Dear John, 

My name is Sam Weinberg and I’ve spent the last 9 years of my life working to prevent the rise of Donald Trump and it’s for one simple reason: he threatens my future.

As a 15 year old, I volunteered for Bernie Sanders and later Hillary Clinton, hoping to keep Trump out of the Oval Office.

Then when Trump ran for re-election in 2020, I launched a grassroots organization that strove to rally dissatisfied Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders supporters behind Joe Biden and reached tens of millions of young voters, helping propel him and Kamala Harris to victory.

Over the past few years, I worked to rally Gen Z behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ groundbreaking agenda by launching Path to Progress.

But I can’t lie: All of this wasn’t enough.

So when Donald Trump avoided placing his hand on a Bible he’s never read and swore an oath he doesn’t mean, I’ve been thinking about what I could have done differently.

It’s no secret that Trump and MAGA Republicans regard young people with nothing but pure disdain. Their policies endanger our futures. Already, it is far too difficult for young Americans to go to college, start families, and hold good-paying jobs, let alone travel, work reasonable hours, and spend time with loved ones. And yet 42% of Americans under the age of 30 voted for Donald Trump and JD Vance anyway. Why?

It’s hard to boil down complex political phenomena into simple terms but if I had to try, I’d say Republicans made huge gains with Gen Z because they come off as authentic and uncompromising, even if young people don’t always agree with what they say.

Young people see a Democratic Party that is unwilling to stand up to special interests, unable to adequately tackle the climate crisis, and overly reluctant to hold our friends and allies accountable for their actions, both here at home and abroad. This isn’t always the reality, but if we’ve learned anything from the 2024 election results, it’s that perception matters just as much.

Path to Progress is the key to building a robust resistance to MAGA within Generation Z. To catalyze our movement as we head into Trump’s second term, can we count on you to make a donation of $5 or whatever you can spare?

Or multiply your impact with a monthly recurring donation

Trump’s presidency will be a long, hard road to the next presidential election and most of us will get there in one piece. But for the vulnerable among us — the uninsured, the elderly, the disabled, the undocumented, the working class, and more — we are going to be fighting against Donald Trump and his dangerous agenda at every juncture.

We want you to be there alongside us.

Thank you for your support,

Sam Weinberg,
Executive Director
Path to Progress