A broad opposition is taking shape for 2026
This week showed positive signs for the anti-MAGA movement. Now is the time to step on the gas.
This week’s stunning election results should give Democrats and everyone who believes in democracy real hope. Across the country, voters rejected Donald Trump’s chaos and showed that a coalition to defeat it is not only alive - it’s growing stronger. But there are still many challenges ahead if we are to win in the midterms and take back the White House in a few short years. That means now is the time to step on the gas.
By now you’ve probably read countless hot takes about how and why these victories happened. But there are some big takeaways that matter deeply for our mission at COURIER.
First, Democrats can win by running a truly broad coalition of candidates - rural and urban, progressive and centrist, younger newcomers and familiar politicians. Candidates like Abigail Spanberger and Zohran Mamdani couldn’t have been more different in both style and substance. But voters demanded that the politicians representing them address issues that impact their daily lives - this year, it was the cost of living.
Second, the national political environment mattered more than some pundits may have admitted. All year long, voters’ feeds and screens were flooded with daily news of chaos caused by the Trump administration, so when the contrast between chaos and competence was made clear, voters made their choice known. That was on display in California, where our team heavily invested in coverage of the state’s Prop 50 fight. There, voters chose to counter MAGA’s power grab and redraw their congressional districts to even the midterm playing field. In Virginia, Donald Trump’s government literally fired tens of thousands of federal workers, and thousands more are not receiving their paychecks. For any Republican on the ballot, that was a powerful anchor weighing them down, for any Democrat, it was a powerful wind at their backs.
And third, I believe that modest investments in media and creator engagement programs this cycle played a major role in this week’s outcome. More than ever, candidates up and down the ballot created content, published collaborations, sat down for interviews, and recorded podcasts with a growing bench of progressive outlets like COURIER or individual digital creators. That helped amplify their messages to key audiences: from grassroots Democrats eager to donate or volunteer, to tuned-out young people just looking for information about what’s happening. Local journalists, online creators, and progressive media organizations helped shape the conversation about the election in an unprecedented way.
As I mentioned last week, our team was all-in on election coverage both locally and nationally. In Virginia, we built a powerful 10-person “Creator Network” starting in June to equip and train trusted messengers in the state. Reaching largely military families, suburban women, and young progressives to shape the narrative of the urgent stakes and opportunity ahead of the gubernatorial election, their content garnered more than 13 million views in 5 months. Just in the first phase of the program alone (from June to September), this network contributed 12% of the total posts, 25% of the overall views, and 16% of the engagements about Abigail Spanberger on TikTok.
Examples like this are why continued investment in independent, values-driven local media like COURIER is essential. The information ecosystem that underpins democracy is being rebuilt right now. With your support, we can keep expanding our reach, deepen our reporting, and give communities across the country the trustworthy local news they deserve—and the tools to stand up to right-wing misinformation.
The wins this week showed what’s possible when we all work together toward a common vision. But there are challenges ahead. The conditions in 2025 were very favorable to Democratic campaigns, and we can’t rely on that environment to keep winning in the future. We also do not have reliable, comprehensive data on who voted on Tuesday, and off-year elections typically are driven by highly-engaged, high-turnout, high-education voters. The next step is making sure all voters - especially those who stay home in off-years - keep seeing what’s at stake and what’s worth fighting for.
Thank you for supporting this work, and for helping power a broad opposition that can rebuild this country back from the chaos.
Tara
Live from Crooked Con in DC!
I’ve spent much of the day today in Washington, DC gathering with partners, allies, and old friends at Crooked Con, Crooked Media’s new conference. Among other topics, I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the need for more investment in media and long term narrative infrastructure on the Left. Here’s a clip from my panel this morning:
What I’m reading this week
The secretive donor circle that lifted JD Vance is now rewriting MAGA’s future (Washington Post, 11/4)
“Chris Buskirk put tech elites at the center of power in Trump’s Washington. His efforts are grounded in a controversial theory: An “aristocracy” is needed to move the country forward.”
Seven data-driven lessons from the 2025 elections (G Elliot Morris, 11/6)
“These results point to an environment that’s significantly friendlier to Democrats than most pre‑election polls and the “vibes” suggested. An early forecast for the 2026 midterms — based on the historical predictive power of Virginia’s governor elections — suggests a national environment that looks something like D+8 to D+9, compared to the D+3 to D+4 in polls today.”
Young Women Are the Foundation. Young Men Are the Hinge. (John Della Volpe, 11/6)
“What I learned this week is that Gen Z remains the most progressive generation in America — but young men are the most politically fluid. Young women are driving the Democratic advantage, but young men are deciding whether that advantage lasts.”
Bolstered by big wins, Dems eye out-of-reach Senate races (POLITICO, 11/6)
“The leader of a Democratic donor network fielded excited calls Tuesday night from donors looking to help expand the party’s chances of winning seats in Texas and Florida. Progressive candidate recruitment group Run For Something saw spikes in sign-ups in the last 24 hours. And Senate Democrats are eying Ohio, Iowa and Alaska — states Trump won by double digits — as battlegrounds.”
Election Night Proved Democrats Don’t Need to Abandon Trans People to Win (Them, 11/6)
“After a night of historic wins for Democrats across the United States, one lesson has emerged that every candidate should take to heart: you don’t need to cave on transgender rights to win an election.”