NextGen America is a progressive advocacy nonprofit and political action committee created in 2013 by billionaire hedge fund manager

Tom Steyer Thomas Fahr Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and ...

. The group mobilizes young voters on issues including climate, health care, reproductive freedom, immigration, and equality. Since its founding, the 501(c)(4) organization has registered 1.3 million voters, and contacted millions of young people with messages encouraging them to vote.

History

Businessman

founded NextGen America (originally called NextGen Climate) in 2013, and stepped down as president after announcing his presidential bid in 2019.

2014 election cycle

NextGen America's political arm, super PAC NextGen Climate Action Committee, began lending support to candidates in 2013. In the 11 most competitive 2014 U.S. Senate elections, NextGen Climate Action Committee spent slightly more than $19 million to support Democratic candidates, making it the seventh-biggest spender amount outside groups.Ian Vandewalker,
Election Spending 2014: Outside Spending in Senate Races Since Citizens United
', Brennan Center for Justice (2015), p. 8 They backed Democrat

Edward Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representat ...

in the special election to fill Secretary

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

's Senate seat, as well as Democrat

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

in the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

race for governor against Republican

Ken Cuccinelli Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, h ...

. Markey and McAuliffe both won. The super PAC was a contributor in the 2014

midterm election Apart from general elections and by-elections, midterm election refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders (e.g. governor, members of local council) in the middle of the term ...

s, targeting demographics believed to be most likely to vote based on environmental concerns. U.S. senate races in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

were targeted in an effort to help Democrats maintain their majority in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. The super PAC also supported gubernatorial candidates in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

2016 election cycle

In 2016, NextGen supported candidates who pledged to enact an energy policy that would lead to a shift to 50% renewable energy use in the U.S. by 2030, and 100% by 2050. In April 2016, it launched a campaign to register voters on college campuses in seven political battleground states. NextGen spent over $25 million in seven key battleground states during the 2016 election, contributing to Democratic gains at the federal and state levels, including

Catherine Cortez Masto Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Nevada, a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Cortez Masto served as the 32nd ...

's successful senate bid in Nevada and

Maggie Hassan Margaret Coldwell Hassan (; née Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from New Hampshire. A Democrat, Hassan was elected to the Senate in 2016 while serving as the 81st ...

's successful Senate campaign in New Hampshire.

2017 Virginia elections

In 2017, NextGen America spent $3.3 million in the Virginia statewide elections, contributing to a record number of young voters turning out to cast a ballot.Joe Garofoli
Virginia victories show Tom Steyer's best role may be behind the scenes
''San Francisco Chronicle'' (November 9, 2017). The group spent most of the funds on grassroots organizing, with a focus on college students and other young voters, new immigrant voters, and working-class/labor voters, in support of Democratic gubernatorial nominee

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and other Democratic candidates.

2018 election cycle

In the 2018 election, Steyer aimed to flip the House, targeting Republican incumbents and setting a goal of impeaching impeach Donald Trump. NextGen said that it was targeting the

millennial generation Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 20 ...

; in a humorous ad on

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

2018, NextGen video asked mothers not to let their children become Republicans. During the 2018 election cycle, Steyer spent at least $123 million. Of this, $33 million went to the youth voter mobilization initiative NextGen Rising; $40 million went to the Need To Impeach initiative, $30 million went to clean energy

ballot initiatives In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

in Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada; $10 million went to the Need to Vote initiative; and $2.2 million went to the NextGen Climate Action super PAC, which worked in support of 22 House Democratic candidates and 4 Senate Democratic candidates.Angel Au-Yeung
How Billionaire Tom Steyer's $123 Million Helped Democrats In The Midterms
''Forbes'' (November 9, 2018). Of the 22 House Democrats supported by NextGen Climate Action, 59% won. The group spent funds in Florida and California, and Virginia, among other places. The Steyer-backed clean energy initiatives won in Michigan and Nevada, but lost in Arizona.

2019 election cycle

In 2019, NextGen committed over $1M to registering and turning out young voters across Virginia in the statewide elections. NextGen is also running voter contact and registration programs in 10 other states in 2019, including

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, and

2020 election cycle

NextGen registered more than 20,000 young voters in preparation for the 2020 election cycle. The organization mobilized a historic number of young voters to flip the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, Senate, to protect the Democratic majority in the House, and to create Democratic trifectas at the state level.

References

{{Reflist Organizations based in California Climate change organizations based in the United States Liberalism in the United States 2013 establishments in California Organizations established in 2013 Progressive organizations in the United States