53 Candidates. 20 States. One Idea.

What if they worked together?

I told you last week a list was coming.

Every candidate on this list is working hard, raising money, and doing it without selling themselves out to the people who broke this country. None of them is backed by AIPAC or taking corporate PAC money. That was a filter. A lot of them have earned endorsements from Justice Democrats, Our Revolution, Working Families Party, and Bernie Sanders. Some are challenging incumbents. Some are running in open seats. Some are trying to flip Republican districts. All of them are running on a similar agenda.

What is the point of this list?

Individually, I want every one of them to win. But individually there is much less chance that they will transform our system into one that we’re proud to be a part of. If 10 or 15 or even 30 of these folks win but haven’t developed relationships with one another they will go in significantly less powerful than if they were already a bloc. One truism of Nancy Pelosi’s that I believe in my heart are “power isn’t given it’s taken.” and “when you have power you must use it.” Political power grows rather than depletes when it is used for good.

So I am going to be asking candidates to do the hard thing. Work together. Don’t resign yourself in victory to the small offices, committee assignments, and the drumbeat of “big change is impossible”. United they can more easily resist the institutions designed to water down their mandate for change. absorb them.

So I’m trying to figure out how we get there.

What if five of these candidates decided right now, before the end of the month, to do something odd and cross-endorse each other. To commit to a few things together. Demand new leadership for the Democratic Party. Force votes on stripping war powers from this president and Medicare for All. That would be enough to get some attention.

Five people saying that out loud together is news. Ten is a movement. Twenty is a bloc. Thirty or forty candidates going into November having already built relationships, already endorsing each other, already knowing who they’re walking in alongside. That’s something leadership would have to reckon with. You can’t absorb thirty people who show up knowing each other and knowing what they came to do.

I know what you’re thinking. That sounds like the Progressive Caucus.

It isn’t. The Progressive Caucus defends incumbents. It defends leadership. What I’m describing would be different from day one. People who believe they can change and must help build a better Democratic Party. One that more than 30% of Americans want to be part of. If that many people stood together and lifted the voices of so many of us so many Democrats and would-be-Ddemocrats, they’d have some power.

Why those three demands?

New leadership because 74% of Americans, including 55% of Democrats, think congressional Democrats have the wrong priorities.

Stripping war powers because Congress gave that authority away decades ago and no president should have it alone. Least of all this one.

A floor vote on Medicare for All because 65% of likely voters support it as do , 78% of Democrats. Iit would be great to see who stands with Democratic voters once they make it to Congress. Make everyone go on record. Either healthcare is a right or it isn’t.

This is a hard thing to ask these candidates to do. They’re running their own races, working long days, trying to win. Their staff and consultants will tell them it’s a bad idea and a distraction. Asking them to coordinate, to cross-endorse, to take a stand against their own party’s leadership while they’re still trying to get elected, that’s a real ask.

But if people can’t do something different - a bit edgy - now when our very system is threatened, later will be too late, others are hungry for exactly this. They know that the traditional ways aren’t working. That sending even the most talented communicators and hopeful people into a system designed to maintain the status quo won’t work.

A candidate who stands up with four others and says “we’re going in together and we’re going to fight for this together” is going to generate more excitement, more coverage, and more small dollar donations than they would alone. I think it’s an asset, not a liability.

But I can’t just tell them that. I have to show them. I want to run polling in these districts to see if voters there respond to this idea. I want to see if big ideas resonate in these states and districts. That polling, and your support getting it done can help us to build this bloc.

That polling costs money and I’m asking you to help fund it.

This is the first time I’ve made a direct ask. I’m making it because I think this can work and I think we can move fast. Give five dollars. Give fifty. If you’ve got a $100,000 to spare and you believe in this, we’re a super PAC, so we can put it to work. We move independently, without the candidate having to ask, which means we can hit hard and fast.

So please, head to AFightWorthHaving.com. check it out. Sign up. Donate what you can. And share this piece with someone who’s been asking what we do.

Here’s the list. Sorted by primary date. I didn’t link the websites, if I had this email would go straight to spam.

Frederick Haynes, TX-30. Already won his primary. He’s the nominee.

May 2026 Primary

Zachary Shrewsbury, WV-Senate, challenging Republican Shelley Moore Capito.

Denise Powell, NE-02, Open seat.

John Cavanaugh, NE-02, Open seat.

Chris Rabb, PA-03, Open seat. Endorsed by Justice Democrats, Working Families Party, Our Revolution.

Everton Blair, GA-13, primary against 13-term incumbent David Scott

Bob Brooks, PA-07, running to flip an R+1 district.

Carol Obando-Derstine, PA-07, also running to flip PA-07.

Erin Petrey, KY-06, Open seat in R+7 territory.

June 2026 Primary

Saikat Chakrabarti, CA-11, Open seat. Co-founder of Justice Democrats, architect of the Green New Deal. Endorsed by Justice Democrats.

Analilia Mejia, NJ-11, Open seat. Endorsed by Our Revolution and Working Families Party.

Heidi Hall, CA-03, primary against Ami Bera.

Audrey Denney, CA-01, Open seat in R+12 territory.

Angela Gonzales-Torres, CA-34, primary against Jimmy Gomez. Endorsed by Justice Democrats.

Jake Levine, CA-32, primary against Brad Sherman.

Russell Tyler Cleveland, MT-01, Open seat in R+5 territory.

Jay Vaingankar, NJ-12, Open seat.

Randy Villegas, CA-22, running to flip an R+1 district. Endorsed by Our Revolution and Working Families Party.

Rebecca Bennett, NJ-07, running to flip an EVEN district against Thomas Kean Jr.

Sarah Trone Garriott, IA-03, running to flip an R+2 district.

Graham Platner, ME-Senate, challenging Susan Collins. Endorsed by Bernie Sanders.

Ata-Ul-Salaam Bhatti, VA-01, running to flip an R+3 district.

James Lally, NV-03, primary against Susie Lee.

Mo Seifeldein, VA-08, primary against Don Beyer.

Mike Sacks, NY-17, running to flip a D+1 district against Michael Lawler.

Antonio Reynoso, NY-07, Open seat.

Alexander Bores, NY-12, Open seat.

Charles Park, NY-06, primary against Grace Meng.

Dylan Hewitt, NY-21, Open seat in R+10 territory.

Effie Phillips-Staley, NY-17, also running to flip NY-17. Endorsed by Ilhan Omar and Jamaal Bowman.

James Felton Keith, NY-13, primary against Adriano Espaillat.

Michael Blake, NY-15, Open seat.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, NY-13, also running in NY-13. Endorsed by Justice Democrats and Democratic Socialists of America.

Manny Rutinel, CO-08, running to flip an EVEN district. Up eight points in polling.

Melat Kiros, CO-01, primary against Diana DeGette. Beat DeGette 63 to 35 at the Denver county assembly in March. Endorsed by Justice Democrats.

Joseph Reagan, CO-05, running to flip an R+5 district.

Julie Gonzales, CO-Senate, primary against John Hickenlooper.

Mai Vang, CA-07, primary against Mark DeSaulnier. Endorsed by Justice Democrats.

August 2026 Primary

Kshama Sawant, WA-09, primary against Adam Smith.

Cori Bush, MO-01, primary against Wesley Bell. AIPAC spent nine million dollars to beat her in 2024. She’s back.

Donavan McKinney, MI-13, primary against Shri Thanedar. Endorsed by Justice Democrats, Our Revolution, and Working Families Party.

William Lawrence, MI-07, running to flip an EVEN district.

Abdul El-Sayed, MI-Senate, Open seat. Endorsed by Bernie Sanders. Polling at 25% in a three-way race within striking distance.

Justin Pearson, TN-09, primary against Steve Cohen. One point behind in the most recent poll.

Emily Berge, WI-03, running to flip an R+3 district.

Luke Bronin, CT-01, primary against John Larson.

Elijah Manley, FL-20, primary against Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Up three points in polling, with 70% of district voters saying his opponent should resign.

Oliver Adams Larkin, FL-23, primary against Jared Moskowitz.

Christian Urrutia, NH-01, Open seat.

September 2026 Primary

Patrick Roath, MA-08, primary against Stephen Lynch.

Jeromie Whalen, MA-01, primary against Richard Neal.

Beth Andres-Beck, MA-06, Open seat.

That’s 53 people across 20 states. None of them taking AIPAC money. None of them taking corporate PAC money.

I’m not asking you to pick a favorite. I’m asking whether you think they could be more powerful together than any of them are alone. Help me prove it.

This could be a beginning.

Corbin Trent