Hi John,

I’m Josie, and I run Contest Every Race’s online candidate community. Every day, I see messages like:

“I live in a very conservative landscape. I have no idea how to start fighting back. The worst people here seem to rise to the top.”

“I’m a caregiver in rural Texas. Where should I begin?”

“I’m at that ‘willing to be talked into running’ stage, I think :-)”

These are people who want to step up and run for office but feel completely lost and alone. That’s exactly why we built this online community: to make sure no one has to figure this out by themselves.

Will you chip in $10 to keep this online community running for future Dem candidates and to secure future wins?

Recently, we held our first-ever Grassroots Game Night. We brought people together from all over to share stories, connect, and get inspired to run for office. 

One participant had joined our community earlier this year “just to learn more.” We connected him to his county party. A few months later, he ran for office. Now he’s the town auditor. 

That’s what happens when people have a community backing them up — they go from curious to candidate.

But here’s what’s at stake: without end-of-year support, we may have to scale back or stop supporting the online community heading into 2026, right when candidate filing deadlines are starting to pile up, and people need this community the most. 

Will you chip in $10 to keep this community running for people ready to step up and create positive change in their communities?

Thanks for being here with us.

— Josie Koehler
Contest Every Race