I just received a memo from my team that shows — thanks to your support (or the support of supporters like you) — that 2024 was in many ways Midwest Values PAC’s most successful election cycle to date.
I know what you might be thinking: “But Al, Democrats lost a lot of important races. Including the damn presidency!”
That’s right. We lost the Senate and Republicans kept the House. And Trump is now president. (All that is painful to type).
But we also won a lot of important races — like Sen. Jacky Rosen’s in Nevada and Ruben Gallego’s in Arizona — and important House races — like electing Josh Riley, my former judiciary counsel to a House seat in New York’s 19th, unseating a Republican incumbent! Your contributions to MVP helped do that. In fact, they may have been some of the most critical contributions out there.
I know what you might be thinking: “But Al, how do you know?”
Because giving to MVP is the most effective way to make a political contribution. And I’m not just being humble. When you (or someone like you) donate to MVP, we put a ton of effort into ensuring your money goes to campaigns and programs that spend it in the smartest and most efficient ways possible. The ones that do the real work needed to win and keep winning.
Here’s the bottom line: With MVP, your money goes farther.
We’re different.
We put a lot of thought into the money we give out. We carefully research and vet every organization and campaign we fund to make sure your contributions go to those doing the critical, on-the-ground work needed to drive meaningful change and help us win. We make sure the values of the organizations we give to align with our values — economic and social justice, accountability for the powerful, and opportunity for everyone. And we make sure their efforts will strengthen the Democratic party and infrastructure in the short- and long-term.
Here’s what you helped us accomplish last cycle:
- Nearly $800,000 in contributions: That’s how much MVP was able to give out this cycle — at double the giving rate of other PACs. Your dollars went toward the causes, candidates, and organizations that made you a Democrat in the first place.
- Battleground support: We invested in ground game operations in key battleground states — including Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — to ensure that voter outreach efforts connected with as many people as possible. Here’s a great example: We gave Tech for Campaigns $100,000 which supported their digital voter turnout program focused on boosting early voting and vote-by-mail — and it worked. This cycle they helped over 150 Democratic candidates set up and run more than 300 effective digital programs and connect with 15.6 million voters — from getting them registered to turning them out to the polls.
- Campaign support: We backed 34 candidates, 17 organizations, and seven state parties. We supported critical pick-ups in the House, like Josh in New York and Rep. Adam Gray in California, narrowing Republicans’ majority and making it harder for them to pass the worst parts of their agenda. We also helped candidates hold crucial blue seats, like Sens. Tammy Baldwin (WI) and Elissa Slotkin (MI) and Reps. Eugene Vindman (VA), Kelly Morrison (MN), and Gabe Vasquez (NM).
- Fighting for our rights: Our contributions played a key role in advancing the fight for abortion rights and voting rights, including tens of thousands of dollars given to orgs like Planned Parenthood and Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.
While we didn’t win every race, the investments we made and the places where we competed and put up strong, viable candidates strengthened our infrastructure and the progressive movement, which will make it easier to win next time. Building grassroots power isn’t always about immediate results; it’s about creating lasting change — and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Looking ahead, there’s a lot to fight for — and a lot to fight back against. MVP is committed to doubling down on our efforts to support even more great candidates and organizations.
Al
P.S. It’s easy to tune out because it’s such a bummer. But right now I’m watching confirmation hearings. So even if you tune out a little, I’m not.
