Progressive Majority was an American
political action committee that recruited, trained, and campaigned on behalf of
progressive
Progressive may refer to:
Politics
* Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform
** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context
* Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
politicians for state and local offices. Founded in 2001, the group's stated mission is "to elect progressive champions."
Overview
When founded, Progressive Majority assisted progressive candidates in both state and federal elections. After one election cycle, the organization decided to focus on down-ballot races in order to build a pipeline or farm team of progressive candidates for higher office. In order to receive the backing of Progressive Majority, prospective candidates must receive a 100 percent score on a forty-item questionnaire that tests their commitment to "economic justice and civil rights, including gay rights, public education, universal healthcare, environmental protection and abortion."
Offices were opened in Washington, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in 2004, and the organization expanded to Colorado and Arizona in 2005. The California office opened in 2006, and offices opened in Minnesota and Ohio in 2007. Progressive journalist
John Nichols of ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' credited Progressive Majority with helping the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
achieve state legislative victories in 2006.
Progressive Majority, before being acquired by
Wellstone Action
re:power, formerly Wellstone Action (stylized in all lowercase), is a 501(c)(4) progressive advocacy organization founded by longtime political operative Jeff Blodgett. Based in Minnesota, it trains community organizers, student activists, campaig ...
collaborated, among others but chiefly with
Democracy for America
Democracy for America (DFA) is a progressive political action committee, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of pub ...
. It was a partner of
America Votes America Votes is a 501(c)(4) organization that aims "to coordinate and promote progressive issues." America Votes leads national and state-based coalitions to advance progressive policies and increase voter turnout for Democratic Party candidates.
...
and had received some funding from
Democracy Alliance.
References
{{reflist
External links
Progressive Majority's official websiteProgressive Majority on OpenSecrets.org
Organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 1999
United States political action committees
Progressive organizations in the United States
1999 establishments in the United States