North Carolina: The Key to Democratic Control—and the Future of Our Democracy
North Carolina is a true swing state, and poised to play a critical role in the 2026 midterms. In 2024, it was the only state where Democrats gained two statewide offices. Today, we hold the governorship, lieutenant governorship, attorney general, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction. We also won a critical state Supreme Court seat—by just 734 votes—despite GOP attempts to throw out thousands of ballots.
While Trump carried the state, North Carolina shifted Republican by a lower margin than any other swing state. In 2024, gerrymandering gave Republicans 10 congressional seats. Under fairer maps in 2022, Democrats won 7 seats. Those three stolen seats cost Hakeem Jeffries the speaker’s chair.
What we see ahead:
- Former Governor Roy Cooper is running for the Senate. With our support, he can flip that seat.
- Senator Ted Budd (R) will be even more vulnerable in 2028.
- Democrats could regain control of the NC Supreme Court in 2028 — if we hold Justice Anita Earls’s seat in 2026.
- North Carolina’s population growth makes gerrymandered legislative seats winnable cycle by cycle.
Our accomplishments of the past two years:
- We’ve raised $4 million for grassroots groups and candidates.
- Our volunteers have placed 1.25 million calls to recruit in-state volunteers and get out the vote.
- Our membership sent 202 canvassers to Mecklenburg County.
Our focus in this cycle:
- Building power in five key counties north and east of Raleigh, home to nearly half of NC’s swing legislative seats and the only 2026 swing congressional district (Don Davis, D-1, won by 1.5%; his district heavily overlaps many key legislative seats).
- Boosting turnout in Mecklenburg County, which has the largest pool of under-voting Democrats.
- Supporting new progressive media infrastructure. Helping groups build a new media infrastructure in the state, including
- Developing our side’s ability to recruit, train and amplify the voices of compelling working-class storytellers,
- Providing content for local media, and
- Training groups and candidates to speak more effectively to working-class voters, whom Democrats have too often abandoned.
Post-2030 redistricting could give NC an extra House seat and electoral vote. The stakes keep rising.
Please join us.
Invest in Powerful Stories to Win in North Carolina
We believe that the key to winning elections in this state is to focus on messaging. We are helping to scale up communications efforts now to allow disaffected voters, moderates, and Republicans to hear hundreds of stories about how extreme Republican policies have harmed their neighbors and their communities.
Donations will go to Progress NC Action, which will hire staff to lead a statewide collaborative effort to expand the number of people who can tell their stories compellingly on social and other media and in their communities. The project will create a video story bank, train organizations in more effective communications, and build a new coalition of groups to compete with the Right-Wing Propaganda Machine locally and statewide.
With your support, North Carolina can fully embrace storytelling as a way to give a voice to those who have been harmed and to defeat far-right candidates in 2026 and beyond. You can donate to the storytelling effort here.
About Us
We are an all-volunteer and mostly out-of-state organization. We work closely with many North Carolina grassroots community and civic organizations, the state and county Democratic Parties, and key Democratic elected officials and candidates. These North Carolinians know the terrain, have boots on the ground, and help direct our efforts. Our work includes fundraising, phonebanking, postcard writing, and canvassing.
Our leadership is based primarily in Massachusetts and New England, but spans both coasts and includes an outpost in Europe. We have a growing number of North Carolinians working with us. Almost all of our work, programs, and events are virtual. An exception is our canvassing program, for which we recruit volunteers to travel to North Carolina to knock on doors and talk to voters. To sign up for our newsletter, please fill out the form on this page.
We are governed by a steering committee, and we welcome volunteers from anywhere. If you would like to explore volunteer leadership opportunities or join our team, please fill out our Contact Us form.
For more information or with questions, comments, or suggestions, please email us at mafornc@gmail.com