I’ll be blunt: the past few weeks have been gutting. We’ve seen a version of this movie before, though the pace and scale of damage is already worse than 2017. This time we’re facing a hijacked court system, there’s no pretense that any Republicans will protect our institutions by pushing back, and top corporate leaders aren’t just normalizing the move toward authoritarianism, they’re cheering it on. On top of it all, there’s the devastation of the LA wildfires, the DC plane crash, and more.
At a time when it’s easy to lose hope, I’m finding solace in our amazing Swing Left community. After the election, many of you understandably needed a break. But this week, we’ve been inundated with calls, texts, DMs, and emails, all with the same question:
What can I do?
Here, I’m sharing my honest take on where things are—and what you can meaningfully do in the weeks and months ahead to help stop Trump.
As I’ve thought about the right advice, I’ve struggled a bit. Not because there aren’t plenty of good and important things to do right now. You can and should call your members of Congress (Indivisible has some great resources on this). You can and should support litigation efforts (Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, and the ACLU are doing some critical work here).
But I know you come to Swing Left for straight talk. Here’s the hard truth: Calling Congress and supporting lawsuits can (and will) help slow the bleeding. But these actions won’t prevent Trump and Musk from dismantling much of our government and democratic institutions. They won’t end their reign, full stop.
To state the obvious: We’re in a very different paradigm from the 2017 Resistance era. No one in Trump’s orbit gives a damn about the rule of law. In this new environment, what does it mean to actually win?
The answer lies in working now to help Democrats take back majority control, from state houses to the White House. (Yes, even if we’re pissed off at some of them right now.) Because unless we have power through majorities, we can’t stop Trump.
To be clear, it’s fair to criticize Democrats for not doing more to push back assertively and swiftly on the MAGA Republican agenda. For communicating ineffectively with voters in the first place. I know many of you are working through our partners to pressure Democrats to do more and be better.
Still, electing Democrats and ensuring they have a governing majority is the only way to end this chaos. The alternative is an authoritarian regime enabled by billionaires and Congress’ spineless Republican leaders who refuse to stand up to Trump.
Eight years ago, Swing Left was founded for this very purpose: to channel grassroots volunteer and donor energy to key swing races, helping Democrats win and put a check on Trump. We took back the House in 2018, and we can do it again.
Here’s what that work looks like now and what to expect from us at Swing Left:
- Our top two priorities in 2025 and 2026 are winning Democratic power in the states and winning back control of the House of Representatives.
- This week, you’ll hear from us about how you can help win the first election that can put a state-level check on Trump: the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Next month, we’ll release our game plan to win back the House in the 2026 midterms–including what you can do now to build the foundation for victory in 600+ days (which will fly by!).
- In the meantime, we’ll continue to pressure the Democratic party to improve its grassroots infrastructure and analyze our programs to ensure that every action Swing Left sends your way continues to be data-driven, strategic, and highly impactful.
I know this moment feels hard. Trump’s executive orders are awful, and the mass confusion they’ve created over the past 20 days is by design. But his changes haven’t been written into legislation, and they aren’t durable if we respond.
Neither is GOP control of the chambers. At the moment, Republicans hold just a three-seat majority in the House—the smallest in 100 years. Taking back the majority will boil down to winning just a few thousand votes in a few places.
This work will take all of us, starting now, to regain power at the federal and state levels. The 2026 midterm elections will be here before we know it. And we already know we’ll need organized people and war chests of funds to help Democrats in close races keep or flip seats. We need to hyperfocus on the right targets and actions, and we need to start early.
It’s doable, if we work together and continue to use one of the most effective, research-backed strategies to win elections on the margins: people-powered organizing.
I’m so glad to have your partnership in this fight. Stay tuned for more soon.
Best,
Yasmin Radjy
Executive Director
Swing Left
