How Democracy Won in 2022

Web-Midterms-Readout

Democracy was on the ballot, and thanks to Stand Up America members like you, it won.

This election was a significant rebuke of MAGA extremism. The American people sent a powerful message that they want our elected leaders to stand up for our fundamental freedoms, including the right to an abortion and the freedom to choose our own leaders. 

Together, our community mobilized from coast to coast to stand up for our democracy and our fundamental freedoms in this election by:

  • Writing over 270,000 handwritten letters to our fellow Americans
  • Sending nearly two and half million texts to voters
  • Submitting more than 6,500 letters to the editor supporting pro-democracy candidates and ballot initiatives.

And that’s just one part of our work. 

Through our paid media program and extensive influencer partnerships, our digital team reached tens of millions of voters in battleground states from Michigan to Arizona to educate and mobilize voters in key races, including secretary of state, and help register tens of thousands of eligible Americans to vote.

The Outcome

While every race didn’t turn out the way we hoped, there were so many bright spots and wins for our democracy. 

In the secretary of state races, all four pro-democracy candidates that the Stand Up America community mobilized for defeated their Trump-endorsed, election-denying opponents. Michigan and Minnesota re-elected democracy champions Jocelyn Benson and Steve Simon. Cisco Aguilar triumphed over election denier Jim Marchant in Nevada, and Adrian Fontes defeated Mark Finchem in Arizona. These victories will go a long way toward building a firewall for democracy in 2024 and beyond.

In the Senate races, our members mobilized to help elect pro-democracy candidates in battleground states across the country. Because of you, progressive John Fetterman flipped Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat blue, and Nevada and Arizona re-elected Catherine Cortez Masto and Mark Kelly. Even though Raphael Warnock in Georgia is headed for a runoff, Democrats will maintain control of the chamber. This will be critical for confirming federal judges, cabinet members, and other Biden nominees and serving as a check on what will very likely be the new Republican House. 

And where democracy was directly on the ballot, we won. Our members mobilized to help pass Proposal 2 in Michigan, a constitutional amendment to protect voting rights and to depoliticize the process of certifying future election results. In Oakland, we partnered with local groups to help pass a historic campaign finance reform initiative which will create the second Democracy Dollars program in the country and create a model for how we increase transparency in our elections and reduce the impact of big money.

Where We Go From Here

Our democracy is not out of the woods yet. Despite many democracy wins, we still have our work cut out for us to protect the freedom to vote and the future of our elections.

Georgia’s Senate race is heading to a runoff election. Donald Trump is expected to announce a run for president soon. And Republicans are likely to gain control of the House of Representatives and continue their attacks on our freedoms and our elections. But we are well positioned to take on these challenges.

For the last six years, the Stand Up America community has resisted attacks on our democracy and worked to protect and expand the freedom to vote at the local, state, and federal levels. With your help, we’ll continue to do that in 2023, 2024, and beyond to ensure that democracy prevails.

Last night’s democracy wins are worth celebrating. Let your family and friends know just how much we accomplished in the 2022 midterm elections. Share this election readout on social media.

For now, thank you for all you did in this election. Thank you for continuing to stand with us.