Force Multiplier began as a group of about a dozen people in the Boston area shortly after the election of 2016. We wanted to find ways to check the power of Donald Trump and the Republicans and decided our best chance was to flip the House in the 2018 Midterms. We identified Democratic candidates that data suggested could beat Republican incumbents if they were sufficiently funded. We held gatherings with these candidates and invited everyone we knew...and some we didn't.
We talked with friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues and found the power of YOU X ME = DEMOCRACY. Every conversation led to another and we began to create a Force for change.
It worked!
This is the impact!
We helped send 14 Democrats to Washington in 2020.
Holding the House:
It took a historic Blue Wave of Democratic voters to squeak out close wins in many of the 40 districts that flipped in 2018, including 13 of the 15 races that we supported.
During the 2019-2020 cycle, we raised $1.2m for our House candidates. In a year in which the Democrats lost 11 seats, we helped defend 11 and flip one, helping to preserve the majority.
Flipping the Senate:
We raised $2.8m for nine Senate candidates, seven of them in states Trump won in 2018. In a hyper-partisan election we helped flip three seats and gain narrow control of the Senate.
Ensuring that People Can + Do Vote:
We raised $2.2m to mobilize voters and protect the vote. We supported voter empowerment efforts through the Movement Voter Project, supporting more than 60 locally led grassroots groups in seven key states: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. The five states that flipped in the Presidential election were in this group, as were the three seats that flipped to give us control of the Senate.
Our voter protection work with Fair Fight and the DSCC Legal Fund also helped make sure there was strong turnout in the face of the pandemic and aggressive voter suppression.
In addition, we worked directly with groups on local initiatives to erect 20 Safe Haven Voter Protection tents in North Carolina, raise 28 voter information billboards in rural southern states, pay the fines and fees of 112 Florida returning citizens and restore their voting rights .
We're proud of how we came together at a critical moment in our history + made a difference.
We’re proud that our work helped Democrats win the White House and run competitively in historically red districts. Win or lose we believe that our investments in these races will pay dividends in future elections.
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
"Wow! Whoever chose the races to focus on might have been spot-on, but it’s only because of all the work everyone did! What a demonstration of the concentrated energy a group can do." BAMBI G, BROOKLINE, MA
"Thank you for your extraordinary efforts. The country is better and safer for those efforts…I gave to candidates I wouldn't have known about as a result, and advocated for them with friends and family. Your efforts are one of the best examples of democracy and patriotism I can think of."
A BOSTON CONTRIBUTOR