I attended a wonderful zoom gathering last night for an organization I’d never heard of: Flip the Vote. It began with representatives asking us what was the most expensive election of 2022. It turned out to be Marjorie Taylor Greene’s congressional battle in Georgia with a Democrat, Shawn Harris. As you probably know, Greene won. We were then told that just contributing lots of money to such elections isn’t a winning strategy.

We were then told what is: supporting grassroots groups working with people who are inclined to be Democrats, but usually don’t vote. These people are often poor, female, and people of color. The carefully selected grassroots groups do what is called “relational organizing.” They enlist potential voters similar to themselves and help and inspire them to vote. They’re working in eight swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They’ve been successful in encouraging 60% of the people they encounter to vote Democratic.

This strategy is the most successful way to help both Kamala Harris win the presidency and “down ballot” candidates make both the House and the Senate Democratic. I’ve entirely changed my giving strategy. Instead of sending money to Harris or the senators in need (and as a result getting endless appeals for more), I’m now donating to Flip the Vote. You can access them at www.flipthevote.org/partner-groups. Please follow me soon in this endeavor!