Democrats faced a disappointing election night this November. Unexpected losses in the Senate and the return of a Republican trifecta to Washington mean that Democrats across the country are grappling with our path forward.
But the Democratic Party is more than just the top of the ticket – especially over the next four years, wins at the state level and down ballot will matter more than ever. Because of your support for DASS in 2022 and 2024, Democratic Secretaries were able to implement critical, pro-voter reforms in swing states that directly led to wins for Democrats at every level this year.
Arizona
In 2022, during an incredibly contentious midterm, DASS spent $6 million to elect Secretary Adrian Fontes. Since day one, he has been working to ensure free and fair elections in Arizona. To protect mail-in ballots, he fought against right-wing groups who tried to upend mail-in voting and signature matching. Another effort of his went all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court, where they sided in his favor to protect 100,000 voters and their right to vote with a full ballot. He also implemented ballot tracking so voters would always know the status of their ballot. In an effort to combat misinformation and election deepfakes, Fontes ensured election officials and poll workers were trained to spot AI-driven misinformation.
Thanks to Secretary Fontes’ work protecting election integrity in a state that’s been ground zero for election denialism Ruben Gallego overcame attempts to tilt results in Republicans’ favor and defeated election-denier Kari Lake in the Senate race by only 79,484 votes, which is a slim 2.4%. There’s no question that Secretary Fontes’ pro-voter reforms ensured Arizona voters were able to make their voices heard and pick Senator Gallego.
Michigan
DASS spent over $3 million to re-elect Secretary Jocelyn Benson in 2022. She has expanded her work to ensure voting is accessible to all eligible voters during her second term. During her time in office, she has shown her commitment by supporting the passing of the Michigan Voting Rights Act and providing election guidelines to ensure every vote is counted – helping enfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michiganders. She not only fought for voter’s rights, she also fought for the safety of election workers to protect them from violence at the polls. This year, she also released a list of transportation agencies offering free or discounted rides to the polls to help get voters out.
Elissa Slotkin won her incredibly tight race for Senate by 20,217 votes or 0.3% — and the record election turnout in the state that made this victory possible was a direct result of Secretary Benson’s pro-voter reforms.
Minnesota
Secretary Steve Simon has been leading the efforts to defend voting rights in Minnesota since his election in 2015. In 2022, DASS spent $3.5 million to help secure his re-election. This year, Secretary Simon has made it clear that ensuring all Minnesotans have access to free and fair elections is his number one priority. He fought to ensure citizens experiencing homelessness still have the right to vote and passed the Restore the Vote Act to expand voting rights. He implemented measures to make voting easier, like automatic voter registration and simplifying the voting process for college students. Secretary Simon also encouraged the codification of a law to protect election workers.
These efforts were critical in ensuring Minnesota once again led the nation in turnout this year, with voters picking the Democratic ticket by just over four points in 2024.
Nevada
Secretary Cisco Aguilar was elected in 2022, flipping the seat after DASS invested $7 million to win this critical swing state. Secretary Aguilar has made concerted efforts to protect Nevada voters and election workers. He introduced the Election Worker Protection Bill to ensure election officials are always able to do their jobs safely. Prior to election day, he reassured Nevada voters by preparing for potential disruptions and assured them of the security of ballot drop boxes. Secretary Aguilar unified the election process by establishing a top-down voter registration system to store information for all the counties.
These were critical in ensuring every valid vote was counted in what was ultimately a very tight win for Senator Jacky Rosen by only 24,059 votes, or 1.7%. Representative Susie Lee also retained her seat by a slim 10,220 votes, or 2.8%.
North Carolina
The North Carolina Secretary of State has never run elections in the Tarheel State – but eyeing an opportunity to flip this seat to the GOP in 2024, state Republicans began openly talking about ripping elections-deciding power away from the Democratic governor. After GOP Secretary of State nominee Chad Brown let the cat out of the bag and bragged about wanting to run North Carolina’s elections, DASS spent seven figures to keep the state in Democratic hands – the first investment of its kind ever in North Carolina history. We kept this seat by just a two point margin – underlining how critical our support was, and how narrowly we thwarted the GOP’s plan to game elections in this perennial swing state.
Washington
With DASS’s help and a six figure investment, Secretary Steve Hobbs won a close special election for this seat in 2022 – the first time a Democrat won in nearly sixty years. Secretary Hobbs won his reelection this year, defeating the Republican nominee who had promised to eliminate mail-in voting. We are incredibly grateful for Secretary Hobbs’ work expanding voting access and protecting election workers. Earlier this year, he introduced two election bills that Governor Inslee passed that made voting more straightforward, increased security and allowed officials to certify results. He also supported a bill that would make harassing election workers a felony in Washington.
These reforms were critical in protecting Washington’s status as the most accessible state for voting in the nation, with Washingtonians picking Democrats in tight races across the state, including Representative Gluesenkamp Perez’s 16,277 vote (3.8%) win in Washington’s Third Congressional District.
2026
A whopping 26 Secretary of State positions are up for election in 2026. Over the last two cycles, expansion of the franchise and making it easier for eligible voters to exercise their rights have helped ensure all eligible voters can make their voices heard, with the people ultimately delivering Democratic victories in close contests at every level, from state legislatures, to Governors and Senators. With American polarization headed nowhere soon, close elections will continue to decide majorities in the House and Senate. The investments that DASS makes in 2026 will decide Democratic wins in 2028 and 2030.