Donate to preserve democracy
10 October 2024
This is a repost of an email from Chris Bowers, who runs a blog I subscribe to and find useful. I think it is a good investment to donate to pro-democracy candidates or institutions for this election - we will pay a lot more if democracy loses.
This email is based on an article that I originally published on Wolves and Sheep, the Substack associated with Bowers News Media. If you have not already signed up for a free subscription to Wolves and Sheep, please click here and add your email when prompted to do so. – Chris Bowers
In my 21 years in progressive digital media and activism, I have been a part of fundraising efforts that have brought in over $150,000,000 for Democratic candidates, progressive causes, and disaster relief charities. Small dollar fundraising is something that I know a decent amount about, and which has played an important role in my career. I'm proud of the fundraising that I have done, and I have enjoyed doing it, too.
That said, you need to watch out for people like me, especially during the next 27 days. This is because—and I am just being honest here—during these 26 days I intend to raise as much money for Democrats in key races as I possibly can, and if you are reading this then you are exactly the sort of person I think I can raise it from. My goal is to transfer—with your approval—some of the money in your bank account into the bank accounts of Democrats in key races, and I am not even a little bit sorry about that. What's more, there are a few thousand other people like me around the country, and many of them are even better at small dollar fundraising than I am.
With all of this in mind, here are five tips for surviving the next 26 days, and for helping Democrats win this crucial election without bankrupting yourself:
1. Make a donation budget, and stick to it. Spend money on political campaigns the same way you spend money on everything else: with a budget. If you have not already done so, determine exactly how much money you think you can afford to give to Democratic candidates and associated progressive organizations between now and November 5, and then stick to that budget no matter what.
2. Choose a donation date. Once you have determined how much money you are going to spend on this election, determine a date when you will spend it. My spouse and I used to sit down, roughly two weeks before an election, and spend our predetermined donation budget in a single sitting. It was fun to do this together, and it also allowed us to focus our money on the campaigns we most believed in, and/or which seemed at that late point in the campaign to be the most crucial. (In the interests of transparency, we don't actually do this anymore, in part because I decided that I give at work. I still recommend it for others, though.)
3. Donate to advance your values and your hopes, not just to tipping point races. A lot of progressive media types will probably cringe when they see this suggestion, as I am openly blessing your decision to donate to non-tipping point campaigns. If you want to give money to whatever Democratic candidate is running a hopeless race against Mitch McConnell or Marjorie Taylor Greene, then I think you absolutely should do that. Also, while I am much more of a "more Democrats" kind of guy than a "better Democrats" kind of guy, your mileage may vary. If you only want to donate to candidates whose values are hyper-aligned with your own, then by all means you should go ahead and do that. This is your money, your activism, and your opportunity to make your voice heard. Don't let anyone guilt you into thinking that you should only give to candidates in tipping point campaigns, competitive campaigns, or to Democratic candidates of one specific type of ideological orientation. This is about how you want to participate in our democracy, so please make sure that you feel good about it. If you don't, then I can't imagine you will continue to participate much longer.
4. Ignore "matches." I am very dubious about claims that your donation will be matched 200%, 400% or, as I saw in a recent text, 800%. I suspect these "matches" are referring to large donations that were going to be made anyway, regardless of how many small donors stepped up to "match" them. Perhaps I am wrong about this, and if you are in the know and can correct me, I will issue a retraction and a correction. However, just so you know, I've made much of my career off of small dollar fundraising, and I'm pretty suspicious of these "matching donations."
5. Cut (almost) everyone off after Friday, November 1. Except for races that might go to a runoff, and organizations that will go on beyond November 5, the Friday before Election Day is, realistically, the last possible day that you can give money to a campaign and have them receive and spent it before the polls close the following Tuesday. So, for the final four days of election season, cut off all your donations to candidates. If you cannot suppress the urge to donate during these final four days, choose to give to Democratic and progressive organizations instead of individual campaigns, as those organizations will continue on after November 5.
I hope you find this helpful and, as I wrote last month, make sure to enjoy election season instead of dreading the outcome. This is a wonderful time full of excitement and possibility, and donations can be part of the fun!
Also, before you go, consider spending part of your donation budget on one of these six fundraising slates from Bowers News Media PAC. As you can see, I really like to focus on tipping point races, but I am also not averse to aiming for the stretch seats, too. Hopefully, you feel the same way!
Donate to the tipping point races for U.S. Senate. As of right now, the three races that will determine control of the U.S. Senate next year are Ohio, Nebraska, and the White House (as winning the White House is effectively the same as winning a Senate seat). So, I have made an Act Blue page where you can donate to Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Independent Dan Osborn in Nebraska, and Vice President Kamala Harris all at the same time.
Donate $10 to the tipping point races
Donate to the "stretch" races for U.S. Senate. The U.S. Senate races in Texas and Florida are surprisingly competitive this year. Democratic nominees Rep. Colin Allred in Texas and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida are both only about 3-4% behind their respective Republican opponents, Sens. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott. These states still slightly lean toward Republicans, but if Democrats were to win either it would be a huge blow to Republican chances of taking the U.S. Senate. So, I have put together an Act Blue slate where you can donate to Reps. Allred and Mucarsel-Powell at the same time.
Donate $10 to the "stretch" states
Donate to stop the arch millionaires from taking over the Senate. Republicans settled on a remarkable strategy for winning back the U.S. Senate: recruit a bunch of super rich guys to run. In all four of their most serious challenges to incumbent, Democratic U.S. Senators, they recruited someone worth between roughly $100 million and $200 million, so that the candidate could self-fund his campaign. To fight back, I have set up an Act Blue page where you can donate to the Democratic nominee in what are, right now, the three most crucial races where Republicans recruited an uber-wealthy self-funder. The three Democratic nominees in question are are Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. All three are real, down to earth people–not to mention good Democrats in must-win races–with a track record of delivering for their constituents, not their own bottom lines.
Donate $10 to defeat the arch millionaires
Donate to Democrats in the six House seats most likely to flip to Democrats. If you are looking for what are perhaps the absolute, most crucial toss-up races that Democrats need to win in order to take back the House of Representatives–all of which Joe Biden won with 53% or more of the vote in 2020–then my best guess is that the six Democrats on this page are the way to go.
Donate $15 to help Democrats win the U.S. House
Donate to Democrats in the next seven House seats most likely to flip to Democrats. If you are feeling a little more bullish about Democratic chances in the House right now, instead of donating to the top six races most likely to flip to Dems, donate to the next seven most likely to flip to Dems. I have to be honest, right now I am feeling a little bullish about Democratic chances, so this slate may well be the way to go.
Donate $15 to help Democrats win the U.S. House
Donate to all Democrats in key races for the House, Senate and White House races at the same time. This is a slate that allows you to donate to Kamala Harris, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) at the same time. If you can't decide where you should donate, then this is the fundraising slate for you! Your money will go entirely to winning the White House and all of the closest races for both House and Senate this year.
Donate $10 to help all Democrats around the country
Thank you for your time,
Chris Bowers
Founder, Bowers News Media PAC
About
Bowers News Media is a one-person grassroots activism email list, run by me, Chris Bowers, a 20-year veteran of online progressive politics at Daily Kos, Open Left and MyDD. I write all of the emails myself, in an honest, measured, personal voice, citing all of my sources and avoiding exaggeration. I aim to bring you the most efficient activism operation around, almost entirely free of overhead, and to always remain accessible to you by reading every single email you send me (and replying to most of them).
Wolves and Sheep is a Substack run by Matthew Kerbel, a political science professor of over 30 years at Villanova University. Matt brings you timely, outside the beltway analysis of our national politics, informed by history and social science, to you help you make sense of what often feels like an out-of-control world.
Together, we run the Bowers Kerbel Media collaboration, a joint effort between Bowers News Media and Wolves and Sheep. Matt and I are old friends, and even wrote a book together about a decade ago.
Bowers News Media, 620 Park Avenue #402, Rochester, NY 14607. For more information, visit our website at www.bowersnewsmedia.com or email Chris Bowers directly at chrisbowersmedia@gmail.com. You can read our privacy policy here (PDF).
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