FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, October 20, 2025
Contact: press@runforsomething.net
Run For Something Launches Battle Up Strategy
A $50 million, five-year investment to recruit, train, and elect a new generation of young leaders in the states that will shape political power in the years ahead
NEW YORK, NY — Today, Run for Something (RFS) announced its Battle Up strategy, a $50 million, five-year-long initiative to help Democrats build durable local power and prepare multiple paths to victory. The initiative will recruit, train, and elect thousands of millennial and Gen Z candidates to local offices across the South, Sun Belt, and other fast-growing regions that are key to victories in 2026, and critical to determining the balance of power after 2030. The strategy marks a major step for RFS’s long-term mission to transform local leadership pipelines into sustainable, pro-democracy power nationwide.
“We don’t chase maps — we prepare for them,” said Amanda Litman, co-founder and president of Run for Something. “Local investment builds power, but only if we start now. By the time new district lines are drawn after the 2030 Census, we’ll have hundreds of trusted, locally-rooted leaders ready to compete — people who’ve already earned their communities’ trust by solving real problems close to home.”
The Battle Up strategy focuses on filling ballots and building community trust well before new district lines are drawn. RFS’s investment will target three tiers of growth:
- Lift the Bench: Targeted investment in near-term battlegrounds — Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia.
- Grow the Bench: Developing local leaders in emerging growth regions — Utah, Iowa, and Nebraska.
- Battle Up Long Term: Rebuilding deep infrastructure in historically neglected states — Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Idaho.
By cultivating trusted leadership from the bottom up, RFS will soften the ground in the very counties that will shape the post-2030 political map — ensuring the next generation of leaders is ready to win the moment new district lines are drawn.
The Battle Up strategy isn’t starting from scratch—it’s scaling what RFS already does best: recruiting and supporting young leaders, helping them win, and growing local power from the ground up. It’s a model that has already delivered measurable wins and long-term infrastructure, proving that investing locally delivers lasting results.
Since 2017, Run for Something has built the largest pipeline of young, progressive candidates ready to run—more than 230,000 prospective leaders, including 70,000 new recruits in the past year alone. All told, RFS has helped elect more than 1,500 young, diverse leaders in 49 states, including 18 candidates in red-to-blue seats in the 2024 election cycle and five members of Congress. RFS alumni are twice as likely to win as their peers, proving that scaling local leadership isn’t just possible—it’s already happening.
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Run for Something (RFS) recruits and supports young progressive candidates for down-ballot offices. Since its founding, RFS has helped elect nearly 1,500 candidates across the country, including 18 candidates in red-to-blue seats in the 2024 election cycle. Today, RFS has the largest database of any other Democratic organization, with 70,000 people reaching out since November with interest in running for office.