Sister District Project
Sister District Project (SDP), founded in 2016, works to elect more Democrats to state legislatures and build progressive power. Each election cycle, the organization chooses a few dozen key state legislative races across the country, raises money for candidates, and recruits volunteers from across the country to help remotely on those campaigns.
Why This Work is Important
States are increasingly important arenas of power. State governments have always had enormous influence over people’s lives, with wide power in areas such as education, criminal justice, and economic development. But Supreme Court rulings in recent years have devolved ever more power to the states, including over reproductive rights and the rules governing elections.
Democrats are confronting both threats and opportunities in the states. Wherever Republicans have held power in recent decades, they have passed antidemocratic initiatives like voter restrictions and gerrymandering, while enacting policies to restrict reproductive rights, amplify corporate power, and punish the poor. Conversely, in states where Democrats have gained, progressives have passed exciting new policies to fight inequality, expand democracy, combat climate change and protect basic rights. States act as testing grounds for new policies, and also serve as the first steps in future national political leaders’ careers.
Donors can achieve more impact by giving for state races. Democrats tend to obsess over big-ticket national races, like the presidency and marquee Senate contests. But donor contributions are more likely to make a difference in state legislative races, which are far less expensive and often decided by much closer margins.
Why Donors Should Consider Sister District
Sister District has a record of success. SDP carefully focuses on important and competitive races, often where control of a state legislative chamber is at stake. It reports that of its endorsed candidates in 167 races across 18 states, 107 have won — including many women and people of color. In 2022, winning SDP-backed candidates helped flip control of the Michigan House and Senate, and the Pennsylvania House, as well as stave off GOP supermajorities in Wisconsin and North Carolina. In many cases, the financial and volunteer support provided by SDP has been a decisive factor in their success.
Donors can achieve more impact by giving for state races. Democrats have a tendency to obsess over big-ticket national races, like the presidency and marquee Senate contests. But donor contributions are more likely to make a difference in state legislative races, which are far less expensive and often decided by much closer margins. A number of SDP-backed candidates won critical races in 2022 by under 1000 votes.
Sister District leverages progressive energy. Sister District works to channel progressive energy from deep blue states and cities into the small handful of competitive and potentially decisive state legislative races across the country. The organization does this by providing opportunities for people across the country to make phone calls, send text messages and even go door to door (if close enough) for progressive candidates in tight races. Sister District also helps those candidates to raise money nationally that they might not have otherwise.
Sister District is looking to build beyond campaign infrastructure. While winning state legislative races is an important goal, Sister District also recognizes the importance of finding multiple avenues to build progressive power, especially when it comes to doing so outside of candidate-driven models.
Conclusion
Sister District Project is laser-focused on advancing progressive change at the state level. It focuses in a disciplined way on high-value state legislative races and uses an inventive strategy to mobilize energy and money behind its goals. The organization is also highly transparent and always looking not only to expand, but to find new ways to achieve its broader goal of building progressive power in the states.