About us

Our impact

We have endorsed candidates in 167 races across 18 states, 107 of whom won and have gone on to fight for progressive issues in their state legislatures. We’ve raised $5.78 million in small-dollar donations directly for our candidates, and reached out to over 4 million voters through phones, texts, postcards, and door knocks.

A Message From The Director

Dear friends,

Last November, voters across the country sent an undeniable message to Trump and his MAGA followers: we will not back down. Even before the dust settled, it was clear: Democrats achieved momentous victories where it mattered most—at the state level. 

Democrats ushered in historic trifectas in Michigan and Minnesota, and flipped the Pennsylvania House. We held fast to legislative majorities in Colorado, Nevada, and Washington, made gains in Arizona and Georgia, and won enough seats to protect the Democratic governors’ veto power in Wisconsin and North Carolina. To be sure, Democrats didn’t sweep everywhere. But with abortion and democracy on the line, voters made their voices heard. 

Since our founding in 2016, Sister District has had a laser focus on state legislatures because we understand the outsized impact they have on every issue we care about, from abortion to climate to democracy itself. That’s why we help to win urgent elections each cycle and build Democratic infrastructure for the long term. 

This year, Democrats’ wins at the state legislative level were truly historic, bucking trends from at least the last decade during which a President’s party lost no less than 8% of state legislative seats in battleground states each midterm year. Sister District reached out to more than half a million voters through calls, texts, doors, and postcards, including an average of 74% of our candidates’ total calls to voters.

 

We also raised $1.37m directly for candidates and our community organizing partners. And we maximized these investments by going big and early, raising a median of 14% of our candidates’ total raises, with 84% landing before Labor Day. It worked—34 of our 36 candidates won in 10 states, including 18 candidates with our full suite of support. 

Elections have consequences. These wins will result in policies to protect abortion, defend the climate, strengthen the economy, and more to improve people’s lives. You stepped up, and you made this happen.

We look to the future with confidence and clarity. We will continue to flip, hold, and make inroads in key states every year to put us in the best position for redistricting after the 2030 Census, and to drive downballot turnout to win up and down the ticket, including the next presidential race in 2024. And because elections are just one piece of the puzzle, we will also continue to work with our partners and grow our programs to support the candidate pipeline, frontline lawmakers, community-based organizations, research, and narrative change—all to build enduring power in the states.

We have accomplished so much, and have so much more to do. Whether you are a volunteer, donor, candidate, staffer, or thought partner, thank you for being with us. 

Onwards,

Lala-Sig

Lala Wu
Co-Founder & Executive Director

“Sister District has incredible ability to build up and amplify state legislative races that too often fall below the radar, despite their critical importance in affecting the issues most of our constituents care about. Sister District helped our campaign break through in a very dense election year, and its effectiveness in helping us fundraise nationally cannot be understated.” 

Michelle Au, Representative from Georgia District 50

2022: A year in review

34

of 36 endorsed progressive state legislative candidates (18 full slate candidates and 16 alumni) won

10

states with endorsed candidates

12

community-based partner organizations in 6 different states funded through the State Bridges program

84%

of our dollars raised for candidates before Labor Day to help them build strong voter contact programs

108

active teams and affiliates in 26 states

39

fellowships for rising star organizers

43

partner organizations on field, fundraising, research, candidate training and legislator support programming

11

large-scale studies on voter behavior and broader electoral trends conducted and/or published

$1,372,954

raised directly for candidates and powerbuilding organizations

18,400+

views of our State Power Series virtual events

The fundraising and volunteer phone banking are phenomenally helpful! Because of SDP’s support, I spend a little less time on fundraising phone calls, and I have more time to knock on doors, having conversations with the people in the community. That’s what representation is all about:  being responsive to the people. 

Mitzi Epstein, Senator from Arizona District 12

Slim Vote Margins

State legislative races are often decided by just a handful of votes. Take a look at some of our slim margins:

Melissa Cerrato
63 votes (0.19%)

Brian Farkas
354 votes (1.18%)

Ricky Hurtado
588 votes (2.15%)

Jasmine Clark
900 votes (4.20%)

Who We Supported

Our 2022 Sister District full slate candidate class included:

WOMEN & GENDER MINORITIES 72.2%
CANDIDATES OF COLOR 61.1%
WOMEN & GENDER MINORITIES
72.2%
CANDIDATES OF COLOR
61.1%

Historic Firsts

There are some incredible firsts among our Sister District legislators-elect, including

Dr. Arvind Venkat

Representative from Pennsylvania’s House District 30, is the first Indian American elected to the state house and the only physician in the legislature

Lorena Austin

Representative from Arizona’s House District 9, is the first gender non-conforming Chicanx elected to any state legislature

Darrin Camilleri

Senator from Michigan’s Senate District 4, is the first Maltese American elected to the Michigan senate and the youngest current senator.

Winnie Brinks

Senator from Michigan’s Senate District 29, was unanimously elected first female majority leader of the Michigan Senate

The financial support has literally allowed me to launch my campaign and make it viable. I would NOT be in the position to flip the leg in AZ if it weren’t for Sister District! You make it possible for us to change the political landscape to be inclusive and accountable to the people we serve.

Lorena Austin, Representative from Arizona District 9

Phonebanking

Sister District focuses on phonebanking because, other than canvassing, it is the most effective form of voter contact. And it shows—our passionate and expertly-trained phonebanking army made an astonishing average of 74% of our candidates’ total dials this year, freeing up candidates and staff to talk to more voters at the doors. Every conversation strengthens campaigns on the ground.

We also reach out through postcards, doors, and texts with locally resonant and timely messages to help create a “surround sound” effect that mobilizes voters to action. 

 

Doors

Phones

Texts

Postcards

Total Field Touches

Field

5,644

437,609

84,333*

108,895*

636,481

*Includes SDAN programs

Now in its third year, our National Phonebank enabled our 28 partners this year to leverage our best-in-class training and phonebanking operation to drive more calls to voters in key districts. Our 2022 partners included Arena, DLCC, Vote Save America, Human Rights Campaign, Men4Choice, Run for Something, South Asians for America, Swing Left, and more. Special guests including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jonathan Van Ness, Jason Alexander, Dan Pfeiffer, Piper Perabo, and Martina Navratilova brought their passion and star power to boost attendance by as much as 10x per event.

This year, we achieved:

  • 73% of our candidates’ total dials
  • 630 phonebanks, average of 24 per week from May through Election Day 
  • 1,211 local volunteers recruited
  • 5,663 undecided voters identified
  • 4,270 vote plans made

 

Multi-Year Investments: Building Wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona

The sweeping state legislative victories this year did not happen overnight—they were the result of many years of work by countless organizers, strategists, donors, and volunteers, working towards common goals. This was Sister District’s second midterm year and third election cycle in several key states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. In these states alone, we have raised almost $2.2 million dollars directly for candidates and community-based partners and reached out to more than 1.1 million voters in support of 56 candidates, contributing to 36 legislative victories over the past 6 years, and playing a critical role in delivering this year’s historic victories.

MICHIGAN

  • Total Endorsements: 13
  • Wins: 12
  • Total Dollars*: $466,217.33
  • Total Voter Contacts**: 319,769
  • 2022 Outcomes: Flipped house and senate, delivering trifecta for first time in over 30 years

PENNSYLVANIA

  • Total Endorsements: 29
  • Wins: 16
  • Total Dollars*: $942,094.80
  • Total Voter Contacts**: 477,371
  • 2022 Outcomes: Flipped house for the first time since 2008

ARIZONA

  • Total Endorsements: 14
  • Wins: 8
  • Total Dollars*: $767,440.13
  • Total Voter Contacts**: 312,344
  • 2022 Outcomes: Built momentum & laid groundwork for future flips in house and senate

THANK YOU!

From all of us at Sister District, thank you for dedicating your time to save our democracy, for believing in our candidates, and for working toward a brighter future. As a grassroots organization, we know we are nothing without your endless support and hard work.

Whether you’ve been here since the beginning, donated a dollar here or there, or joined a phonebank this year-we want to thank you! Thank you for dedicating your time to save our democracy, for believing in our candidates, and for working toward a brighter future. Onward to 2023!

Previous Impact Reports: 20212020 | 2019 | 2018

2020 Sister District Summit Group Photo