Tech for Campaigns, a Democratic organization made up of tech industry workers seeking to influence state elections, is expanding its playing field to include six states where Republicans have commanding majorities in state legislatures.
Jessica Alter, the organization’s co-founder and chair, said in an interview that beginning this year, Tech for Campaigns would commit resources to state legislative candidates in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, in addition to swing states such as Arizona and Michigan where the organization has previously focused.
The move is part of a new, long-term strategy that the organization is calling “Next Ten”: targeting Republican-dominated state capitals where Democrats might have a chance to flip control of the state legislature in the next 10 years.
Tech for Campaigns consists of 17,000 tech workers who are clustered in coastal cities such as San Francisco and New York but who volunteer remotely to help Democrats in state legislative races. This year, they say they’re using artificial intelligence to help create ads and fundraising emails, allowing them to stretch resources further than before.
The organization is unabashedly pro-Democrat, having formed in 2017, a low point for the party, when progressive tech workers in Democratic states decided to think more strategically about helping down-ballot candidates across the country.
Alter said the organization is filling a void where other Democratic organizations have failed to invest.
“Because these places are a little bit more ignored, it’s even more valuable. No one’s knocking down their door to help,” she said.
In contrast to Tech for Campaigns, many conservative tech personalities have backed away from involvement in the 2024 election compared to previous years, but Republican groups have also specifically said they’re leveraging artificial intelligence technology in their election efforts.
Republicans have majorities in each chamber in the Democratic group’s six “Next Ten” state capitals, and in some states, they have supermajorities. In North Carolina, that has meant Republicans can override any veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper if they stick together. But the chamber is split 30-20, and Democrats could take away Republicans’ override power if they pick up one seat and keep the governorship.
“So the plan this year is not to flip the North Carolina Senate, for instance, where we’re working very closely, but to break a supermajority,” Alter said.
Democratic state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri said the party’s long-term plan to make North Carolina competitive involves getting new district maps, which will likely require getting more Democrats on the state’s highest court. Last year, a new Republican majority on the state’s Supreme Court allowed new maps far more favorable to Republicans.
Chaudhuri said Tech for Campaigns may help with about five state Senate campaigns this year, with more help expected in years ahead.
“Too often, progressive and Democratic donors are focused much more on the presidential level than the state legislative level. They’re focused too much on winning the election cycle rather than on winning the decade,” he said.
The stakes are rising given the weighty issues facing state lawmakers, from abortion to election administration to LGBTQ rights. And with more than 7,000 people serving in state legislatures, there’s no shortage of candidates with extreme views.
