Trump—who recently declared himself the "45th and 47th" president—raised an average of $10 million every month in 2021. And he's starting to spend that money in a completely novel way for a former president: Putting his hand on the scale in races for secretary of state, a previously obscure and nonpartisan role, in battleground states.

Dear MoveOn member,

New campaign finance reports show that Donald Trump has built a massive war chest: $122 million in political cash.¹

On average, Trump—who recently declared himself the "45th and 47th" president—raised $10 million per month in 2021.²

And he's starting to spend that money in a completely novel way for a former president: putting his hand on the scale in races for secretary of state, a previously obscure and nonpartisan role, in battleground states.³

In most states, the secretary of state is the official who oversees vote counting and recounts and certifies—or rejects—the results.

That's right: Trump has endorsed and is starting to pour cash into replacing the top elections official in battleground states with his own loyalists.⁴

If Trump is able to install loyalists in these critical offices overseeing state elections, there may be no way of stopping him in 2024.

That's why MoveOn is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign to defeat Trump-backed candidates for secretary of state and stop this slow-motion coup unfolding right before our eyes.

But MoveOn hasn't raised nearly as much as Trump's operation—and while we don't need to match him dollar for dollar, we can't afford to get massively outspent. So, we're asking you today: Will you start a donation of $5 a month right now to help defeat Trump-backed candidates for secretary of state in key battleground states?

Yes, I'll chip in monthly.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

All of the candidates Trump has endorsed for secretary of state embrace his Big Lie of a stolen election.⁵

Take Trump's pick in Georgia, Congressman Jody Hice.

Hice is challenging Brad Raffensperger, the Republican incumbent whom Trump famously asked to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020.⁶

Hice parrots Trump's lies about the election, tried to stop the certification of President Biden's victory, and petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the election.⁷ And Hice has so far raised twice what Raffensperger has raised for the secretary of state campaign.⁸

Already, 21 candidates who deny that Biden won the 2020 election are running for secretary of state.⁹

And the sobering reality is that, as noted by Politico, Trump and the "MAGA-world's deep engagement" in these races has "transformed" them.¹⁰

John, we have to fight back. We did it in 2020, and we can do it again this year—but only if we come together to make it happen.

Will you chip in $5 a month to help stop Trump's plot to install his lackeys as elections officials and to safeguard our constitutional democracy?

Yes, I'll chip in monthly.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

In the last week, more and more evidence has emerged about how far Trump was willing to go to stay in power.

New documents uncovered by the January 6 Select Committee show that Trump came dangerously close to issuing executive orders directing the U.S. military and Department of Homeland Security to seize voting machines in key states in an attempt to cook up phony evidence of election fraud.¹¹

Then, on Sunday, he pledged to issue pardons to January 6 white supremacist rioters if needed to prevent their prosecution, and he made his most direct statements yet claiming that former Vice President Mike Pence could have "overturned the election" by blocking certification of the Electoral College result.¹²

Trump's plot was stopped only when courageous state and local officials refused to do his bidding. But next time, if Trump is successful in installing his cronies to these offices, we might not be so lucky.

Here's what we're doing to fight back:

• Launching a major campaign to defeat Trump-backed candidates for secretary of state and elect people to these key offices who will count every vote and preserve the integrity of our elections.

• Working with Run for Something, one of the most effective candidate recruitment and training organizations in the country, to find MoveOn members who will run for state and local office and ensure that Trump's people do not run unopposed. More than 500 MoveOn members have already signed up to be trained to run for office!

• Preparing a massive midterm campaign strategy to keep and expand our majorities in Congress to protect voting rights, ensure that the correct results are certified in 2024, and pass urgently needed legislation to fight climate change, expand health care, and make the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.

Our democracy is in mortal danger. Facing Trump's massive war chest and rabid base of far-right conspiracy theorists, we must prepare for the worst.

But as a grassroots organization, we can raise the money to take on Trump's machine only by collecting thousands of small donations, and every dollar counts. Will you chip in $5 a month to help stop a slow-moving Trump coup?

Yes, I'll chip in monthly.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

We're in this, together.

Thanks for all you do.

–Chris, Emily, Eric, Amy, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Trump began 2022 with a war chest of $122 million," The Washington Post, January 31, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160263?t=8&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

2. Ibid.

3. "Endorsements and money are flowing to once-sleepy secretary of state races, with big implications for the 2024 election," The Boston Globe, December 22, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160264?t=10&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

4. "How Trump’s political groups are spending their huge cash haul," Politico, February 1, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160265?t=12&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

5. "Campaigning to Oversee Elections, While Denying the Last One," The New York Times, January 30, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160255?t=14&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

6. Ibid.

7. "Jody Hice tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now he wants to be in charge of Georgia’s elections." Vox, March 22, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160152?t=16&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

8. "Campaigning to Oversee Elections, While Denying the Last One," The New York Times, January 30, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160255?t=18&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

9. Ibid.

10. "Trump followers zero in on secretary of state campaigns," Politico, January 24, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160256?t=20&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

11. "Read the never-issued Trump order that would have seized voting machines," Politico, January 21, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160150?t=22&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

12. "Trump’s Words, and Deeds, Reveal Depths of His Drive to Retain Power," The New York Times, February 1, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160266?t=24&akid=316573%2E40999114%2EHE6FGK

Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump's preparations for being able to steal the presidency in 2024 are well underway and include working to replace top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists. Which is why MoveOn is doing something we've never done in our 23-year history: We're launching a powerful, multimillion-dollar effort to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state across the country and elect individuals who will count every vote and ensure fair elections.

Will you chip in to power our campaign to defeat Trump and protect our elections in 2022?

Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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