Tomorrow is the beginning of the most important year of our lives…that is, if we want to save our democracy.
History teaches us that the critical time to stop a fall toward autocracy is immediately—before it settles in as the new, accepted normal, at which point it becomes far harder to change.
So it’s not about the next presidential election…that’s too far away.
It’s about our first opportunity to stop what’s happening. And because tomorrow is the beginning of the midterm that rolls into November 2026, this is where the electoral pushback begins.
We need it to be big, at every level possible. And there are so many opportunities…
We must and will keep book banners off school boards and maintain good, people-serving leadership in our cities.
We will fight fire with fire in California.
We must and will maintain our power in New Jersey, and keep the Pennsylvania Court in the hands of justices who will uphold democracy and the rule of law.
And we need to gain a trifecta in Virginia, by winning both the Governor’s race and picking up House seats.
And along the way….we need to learn some valuable lessons.
And no lesson is more valuable than what Virginia is teaching us right now.
Listen closely to Abigail Spanberger in the short excerpt from her speech above…
You heard her, right?
She’s bragging that Democrats are running in EVERY district in Virginia.
This isn’t me saying it. Or a democracy activist. Or “Run for Something” or “Contest Every Race,” who’ve said this for years.
This is the long-time House member who will be the next Governor of Virginia.
All 100 districts.
“In every corner.”
And they’re not just running.
Thanks to an incredible grassroots effort (led by Ferguson Reid and Charles Gaba) that’s picked up a ton of steam in recent months, we don’t only have candidates in every district, but people around the country are supporting the candidates running in even the toughest Virginia districts—the ones who usually get ignored.
And groups like The States Project have worked to ensure that the “swing district” candidates receive generous support from across the country:
Other groups have been writing postcards in support of these candidates:
Folks, doing this MUST be our new normal.
We run EVERYWHERE. It’s just what we do.
Why?
Because it means we are on message everywhere—about costs and health care and public schools. And battling their disinformation everywhere, as opposed to allowing it to spread unrebutted.
It means we listen everywhere. And that means that we show respect everywhere.
And it means we lift turnout everywhere, organizing and knocking on doors and showing up in every corner.
And that we give voters an alternative everywhere.
And that we bring accountability everywhere. Because extremists who face no accountability only grow more extreme.
So let’s all work to have a big day and night across the country tomorrow.
And the next day, let’s celebrate the wins, while honoring all those who performed the highest form of patriotism and public service by running in the first place. Especially those who took on the most challenging districts.
Then let’s keep rolling, starting with recruiting and supporting folks running in every corner of every state in America.
Given some of the broader trends we are seeing, there may be no better time than having candidates on the ballot everywhere than 2026.
And that’s good, because it’s also the most important year of our political lives.
