States Project: Laser Focused on the grassroots

The scorecard of the 12 states TSP worked in: 7 held their ground; 3 flipped; 2 expanded Democratic majorities

Powered by giving circles across the country, The States Project had extremely positive results in the 2022 midterms, attaining successes in each of the 12 states they targeted. Those successes ranged from flipping the state blue to keeping rightwing extremists from reaching supermajorities in at least two red states with Democratic governors.

The organization’s efforts in each of the states’ elections run the gamut including direct contributions to individual candidates, messaging via mail, social media, local media, field organizing and staffing, and television advertising.

The mix is different in each state, depending upon a number of local factors.

Sometimes the goal is not to win, but not to lose. Holding onto seats and defending against greater losses, is a key TSP strategy. For example, in Maine, the state Senate had a Democratic majority; TSP worked with five incumbents to hold onto it. All supported candidates won their races, holding on to a Democratic majority. But by slim margins.

Of course, TSP isn’t the only organization on the ground in these states. They join coalitions of like-minded organizations to come together in a common cause.

A shift of just 1709 votes across five districts could have changed the outcome in Maine. And there were similar situations in other states.

Results like these illustrate how critical every vote is.

A detailed report on results in each state is available from The States Project online.