How NOT to Stop Trump

Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

(WARNING: This post contains useful information.)

The political spam clogging my phone each week makes me nostalgic for the days when the only people begging me for cash were Nigerian princes.

The midterm elections are a huge opportunity to stop Trump’s agenda. That’s exactly what voters did to Ronald Reagan in the 1986 midterms, and we can do it again.

Before you accuse me of drinking whatever Pete Hegseth chugs when he logs on to Signal, consider this: last night in a special Iowa Senate election, Democrat Catelin Drey won by over ten points in a district that Trump won by eleven in 2024.

I know that math isn’t Trump’s strong suit, so I’ll do it for him: that’s a swing to the Democrats of over 21 points. And with her victory, Drey smashed the Republican supermajority in the Iowa Senate.

As the Des Moines Register reported, “Drey's victory is the latest in a string of positive special election results for Democrats this year that will give the party hope that it can claw back seats in the 2026 midterms.”

Decision Desk HQ

In short? We can do this.

So: if you want to make campaign donations that count, where should you send your dollars?

I consulted experts on this subject and got their advice. The following guide is by no means exhaustive, but I hope it helps.

Don’ts

• Don’t give to a PAC using crummy/deceptive fundraising tactics (anyone claiming to have 3x matches, or claiming that if you don’t give right now the world will explode)

• Don’t give to a PAC you’ve never heard of before just because they have a vague anti-Trump-sounding name

• Don’t give to a candidate running in a district that Trump won by a billion points in 2024 and a Democrat isn’t going to flip; for example, don’t give to a vanity candidate running against Marjorie Taylor Greene

• Don’t give to a group that you don’t know anything about and is sending you random messages

Dos

• Give to a candidate running in Virginia in their off-cycle election (like Abigail Spanberger for governor)

• Money donated directly to a candidate will often go further than to a PAC. Candidates can buy airtime at a cheaper rate than PACs, although many PACs still do valuable work

• If you give to a candidate, make sure they’re running in a winnable seat. These lists aren’t perfect, but the Cook Political Report rates the competitiveness of every House race. Your money is best spent on races in the “lean” or “tossup” category

• Pick a candidate you think does great work and give them a monthly recurring donation—just set it and forget it. Recurring donations are great because they help organizations plan their future budgets well. So $10 over 12 months is often worth more to a campaign than $120 up front, because their budget-making process requires accurate forecasting

• If all of this sounds too complicated, here’s one simple thing you can do: give to Jon Ossoff of Georgia. He’s the most vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbent. You can give him a recurring donation for 18 months and that’ll take him through Election Day. If that’s all you do, that would be pretty great!

And one enormous DON’T:

Don’t say, “There won’t be midterms, because Trump is going to declare martial law and cancel all elections from now on.” That’s a right-wing narrative designed to make you feel hopeless and prevent you from donating, volunteering, and voting. Don’t fall for it!

Instead, let’s do some critical thinking: if there won’t be any midterms, why are Republicans scrambling to gerrymander in states like Texas? I’ll tell you why: they’re terrified of losing control of the House—and with your help, they will.

A final note: if you have friends and/or family who might find this guide useful, please share it with them! And thanks, as always, for your support.