[1]Swing LeftSwing Left
Hi John,
Last night we held our “Inside Ground Truth” National Strategy Call, and
it was incredibly inspiring to see so many people gathered to learn how to
make a difference in the 2026 midterm elections.
Over 2,000 of you from 49 states + the District of Columbia dialed in to
hear more about Ground Truth, Swing Left’s strategy to flip the House, and
how to get involved. Here’s a recap of what we covered:
* A deep dive on Ground Truth, the innovative new voter contact program
that we piloted this fall, designed to rebuild trust in Democrats by
listening to voters
* An exclusive first look at the expanded list of swing districts we’re
targeting to flip the House of Representatives next November, and why
that’s the next best step in beating Trump and his allies long-term
* How you can get involved no matter where you live, including
high-impact opportunities to [ [link removed] ]volunteer and [ [link removed] ]donate
You can find some takeaways from the call below. [ [link removed] ]And if you’d like to
watch the video recording, you can find that here.
Why working to flip the House in 2026 is so important
Winning a Democratic majority in the House in the midterm elections is our
first real chance to claw back federal power since Trump re-took office
earlier this year. It’ll break total Republican control in Washington and
put a tangible check on an increasingly authoritarian administration.
But the exciting gains Democrats made in 2025 (including winning 100% of
the races where Swing Left got involved!) doesn’t guarantee a blue wave in
2026. With redistricting fights still unfolding, and pro-Democrat
enthusiasm still weak, replicating November’s results will be harder to do
across a broader swath of the country.
A blue wave won’t happen on its own. We have to build it.
What Ground Truth does differently
Ground Truth is built around a simple idea: Before we can persuade, we
have to listen. To do that, we’ve made a few radical shifts to reimagine
voter contact and improve how Democrats connect with voters.
We piloted Ground Truth at 25 canvasses this fall and plan to expand the
program to all of our House swing districts in January. Unlike traditional
canvassing, we’re knocking every door, listening deeply to every voter,
and using powerful new technology we helped design to capture rich,
nuanced data from those conversations. And thanks to a new Federal
Election Commission rule, we’re able to directly share what we learn with
campaigns to help shape their messaging, targeting, and outreach
strategies early on.
What we’ve learned from Ground Truth so far
In our pilot canvasses, we learned that voters are incredibly eager to
talk, with 2 out of 3 people who answered their doors having substantive
conversations that often lasted more than 10 minutes!
But we also learned that voters are disillusioned, and trust needs to be
rebuilt. Across the pilot canvasses, the most consistent theme heard—from
Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—was “the system is broken.”
We learned that traditional voter contact methods often miss existing
Democratic supporters as well as persuadable voters. About 1 in 4 voters
coded as Republican expressed either explicit concern about Trump,
openness to voting for Democrats, or alignment with progressive
priorities.
We expanded the map
Flipping the House in 2026 will require focus, not wishful thinking.
That’s why we’re taking a ruthlessly pragmatic approach to choosing our
targets, picking swing districts where we think investing grassroots time
and resources can make the biggest difference.
In response to new data, recent election wins, and developments in
redistricting, we’ve recently updated our list of target districts. In
total, we’re now targeting 33 congressional districts across 17 states.
How you can be a part of what’s next
Ground Truth is a people-powered program, and it will take all of us,
working together, to scale it across the country.
If you’re motivated to help win back the House in 2026, there are a couple
of ways you can take action right now:
1. [ [link removed] ]First, take a moment to fill out this form to learn the best way for
you to volunteer. It will guide you to the best option for you, based on
where you live and what you like to do.
2. [ [link removed] ]Second, consider making a donation of $25, or any
amount that makes sense, to help fund Ground Truth today. This is an
ambitious program that aims to change the way Democrats have been doing
voter contact for decades, and it’s going to take a lot of resources to
pull it off.
However you choose to get involved, we’re grateful to have you on the
team. It’s going to take some real work to flip the House and put a real
legislative check on Donald Trump in 2026, so thank you again for
everything you do. And make sure to stay tuned for more updates to come
soon!
— The Swing Left Team
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