Friend,

Thursday's hearing was devastating for Trump. There's no other way to put it. But they also showed just how rotten the whole barrel in MAGA-world is. You'll get a chance to hear more about how all the hearings have gone and how we think it's changing the minds of American voters soon -- but I want to focus on one thing Adam Kinzinger said on Thursday:

"The forces Donald Trump ignited that day have not gone away... The militant, intolerant ideologies, the militias, the alienation, and the disaffection  — the weird fantasies and disinformation. They're all still out there, ready to go."

This is the whole thing in a nutshell. We can't let up on Trump. No question. (And if you know us, you know we won't.) But this rabbit hole runs far, far deeper than our delusional ex-President and deeper even than the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and right-wing groups ready to start another riot.

Take a look at who the GOP is running for office in some of the most critical positions in key states. We at The Lincoln Project are laser focused on these races, because if we want have a democracy beyond this year, we have to win these seats. That's the work we have to do. Please pitch in if you can.

In Michigan, the ultra-MAGA Secretary of State candidate believes in demonic possession and is running on that and the Big Lie. Their gubernatorial candidates range from "that crazy" to "more crazy". Seriously. And that's 15 electoral votes.

In Pennsylvania, we beat Mehmet Oz and gain a seat in the Senate – but the governor's race might matter more for the future of democracy. Doug Mastriano is running on a Big Lie platform and if he wins, he'll get to appoint their Secretary of State, who's in charge of Pennsylvania's elections. Who do you think he'll pick? If you're keeping score, that's another 19 electoral votes potentially in the hands of ultra-MAGA elected officials.

And in Wisconsin, where Ron Johnson is up for re-election (remember, he was hip-deep in the fake elector scam there) the Governor and AG are on the ballot this fall, too. Losing the Wisconsin governorship might put another 10 electoral votes on the wrong side of the ultra-MAGA ledger.

Multiple Senate seats. Multiple governorships. And this isn't even counting the House races that could swing in these states. We've been saying it for months.

Have you noticed people aren't calling us alarmists as often as they used to? They're just now starting to get what we realized a long time ago: the truth is, 2022 will define or potentially cripple our democracy as we know it. And it could come down to just a few races.

We are going to be laser-focused on these three states in particular as we get closer to Election Day. We're going to be sending you weekly updates on all of them and how you can help (including joining our pro-democracy volunteer coalition, The Union – if you haven't yet, what are you waiting for?)

I, and my fellow pirates at TLP, will continue to give you updates as the fight evolves. I know we can win this, but we can't let up. Not for a minute. As Rep. Kinzinger said the forces ready to launch another violent coup and destroy our democracy are “still out there, ready to go.”

Thank you for all that you do for democracy,

Reed