National organization Swing Left is re-launching its Immediate Impact Campaign to support Democratic candidates running in battleground congressional races.
Swing Left was founded in 2017 and is one of the largest drivers of grassroots volunteers and donors supporting Democrats in key races. The re-launched Immediate Impact Campaign will serve as a “strategic one-stop shop” for donors and activists to learn where their dollars and time are most urgently needed during a given moment in the cycle.
The campaign includes the Immediate Impact Fund, which is updated regularly in the final stretch before Election Day to ensure help is going to the most competitive races throughout the country where Democratic candidates have the greatest need for financial support.
At launch, Swing Left listed nine candidates running for seats across the country, including Michelle Vallejo for Texas’ 15th Congressional District. The initiative will also support state legislative campaigns in North Carolina.
Vallejo faces Republican Monica De La Cruz Hernandez, who has been named to the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” list. The pair are running to succeed Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who is running to represent a reformed district created during the state’s redistricting process. CD 15 has a Republican lean but is expected to be competitive in the fall.
Vallejo and the other candidates on the list were picked by Swing Left’s political experts, who based their selections on historical election returns, polling, assessments of the national political climate, fundraising data, national committee expenditures and independent ratings to gauge candidate competitiveness and inclusion in the fund.
“The path to protecting the majority in the House and expanding the Democratic Senate majority runs through many Republican-held seats,” said Yasmin Radjy, Swing Left’s Executive Director. “Right now, Democrats running in those races are being outraised by radical Republican incumbents, many of whom support banning abortion nationally, deny the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, and promote The Big Lie—actively undermining faith in our elections. The stakes for our democracy and for Americans’ lives and livelihoods are incredibly high.”
“What we hear from grassroots activists and donors alike is how difficult it is to identify where to invest their time and dollars in the final stretch of an election — a time when there’s a lot of noise, and language of urgency feels ubiquitous on Twitter feeds, SMS blasts, and email inboxes alike. The Immediate Impact Fund is designed to cut through that noise — like a personal donor advisor for anyone who wants to invest time or money and doesn’t want it to go wasted in a race that has more money than they can spend before Election Day. Momentum is on our side, and the sooner folks get involved, the more impact they can have in the competitive races we’re supporting.”
In the 2018 cycle, Swing Left’s Immediate Impact Fund pumped more than $3 million into campaigns in the final weeks ahead of the General Election. In 2020, it distributed more than $4 million. Including its other fundraising efforts, the organization has raised more than $70 million for Democratic candidates, civic organizations, and voter mobilization efforts since it was founded in 2017.
Swing Left also helms a Get Out The Vote effort known as The Last Weekend, which mobilizes volunteers to make voter contacts in the final days of ahead of the General Election.
