Crowdpac in 2017
2017 was a big year.
Americans across the country, on both sides of the aisle, began making their voices heard. They marched. They protested. They made phone calls, flooded town halls, and rallied for the causes that mattered most to them.
And many decided it was time to stop sitting on the sidelines and run for office.
This year, our grassroots platform empowered more and more citizens to take action, by making it easier to explore a run for office, donate to candidates they support, fund their own campaign, or share their campaign with their networks.
Thank you for letting us be part of it all.
By the numbers
Small-dollar donors sent a powerful message that the status quo — a system dominated by big money donors and special interests — must end. That we need new voices and new solutions.
Crowdfunding brought more donors to the table, some for the very first time, as well as first-time candidates. Nearly half of our 2017 donors gave for the first time, and a majority of our campaign creators were first-time candidates.
By making it easier for everyday Americans to participate in the process, Crowdpac brought more first-time candidates to the table. An increasing number of women — over twice the national average — launched their campaigns on Crowdpac. Roughly half of candidates are millennials, and a number of non-lawyers (scientists, professors, doctors, veterans and small business owners) also used Crowdpac to break into politics.
Campaigns weren’t just for major state and federal races, but for local candidates and causes, too. In fact, 176 grassroots organizations crowdfunded $1.08 million using Crowdpac.
Campaign Highlights
Candidates across the country stepped into the political arena this year to do the impossible — flipping seats, breaking fundraising records, and unseating incumbents. But, many of this year’s elections were won by just a handful of votes, proving that every single vote, as well as every single dollar, counts.
Candidates decided to run after testing the waters on Crowdpac
With Crowdpac, citizens can explore a run for office and gauge their support before declaring their candidacy. Potential candidates can collect pledges while they weigh their options, and donors aren’t charged unless the candidate decides to run. These prospective candidates saw their Crowdpac pages go viral, giving them the momentum (and validation!) they needed to launch their official campaigns:
Joseph Kopser used Crowdpac and an aggressive climate change message to raise nearly $80,000 in pledges for his run against Rep. Lamar Smith in Texas (who recently announced his retirement). Utilizing social media and leveraging Crowdpac’s national ecosystem of donors, Kopser was able to declare his candidacy with money in the bank and launch with instant momentum. His race is expected to be one of the top targets, for both parties, in 2018.
Then there’s Regina Bateson, who’s turning heads in her run for California’s 4th district, because (according to NPR) “Crowdpac.com — made her believe it’s possible.” A tenure-track MIT professor and reward-winning social scientist, Bateson has raised over $44,000 on Crowdpac. Also in the race to unseat Tom McClintock is Jessica Morse, a national security expert who has raised over $24,000 on Crowdpac.
Andy Kim was exploring a run for office on Crowdpac as the health care vote in the House was being debated and eventually passed. Andy seized on the media moment to call out his potential opponent, Rep. Tom MacArthur, as the author of the amendment which helped Obamacare repeal pass the house. Through social media, Andy’s crowdfunding campaign raised a substantial number of pledges, allowing him to declare his official candidacy soon thereafter.
UT-03 declared “…a first in online fundraising” by Axios
First-time candidate Kathryn Allen raised over $520,000 on Crowdpac in her campaign for Utah’s third congressional district. Kathie set fundraising records (over 14,000 people donated to her on Crowdpac alone) after her campaign went viral. She may have been the reason Chaffetz ultimately decided to retire, setting off a special election between Allen and her Republican opponent John Curtis, who was encouraged to enter the GOP primary with a draft campaign on Crowdpac. Axios called the race “…a first in online fundraising”, with both campaigns having started online through crowdfunding.
Candidates stepped up to take on Ted Cruz in 2018
The Senate race to unseat Ted Cruz got off to a quick start earlier this year when Beto O’Rourke announced his candidacy. A group of Texans banded together online to raise money for his newly announced campaign with a “Bet on Beto” and “Lose Cruz” message that brought in over $24,000.
Crowdpac Milestones
April
Arnold Schwarzenegger launches campaign to “Terminate Gerrymandering”
In January, a federal judge ruled that the Wisconsin Legislature (tasked with drawing legislative districts) would have to re-draw them to less blatantly favor one party over the other. The Legislature appealed this ruling to the Supreme Court, which they heard in October.
Arnold Schwarzenegger partnered with Common Cause to launch a campaign on Crowdpac in April, with the goal of raising $150,000 to cover legal fees and advocate for an end to gerrymandering. This case could make gerrymandering unconstitutional nationwide, and Arnold plans to personally match every dollar raised.
July
Rep. Jimmy Gomez wins his special election
On July 11, 2017, Rep. Jimmy Gomez became the first Democrat elected to Congress since Trump took office after winning a special election in California’s 34th District. He started his campaign for former Congressman Xavier Becerra’s seat on Crowdpac.
September
Crowdpac launches billboards in Georgia
30 members of congress were automatically reelected because they didn’t have opponents — meaning that over 21 million citizens were given no choice over their representation in D.C. Unfortunately, many citizens aren’t even aware that they won’t have a choice at the ballot box until it’s too late. So we headed to Georgia, which had 5 uncontested congressional races in 2016 — the most of any state in the nation–to invite citizens to run for office.
November
Crowdpac candidates win big in Virginia and beyond
Over 70 candidates won their races in the November elections after getting their start on Crowdpac, including:
- Danica Roem, the first openly transgender candidate elected to a state house seat in the country, won in Virginia’s 13th District.
- Wilmot Collins, who became the first black mayor in the state of Montana, defeating a four-term incumbent by just 338 votes.
- Elizabeth Guzman (VA-31) and Hala Ayala (VA-51) became the first two Latinas elected to Virginia’s House of Delegates.
- Dr. Dawn Adams (VA-68) has resided in the 68th District for over two decades. This nurse practitioner made history by becoming the first Lesbian woman elected to the House of Delegates.
- Don’t forget that both candidates in Utah’s special election, Democrat Kathie Allen and Republican Representative-elect John Curtis, got their start on Crowdpac.
Cheers to the rest of these fantastic candidates who raised money on Crowdpac and won:
Several organizations played a critical role in November after raising support on Crowdpac and are continuing their efforts into 2018:
Flippable set up Crowdpac pages for what they identified as the most “flippable” districts in the Virginia House of Delegates, raising funds for the eventual democratic nominee in districts where there were primaries. They raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their candidates and sent hundreds of volunteers to knock doors and get out the vote. All of their candidates in Virginia won in November.
Sister District Project created a “Big Blue Tidal Wave” in Virginia and Washington State. The woman-led organization raised their seed funding on Crowdpac before going on to raise over $700k from small-dollar donors and partner organizations, knock on 30k doors, make 80k phone calls, write 40k postcards, and send 185k text messages. They won 14 of 15 races, with their 15th candidate, Shelly Simonds for VA-94, still waiting the outcome of her recount. Sister District Project is looking flip more state legislatures in 2018.
One Vote at A Time raised over $36,000 to fund the filming and distribution of campaign ads for targeted elections in Virginia using an all-female team of directors, cinematographers, and editors. All three of the candidates they supported and made ads for won on Tuesday. Now they are targeting Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in a new campaign.
Spread the Vote & other organizations campaign around Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is another opportunity to act on the values that matter to you. At Crowdpac, we value an open democracy–one where no matter your background, income, race, or gender, your voice can be heard. We took this as an opportunity to lift up some of the fantastic organizations on our platform, like Philly Set Go, The Centrist Project, and Sister District, among others.
Spread the Vote launched their fundraising efforts on Giving Tuesday, and has since raised over $11k. This charity organization is changing lives by helping voters obtain IDs that would otherwise be inaccessible. Their efforts are about more than voting, however — Spread the Vote helps people get the IDs they need to work, to sleep under a roof, get medical care, and more.
December
Crowdpac heads to Philly for a Run for Office Training
In December, Team Crowdpac headed to Philly to help people tackle the single biggest challenge facing candidates when running for office: fundraising. We were joined by candidates and organizations spanning across the political spectrum, who joined us to learn more about how to crowdfund their run for office.
Zach Wahls launches his campaign for Iowa State Senate
Remember the video of the young man from Iowa with two moms? He’s running for office. Zach Wahls launched his campaign for Iowa State Senate before the holidays, and, like the video of his speech to the state legislature, it immediately went viral. Now, he’s less than $5k away from his goal of raising $40,000.
What’s next?
It’s your turn.
No more sitting on the sidelines in 2018.
We’ve made it easier than ever to begin exploring a run for office or to support candidates across the country who are. You can learn more about creating a campaign of your own here.
