Way to Win
@waytowinus.bsky.social
A power network of organizers, activists and donors. We're here to upend politics as usual with research, intelligence and strategic action from across the winning diverse Democratic coalition. Listen to our new podcast, Charting the Way Forward!
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Way to Win
@waytowinus.bsky.social
· Nov 13
The next phase of the imagination battle begins now
After seven years of work, last Tuesday’s election was not the outcome we hoped for.
open.substack.com
Good morning friends. Some common sense:
50 years of predatory capitalism x
Recent price shocks x
Broken media environment x
Campaign & Dems failure to tell a clear story about why things still feel bad
... led to the result we saw. It wasn't Latinx. Our first take at a theory of what happened.
50 years of predatory capitalism x
Recent price shocks x
Broken media environment x
Campaign & Dems failure to tell a clear story about why things still feel bad
... led to the result we saw. It wasn't Latinx. Our first take at a theory of what happened.
FANTASTIC conversation with @melodyoliphant.bsky.social of the @georgiayouthco.bsky.social and how the wild election results two weeks ago looked from the ground. First state level win for Dems in GA since 2006!
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vIN...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vIN...
400K GEORGIA BLOWOUT!!! (feat. Melody Oliphant) - Charting the Way Forward Ep 48
YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund
www.youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:20 PM
FANTASTIC conversation with @melodyoliphant.bsky.social of the @georgiayouthco.bsky.social and how the wild election results two weeks ago looked from the ground. First state level win for Dems in GA since 2006!
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vIN...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vIN...
Reposted by Way to Win
You should read this.
JUST POSTED: Everyone Is Wrong, our response to the recent series of arguments that – based on the hypothesis that Harris lost and Dems underperformed in 2024 due to (summarizing broadly) voters’ perceptions that Dems are too far left – Democrats need to move right to win.
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 AM
You should read this.
“We don’t need to all be rowing in the same boat, but at least rowing towards the same direction,” Tory Gavito, president of the donor network Way to Win, said of Democrats in late September.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
Democrats spent a year at rock bottom. Have they learned any lessons?
It’s been a long year of arguments, wisdom-mongering and profanity for the professional left and its allies.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:35 PM
“We don’t need to all be rowing in the same boat, but at least rowing towards the same direction,” Tory Gavito, president of the donor network Way to Win, said of Democrats in late September.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
Reposted by Way to Win
There's no problem Vance won't blame on immigrants, even if he has to invent the problem himself.
A few weeks ago he was insisting immigrants lived in cramped squalor and their (white) neighbors had a right to be upset about that.
Now they're so rich they're snatching up all the good houses? OK.
A few weeks ago he was insisting immigrants lived in cramped squalor and their (white) neighbors had a right to be upset about that.
Now they're so rich they're snatching up all the good houses? OK.
JD Vance: "A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens."
November 13, 2025 at 11:14 PM
There's no problem Vance won't blame on immigrants, even if he has to invent the problem himself.
A few weeks ago he was insisting immigrants lived in cramped squalor and their (white) neighbors had a right to be upset about that.
Now they're so rich they're snatching up all the good houses? OK.
A few weeks ago he was insisting immigrants lived in cramped squalor and their (white) neighbors had a right to be upset about that.
Now they're so rich they're snatching up all the good houses? OK.
Reposted by Way to Win
I want to repost this in the sky, humongous.
Just one example of the thinking we'd like to see change. These ads got around $4M each in AZ and OH. Party brands are open source. Everyone gets a say. But it's possible the image of the party might improve if we stop spending millions of dollars each cycle telling voters how wrong we are.
November 13, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I want to repost this in the sky, humongous.
Reposted by Way to Win
Not only did key allies of the regime lose top races in New Jersey and Virginia, Americans rebuked his party in “local races – school board, city council, mayor, county – across the country,” as @simonwdc.bsky.social wrote. “Simply, Trump has been a terrible, terrible leader and people are pissed.”
new from @tusk81.bsky.social:
For months now, polling has been clear: "Americans have only been growing more and more outraged at Donald Trump’s disastrous agenda, including on immigration."
And last week’s elections drove that message home.
For months now, polling has been clear: "Americans have only been growing more and more outraged at Donald Trump’s disastrous agenda, including on immigration."
And last week’s elections drove that message home.
Voters Send Clear Message: Enough Is Enough
“Simply, Trump has been a terrible, terrible leader and people are pissed."
americasvoicecnn.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Not only did key allies of the regime lose top races in New Jersey and Virginia, Americans rebuked his party in “local races – school board, city council, mayor, county – across the country,” as @simonwdc.bsky.social wrote. “Simply, Trump has been a terrible, terrible leader and people are pissed.”
Reposted by Way to Win
By the way! The basic point I make here is made in much more depth, with more quantitative rigor, in this Way to Win post. (Way to Win quite obviously has the best of this argument & yet they have trouble getting any attention or traction among MSM outlets. Odd, that. Quite odd. The oddest. Hmmm.)
JUST POSTED: Everyone Is Wrong, our response to the recent series of arguments that – based on the hypothesis that Harris lost and Dems underperformed in 2024 due to (summarizing broadly) voters’ perceptions that Dems are too far left – Democrats need to move right to win.
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:36 PM
By the way! The basic point I make here is made in much more depth, with more quantitative rigor, in this Way to Win post. (Way to Win quite obviously has the best of this argument & yet they have trouble getting any attention or traction among MSM outlets. Odd, that. Quite odd. The oddest. Hmmm.)
Way To Win President Tory Gavito on the supposed Latino "realignment" of 2024: "...Trump is a unique beast who was able to persuade Latinos that he has their interests at heart. In the last 11 months, he’s done everything but think about Latinos’ interests.”
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Trump built a surprising voter coalition. One key piece just cracked.
Republicans could not recreate the president's coalition in last week's off-year elections.
www.politico.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Way To Win President Tory Gavito on the supposed Latino "realignment" of 2024: "...Trump is a unique beast who was able to persuade Latinos that he has their interests at heart. In the last 11 months, he’s done everything but think about Latinos’ interests.”
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
A few clips regarding the perfection of the Harris campaign. These are from focus groups of 2020 Biden voters that skipped 2024. April 2025 with Lake Research. The economic message-overwhelmingly focused on tax cuts ($289.7M in ads at the Pres level)-didn't land for this voter, even at a rally.
November 13, 2025 at 2:18 AM
A few clips regarding the perfection of the Harris campaign. These are from focus groups of 2020 Biden voters that skipped 2024. April 2025 with Lake Research. The economic message-overwhelmingly focused on tax cuts ($289.7M in ads at the Pres level)-didn't land for this voter, even at a rally.
Reposted by Way to Win
❤️this:
“fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks”
open.substack.com/pub/charting...
@waytowinus.bsky.social thank you!
“fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks”
open.substack.com/pub/charting...
@waytowinus.bsky.social thank you!
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:41 AM
❤️this:
“fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks”
open.substack.com/pub/charting...
@waytowinus.bsky.social thank you!
“fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks”
open.substack.com/pub/charting...
@waytowinus.bsky.social thank you!
JUST POSTED: Everyone Is Wrong, our response to the recent series of arguments that – based on the hypothesis that Harris lost and Dems underperformed in 2024 due to (summarizing broadly) voters’ perceptions that Dems are too far left – Democrats need to move right to win.
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
JUST POSTED: Everyone Is Wrong, our response to the recent series of arguments that – based on the hypothesis that Harris lost and Dems underperformed in 2024 due to (summarizing broadly) voters’ perceptions that Dems are too far left – Democrats need to move right to win.
Reposted by Way to Win
"Sometimes strategic debates are overtaken by events..." Like winning from the boroughs of NYC to the red hills of Georgia!
JUST POSTED: some thoughts about the arguments of the past few weeks, Tuesday's election results, and where we are headed from here.
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:22 PM
"Sometimes strategic debates are overtaken by events..." Like winning from the boroughs of NYC to the red hills of Georgia!
Reposted by Way to Win
Here's the formula, folks:
"Much of what we have learned and communicated validates the approach that won in 2025: fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks."
"Much of what we have learned and communicated validates the approach that won in 2025: fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks."
JUST POSTED: some thoughts about the arguments of the past few weeks, Tuesday's election results, and where we are headed from here.
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Here's the formula, folks:
"Much of what we have learned and communicated validates the approach that won in 2025: fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks."
"Much of what we have learned and communicated validates the approach that won in 2025: fight not fold, focus on affordability, make a populist argument that names the villains, and respond to cultural attacks."
"These decisions have both moral and political consequences. The thinking Democrats are using to make these decisions has to change."
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:49 PM
"These decisions have both moral and political consequences. The thinking Democrats are using to make these decisions has to change."
JUST POSTED: some thoughts about the arguments of the past few weeks, Tuesday's election results, and where we are headed from here.
Everyone Is Wrong
The Way To Win Is Strength, Not Moderation. The 2025 Winners Proved It.
chartingthewayforward.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:35 PM
JUST POSTED: some thoughts about the arguments of the past few weeks, Tuesday's election results, and where we are headed from here.
JUST POSTED: new Charting ep with Diana Valles, President of the legendary @culinary226.bsky.social union. It's going to take a lot of collective power to build an economy with better options than hoping to hit a jackpot in Vegas:
📺 youtu.be/hDPgvpUHn1Q?...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 youtu.be/hDPgvpUHn1Q?...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
"Hopefully I'll Get Another Jackpot" (feat. Diana Valles and NV Voters) - Charting Ep 46
YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 6:24 PM
JUST POSTED: new Charting ep with Diana Valles, President of the legendary @culinary226.bsky.social union. It's going to take a lot of collective power to build an economy with better options than hoping to hit a jackpot in Vegas:
📺 youtu.be/hDPgvpUHn1Q?...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 youtu.be/hDPgvpUHn1Q?...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
This is the approach Sherrod Brown should have taken, both morally and politically.
Please note this: Raising the "salience" of immigration actually worked in Dems' favor in one of the most important swing counties in the country. This is more grist for the idea that attacking Trump is succeeding among the nonwhite working class (see thread below).
November 6, 2025 at 6:06 PM
This is the approach Sherrod Brown should have taken, both morally and politically.
Reposted by Way to Win
Sharing this again because when Way to Win surveyed people who voted for Biden in 2020 and did not vote at all in 2024, "too far to the left" wasn't their critique.
Good morning friends, here's the first writeup of our poll. We'll have more about the details we're excited about and our podcast interview with Celinda - the genius pollster we worked with - posted shortly, so stay tuned!
EXCLUSIVE: Democratic voters who skipped the 2024 election favor candidates like Bernie Sanders and AOC. Polling shows they believe inequality is at the heart of America’s problems and health care should be available to everyone.
November 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Sharing this again because when Way to Win surveyed people who voted for Biden in 2020 and did not vote at all in 2024, "too far to the left" wasn't their critique.
Last week was a bit of a blur - we got the ep up but not the post, so: NEW FOCUS GROUP SOUND on this week's Charting the Way Forward!! We had on @caseyclowesaz.bsky.social and checked in with voters in AZ and NV - 🧵
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1S...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1S...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
¡El Macho💪🏽Populismo💰Es Muerte☠️! (feat. Casey Clowes and AZ Voters)
YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund
www.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Last week was a bit of a blur - we got the ep up but not the post, so: NEW FOCUS GROUP SOUND on this week's Charting the Way Forward!! We had on @caseyclowesaz.bsky.social and checked in with voters in AZ and NV - 🧵
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1S...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1S...
🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Reposted by Way to Win
Every word of this piece by @davekarpf.bsky.social. Democrats are not going to win by nominating more "moderates" who spout only focus group-tested pablum. We need to figure out ways to break through an increasingly rigged communications environment to catch voters attention. 1/
"We didn’t get here because Democrats failed to talk about “kitchen-table issues” on the campaign trail. We got here because Democrats believed talking about kitchen-table issues was the only thing they needed to do," writes @davekarpf.bsky.social. newrepublic.com/article/2023...
Why Centrist Democrats Keep Being Wrong About Elections
A new 60-page report insists the party is too radical. But the problem isn’t the party platform. The problem is the broader environment.
newrepublic.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Every word of this piece by @davekarpf.bsky.social. Democrats are not going to win by nominating more "moderates" who spout only focus group-tested pablum. We need to figure out ways to break through an increasingly rigged communications environment to catch voters attention. 1/
Reposted by Way to Win
This podcast from @waytowinus.bsky.social also points out the flaws in the NYT argument. We need candidates who fit their constituencies and can convince voters that they will fight for desperately needed change, not just centrist retreads. 2/ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
This NYT Editorial Didn't Age Well and It's Only Been Three Days
Podcast Episode · Charting the Way Forward · 10/23/2025 · 55m
podcasts.apple.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:13 PM
This podcast from @waytowinus.bsky.social also points out the flaws in the NYT argument. We need candidates who fit their constituencies and can convince voters that they will fight for desperately needed change, not just centrist retreads. 2/ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
“The Chicago stuff should be more than a canary in the coal mine,” said @torygavito.bsky.social. “This administration is using extreme enforcement measures to distract from the fact that housing is still just too damn expensive, our rent is still too expensive.”
apnews.com/article/lati...
apnews.com/article/lati...
Progressive groups launch $1.4 million campaign to win back Latino voters from Trump
Progressive groups are launching an effort to reconnect with Latino voters to regain support in places where President Donald Trump has made inroads.
apnews.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
“The Chicago stuff should be more than a canary in the coal mine,” said @torygavito.bsky.social. “This administration is using extreme enforcement measures to distract from the fact that housing is still just too damn expensive, our rent is still too expensive.”
apnews.com/article/lati...
apnews.com/article/lati...
Reposted by Way to Win
Surrendering to the demands of the anti-vaccine war on science sure stopped their war on science!
The "partisans" (so many questions) are not wrong, moving to the center is not the Way to Win, and hello @nytimes.com Ed Board. Apparently we are at the phase of responding to an argument without responding to the actual argument. Our first time being subeditorialized! Fun.
🤩🧵
🤩🧵
October 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Surrendering to the demands of the anti-vaccine war on science sure stopped their war on science!
Ahahahaha
October 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Ahahahaha
Reposted by Way to Win
worked for kamala, can't argue with results
The "partisans" (so many questions) are not wrong, moving to the center is not the Way to Win, and hello @nytimes.com Ed Board. Apparently we are at the phase of responding to an argument without responding to the actual argument. Our first time being subeditorialized! Fun.
🤩🧵
🤩🧵
October 23, 2025 at 1:24 AM
worked for kamala, can't argue with results