Friend:

I’m going to give you two pieces of advice before I update you on the races we think are most critical to 2022: 

1) Stop worrying about all the doom and gloom you hear from pundits. If they keep the crazy up, and we keep doing the work, we’re in great shape to win this fall. 

2) Anytime you hear about 2024 - will Biden run? Should he? — Tune. It. Out. We’re focused on this fall, and you should be too, because if we don’t win this fall, we might not have a free election in 2024. Yes, seriously. Those are the stakes. 

Our political team is hard at work every day determining exactly where our focus needs to be for 2022. We don’t have unlimited resources or time — neither do you. So we need to be laser-focused on places where we know we can make the biggest impact and the stakes for democracy are highest. 

We’ve checked in a couple times so far this summer and the map is changing nearly every day, but with Labor Day around the corner, here’s where we’re focused right now. We’ll be sending updates on each of these states over the next several days. 

Arizona: The ultra-MAGA nominees across the board have led some GOP operatives in Arizona to call their ticket “a train wreck” and “a catastrophe for democracy.” The party’s gone full crazy, and their nominees for Governor, Secretary of State, and U.S. Senate could have a major impact on whether the state’s 2024 results even count. Help us win Arizona now.

Michigan: Michigan was razor-thin in 2020 and the GOP nominees for every statewide office are hardcore Trumpists who have made the Big Lie the centerpiece of their campaigns. We need to hold all 3 offices - Governor, AG, and Secretary of State — to protect the 2024 election. All 3 GOP candidates have said they’d hand Trump the election. Help us win Michigan now.

Nevada: The Trumpist attorney leading the way to contest the 2020 election now wants to be a Senator. That’s really all you need to know from Nevada. We have to make sure we beat Adam Laxalt — and hold the Governor’s race, the AG’s office, and the Secretary of State. The ultra-MAGAs think they have a real shot in Nevada, but when voters realize just how off the deep end this slate is, we can win. Help us win Nevada now.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania has two key races on the state level we have to win. Doug Mastriano is the GOP nominee for Governor and has basically campaigned solely on the Big Lie. What you may not know is the Governor appoints the Secretary of State in Pennsylvania. Mastriano winning puts the fox in charge of the henhouse for 2024. Oh, and Mehmet Oz is trying to bring his special brand of huckster to the Senate by saying things like forgetting how many houses he owns and complaining about “crudités” (like real Pennsylvanians say) and pretending he isn’t from Jersey (which he is). Help us win Pennsylvania now.

Wisconsin: We’re focused on the Governor and Senate races in Wisconsin. Democrat Tony Evers is up against a MAGA candidate who’s desperately trying to hide his Trumpiness (you know what we have to do there) and Ron Johnson was integral in the GOP fake electors scheme. You know, totally normal authoritarian things for a senator to do. We have to win both seats this fall. Help us win Wisconsin now. 

There will be other races that pop up, but these five states are must-wins for democracy. There’s no other way to put it. 

Next week, we’ll dive more into the numbers about how we think The Lincoln Project, with your help, can make a real difference in all those races. 

If you want to help us win in all five states, there’s never been a better time to pitch in.

Thank you for keeping us - and keeping democracy — in this fight.

-Reed

@ReedGalen on Twitter