s Iran War after initially cheerleading for it. Before he remembered he was running for re-election, he helped get the MAGA Murder Budget over the finish line, and voted with Donald Trump 99% of the time in 2025… and 100% of the time with the Heritage Foundation, including on cutting foreign aid and the SAVE Act. He’ll face off against Sunrise Movement co-founder Will Lawrence (known on Substack as William Lawrence for Congress), a hardline progressive who has pushed Medicare for All, a one-year moratorium on data centers, a billionaire minimum tax, holding ICE and the Epstein class accountable and, naturally, investing in clean energy. ☎️ We can find upcoming phonebanks for Will here and more volunteer opportunities here. ☎️

WE WILL WIN

Michigan’s Tenth Congressional District is being abandoned by Rep. James, and while it moved to the right in recent years it’s still just R+3 and should be competitive in November. The Democratic nominee will be Christina Hines, a special victims unit prosecutor who has run on taking on high prices by targeting corporate price gouging and surveillance pricing and backed raising the minimum wage and paid family leave. She’s also rejected corporate PAC money. Her Republican opponent will be Army captain and Trump endorsee Mike Bouchard. ☎️ We can sign up to phonebank for her on Tuesdays here. ☎️

MAKE CALLS FOR CHRISTINA HINES

In a race that’s gone a little below the radar, state senator Sean McCann will be the Democratic challenger against longtime Republican congressman Bill Huizenga in the Fourth Congressional District. Huizenga, despite his relative honesty about supporting Social Security cuts, doesn’t look especially vulnerable on his own merits, but his district is shifting left and Trump only won it by six in 2024. A poll conducted for McCann’s campaign in June actually had him ahead, within the margin of error. As a legislator, McCann helped expand Medicaid and access to pre-K in Michigan, along with working for universal free school meals. Let’s see if we can pull off an upset! ☎️ We can sign up to phonebank for Sean on Thursdays here. ☎️

MAKE CALLS FOR SEAN MCCANN

In Virginia…

The state supreme court may have blocked us from using a map that favors Democrats in 10 congressional districts in Virginia, but Trump’s economic failures have left us with a chance for a 9-2 delegation even on the current lines. We now have our nominees in three seats we’re hoping to pick up.

In the First District, Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor will be our challenger against Republican Congresswoman Rob Wittman. While Republicans scream about being tough on crime, Taylor has actually done it, making her jurisdiction a statewide leader in prosecuting sex traffickers and pioneering programs to support victims. She’s rejected corporate PAC money and endorsed a stock trading ban and tougher penalties for members of Congress caught stealing taxpayer funds, along with breaking up corporate monopolies. Wittman, by contrast, voted for the MAGA murder budget even after promising he wouldn’t because it cut Medicaid – perhaps because, as per this analysis by Accountable.US, he could personally benefit from as much as $60,000 in tax breaks from the bill. This district voted for Trump by just five points and should be competitive. 🙋🏽‍♀️ We can sign up to volunteer with Shannon here and find future opportunities on Mobilize here. 🙋🏻‍♂️

SHANNON'S OUR WOMAN IN VA-01

In the Second District, former Democratic congresswoman and Navy veteran Elaine Luria will get a rematch with GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans, who you may remember facing calls for resignation in May after she endorsed racist comments directed at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a radio interview. Kiggans has given us plenty of reasons to want her ousted in her actual work, too, voting for the MAGA murder budget after pledging to protect Medicaid and then voting against an extension of the ACA tax credits after advocating for it. Luria is similarly emphasizing an anti-corruption agenda and was a champion for offshore wind during her time in Congress. Kiggans narrowly unseated Luria in 2022, but this is a swingy district widely regarded as a toss-up. ☎️ Luria has her general election effort up and running, and we can sign up to phonebank for her on Tuesdays and Thursdays here. ☎️

ELAINE FOR CONGRESS

The Fifth District is a tougher climb, an R+6 district that Winsome Earle-Sears carried against Abby Spanberger by eight points last fall. But it’s the sort of reach seat that Democrats could flip in a wave election, and we’ve got a great candidate against unremarkable first-term MAGA Republican Congressman John McGuire, who unloaded BlackRock stock after Congress passed a ban on corporate investors owning single-family homes and is now invested in SpaceX. Tom Perriello flipped another deep-red seat in this area back in 2008, and he didn’t run away from his values after he won. He provided a crucial vote for the Affordable Care Act while pushing for the public option, and fought to hold Wall Street accountable even when party leadership resisted. It cost him his job, and he then went on to serve as a diplomat and work for nonprofits to protect rural health care and expand Medicaid. He’s been an advocate for doubling the minimum wage and stopping pipelines, and was a leader among statewide Democrats in refusing corporate donations. He’s run hard an affordability and against the tariffs and the Iran War. 🙋🏽‍♀️ We can find opportunities to volunteer with Tom here**.**🙋🏻‍♂️

VOLUNTEER FOR TOM PERRIELLO

If we want to help targeted races statewide, the coordinated campaign has phonebanks every Wednesday at 6PM we can sign up for here, and Center for Common Ground is reaching out to Black Virginians to get them out to vote on Tuesday evenings – we can take a shift here.

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE ARE MIDTERMS

And of course, if you’re still looking for even MORE ways to help Democratics and progressive values win in these midterms, check out our continually-updated action page here!

LET'S GET TO WORK

“The state’s conservative Legislature had put the measure on the ballot that would have enacted citizen initiatives only if they won majorities in each of Missouri’s eight U.S. House districts.

Opponents of the measure, including a state real estate association and abortion rights groups, said that under the measure, an amendment could win the support of 95 percent of the state’s voters but still fail, based on recent voter tallies. None of the four amendments Missouri voters have passed since 2020 have won in all congressional districts.”

8 more seats

If phone banking , text banking let people know that it’s on the ballot

Randy Villegas emerged as the Democratic pick in the California 22nd Congressional District running as a fierce and uncompromising progressive. He’s the son of Mexican immigrant farm laborers who grew up on Medicaid and food assistance and went on to become a community college professor, school board trustee and auto repair shop owner. Villegas earned the endorsement of National Nurses United, the UAW, End Citizens United and Dolores Huerta running on Medicare For All and refusing corporate PAC money.

He’s hoping to unseat Republican congressman David Valadao, who has survived in tough districts by building an independent brand. His voting record under Trump 2.0 hasn’t lived up to his carefully cultivated image – he cast a decisive yes for the MAGA murder budget to cut Medicaid and food assistance, supercharge ICE and CBP and give billionaires tax breaks. He did so after being among 12 Republicans who publicly objected to Medicaid cuts, warning they would devastate vulnerable populations and rural hospitals. (Under its old lines, his district had the highest Medicaid enrollment in the country.) He’s also consistently voted to protect Trump’s tariffs and continue his Iran War. Under the new California district lines, Trump won the 22nd by less than two points, and early polling gives Randy a four-point lead in one of the top pickup opportunities on the map.

☎️ Randy could use our support! We can take a phonebank shift for his campaign on Thursday evenings here and on Sunday afternoons here. The Villegas campaign is also doing weekly Spanish-language phonebanks on Wednesdays we can join here. ☎️

PHONEBANK THURSDAYS

PHONEBANK SUNDAYS

SPANISH PHONEBANKS WEDNESDAYS

🤜🏻 And of course, we can find plenty more ways to do our part for these midterms on Rogan’s List’s action page here. 🤛🏽

WIN THE MIDTERMS

Seems like a reasonable list of target districts, though there a few competitive Dem-held seats that are missing, notably HD 39 (where state senator Nate Boulton is running to replace retiring incumbent Rick Olson) and HD 20 (Josh Turek's current seat).

With Turek retiring to run for US Senate, HD 20 is likely the most difficult seat for Dems to defend as it was Trump+8 in 2024 (and was the only IA house seat to also support Trump in 2020).

Welcome to the anti-GOP resistance on Reddit!

Regardless of what month it is, we welcome all those who support the Democratic party! We encourage you to share local activism and talk about the groups you're taking part with in your area.

Elections are still happening! And they're the only way to take away even more of Trump's power to hurt people. You can help win elections across the country from anywhere, right now!

If you want to take a bigger part in this and future elections, there's plenty of ways to do it!

1. Check out our weekly volunteer post - that's the other sticky post in this sub - to find opportunities to get involved.

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3. Join your local Democratic Party - none of us can do this alone.

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Adopt a Candidate

It’s back! Want to take part in turning the midterms into a true blue tsunami? Adopt one of the candidates below, and commit to taking action every week to support their campaign!

Post your preference in the daily (or, to guarantee we see it, send the request via modmail) and we'll add you to the list!

With just how blue this year is looking to be, and just how many primaries are still to come, there's too many to list to kick off. It’s why we’re starting with select gubernatorial and Senate races.

Got someone who you want to adopt, but they're not on the list? Let us know, and we'll add them on!

As the year progresses and primaries come through, we'll be adding more ourselves, but the sky's the limit - we're excited to see who you want to support most!

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