Pipeline Fund Expands to Three New States to Train Liberal Candidates for Office
The Pipeline Fund, an influential nonprofit organization dedicated to recruiting and training liberal candidates for state legislative and school board positions, is significantly expanding its operations. The group is launching new chapters in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Tennessee, marking a strategic move to bolster Democratic efforts in the upcoming midterm elections. This expansion comes as Democrats seek to leverage President Donald Trump's unpopularity and build durable political power at the state and local levels.
Building Long-Term Political Infrastructure
Founded in 2020 as a spinoff of the larger liberal nonprofit 1630 Fund, the Pipeline Fund aims to organize and support a network of groups focused on training liberal-leaning individuals to run for office. Already active in 14 other states, the fund's growth underscores a renewed Democratic emphasis on cultivating state and local leadership to counter Trump-era policies. This focus has been evident in recent special elections, where Democrats have either outperformed expectations or successfully flipped GOP-held seats.
Denise Feriozzi, co-founder and executive director of the Pipeline Fund, highlighted the importance of this shift in political strategy. "For the first time, for as long as I've been in politics, folks are really understanding that we can't just think about these federal races," Feriozzi said in an interview. "We have to think about this long-term infrastructure that's going to get great leaders to run, help them learn what it takes to govern successfully, and then move them up to higher office."
Notable Successes and Strategic Goals
The Pipeline Fund has achieved several high-profile successes, particularly in Florida, where its state affiliate recruited and trained school board candidates to counter conservative groups like Moms for Liberty. Additionally, the fund has played a crucial role in winning and maintaining state legislative chambers in Virginia and Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, a funded group called LEAD PA has nearly quadrupled its budget and assisted in recruiting or training six state legislative candidates who flipped GOP-held seats, serving as a model for other states.
In Minnesota, the Pipeline Fund aims to have a similar impact ahead of elections where Democrats hope to regain total control of state government. This effort follows violent immigration raids by ICE earlier this year, which have spurred increased interest in political candidacy. Wintana Melekin, executive director of Groundwork Action, the newly formed group in Minnesota, stated, "When our communities are under threat, people don't retreat. We organize. We're ready to channel that energy into building the kind of durable political power that lasts well beyond any single election cycle."
Focus on Breaking Republican Majorities
The expansion into Tennessee and Nebraska targets specific political challenges. In Tennessee, the new chapter will concentrate on recruiting and training candidates to break the Republican supermajority in the state legislature. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, efforts will focus on races in the state's fastest-growing rural counties, aiming to build liberal presence in traditionally conservative areas.
Challenges and Collaborative Efforts
Despite its successes, the Pipeline Fund faces significant obstacles, particularly concerning candidate security. Feriozzi noted that convincing individuals to run for office has become increasingly difficult due to real safety and security threats, including death threats. "It's not easy to get candidates to run right now," she said. "The environment we're seeing is not great — the safety and security threats are real, and so the work it actually takes to convince someone to run is hard."
To address these challenges, the Pipeline Fund collaborates with various existing Democratic and liberal groups, such as Run for Something, EMILY's List, Latino Victory Fund, and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. These partnerships help redirect donor attention from federal races to smaller, impactful state and local contests. Feriozzi emphasized the cost-effectiveness of this approach: "There's hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on federal races. We're using a lot less money. For state senate and school board, a small amount of money can have a really big impact when you find good candidates."
This expansion represents a critical step in the Democratic strategy to build a robust pipeline of candidates for future elections, focusing on grassroots organizing and long-term political development.
