Hi there,
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:
You can find some takeaways from the call below. 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. 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. 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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Since 2017, Swing Left has channeled the energy of grassroots volunteers and donors to elect Democrats, up and down the ballot, focusing on the most competitive races that can swing the national balance of power. Right now, Swing Left is investing in early grassroots organizing in key swing districts and initiatives across the country to lay the foundation to win back the House in 2026. If you’d like to help support our work, you can make a donation using this link. |
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Paid for by Swing Left, swingleft.org, not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
