Way to Win

Trying a slightly new format since we've gotten so much positive feedback about Jenifer and Tory - going to be featuring them a bit more. And this format is at the crossroads of stuff that's interesting and our research focus. Check it out this week, anywhere finer podcasts can be downloaded!

Fun episode! Some Democrats are giving us good material to work with, including @abigailspanberger.com this week!

This week we cover @abigailspanberger.com's outstanding and strong SOTU response (see below), some of the hot stuff that @ossoff.bsky.social is slinging in GA, and we catch CA Gov Newsom stepping in some right wing 💩 he can't seem to shake. (we know he can change though) Listen and share now!

YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund Introducing: Who's Got the Juice?🧃 - Charting the Way Forward Ep 58

Introducing: Who's Got the Juice?🧃 We think this will be a semi-regular format, where we get into who is doing great and who is doing, ah, less great in the week, and why. And with more @torygavito.bsky.social and @jenancona.bsky.social!

📺 youtu.be/fm_Aeab0z30
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We are going to need Nuremberg Trials when this is all over.

We completely agree with Greg's take here, this speech was a big shift and a big deal:

Hey, we were just saying something along these lines too. Really a very big deal.

Full transcript: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers Democratic response to State of the Union address Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday.

A copy of the transcript is here. There's lots more to do but this is a significant, long-needed shift. SOTU response is a notoriously tough assignment. Many thanks for and congratulations to Gov. Spanberger, and to the teams and staff that wrote and produced this speech.

Dems are going to be tempted by distractions. But clarity and strength makes moving right on issue positions even more obviously counterproductive. Hard to imagine a line about bathroom bills or which kids can join which sports team in this while the fate of the republic is at stake.

This part - about who benefits from the use of division - is the emotionally persuasive core of the argument. (it might sound familiar) Americans should absolutely be angry it's come to this. She efficiently and effectively paints Trump's egregious corruption as offensive to the founding principles.

YouTube video by MS NOW FULL VIDEO: Gov. Spanberger's Democratic response to Trump's State of the Union address

In just over 13 minutes, last night's @abigailspanberger.com SOTU response was one of the strongest pieces of rhetoric we've seen from a Democrat in the Trump era. "Is the President working for you?" is a powerful, clear way of framing of an argument all the way through to the midterms.

We executed our research with a number of outside firms with the specific goal of near ideological neutrality. We stand by this framing of the Gaza impacts. Whether the DNC releases theirs or not, the first section of our report is worth your time.

chartingthewayforward.substack.com/p/towards-st...

And while most voters didn't express clear ideological arguments (particularly at the issue level), these two did, and explain the contextual narrative for why they found the cautious, avoidant approach the Harris campaign took on this so unpersuasive.

out of whack. With a stronger core narrative addressing voters need for change, the undertow from Gaza might have been at dampened. This under 35 battleground voter was baffled by the seemingly autonomic and uncritical support of Israel's actions by Democrats.

Excited for another round of Autopsy Discourse! We worked super hard in our work to not flatten what we heard from voters on Gaza. For some, certainly, it was as simple as seeing Biden and Harris as pro-genocide. But for many more, it was more of another datapoint that Democratic priorities were -

YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund Expanding Our Imaginations (feat. Amanda Litman) - Charting the Way Forward Ep 57

I got really fired up in this convo with @torygavito.bsky.social and the @waytowinus.bsky.social team about what might be possible during this leadership vacuum on the left and why it's both very scary & very freeing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSv...

POLITICO has the scoop on Valiente Action Fund’s new accountability effort with LUCHA in AZ-01 & AZ-06

Ads here: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

My face shows agony but really its deep appreciation for @runforsomething.net and @amandalitman.bsky.social

Really loved this conversation... great insights, great inspo, great listen!

A lot of our podcasts trend a little nerdy. We try to keep it accessible, but that's our deal, guilty as charged. This one's different. The discussion covers fighting in new terrain, how to escape ideological boxes, even Wicked. Amanda's an incredible leader and thinker. VERY worth your time.

YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund Expanding Our Imaginations (feat. Amanda Litman) - Charting the Way Forward Ep 57

"There is no one in charge anymore." This conversation with @amandalitman.bsky.social about the incredible potential of this moment to reimagine the future is one of the most important conversations we've had. Please listen and share!

📺 youtu.be/_fSvmlDWdKU
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Tough on Crime? What is this, the '90s? (feat. Insha Rahman) Podcast Episode · Charting the Way Forward · 02/12/2026 · 44m

Democrats shouldn't cede the issue of crime and and public safety to republicans, they need to offer solutions that work. Good podcast with @vera.org's @insharahman.bsky.social & @waytowinus.bsky.social's @jenancona.bsky.social

"By June, the Democratic research group Way to Win found that voters responded to messages emphasizing how Trump’s actions, lack of due process for immigrants, and the administration’s refusal to be reined in by the courts were a threat to all of us."

Democrats want to find out why their voters stayed home in 2024 — and how to get them to show up this year The DNC is launching an outreach campaign to win over voters who skipped the 2024 election with a new "listening first approach."

“They weren’t uninformed, right?” @jenancona.bsky.social said of potential Harris voters who stayed home. “They just didn’t like what they heard. So that’s why I feel like it’s so important for any engagement plan to recognize how kind of burned and cynical these voters are.”

tinyurl.com/2s3c793n

Republicans are freaking out about Hispanic voters after a Texas upset Democrats flipped a deep-red state senate district over the weekend that has the party worried about November.

POLITICO: Republicans are freaking out about Hispanic voters after a Texas upset

"Tory Gavito, president of Democratic donor network Way to Win, said she received excited texts from several major donors over the weekend after the win.“

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

And here are the links to the @bostonreview.bsky.social piece -

bsky.app/profile/wayt...

New Short Take on what wealth is for, and how funding science (and the humanities!) isn't just good for a lucky kid like me, it also grows the hell out of the economy for everyone. Inspired by two new scientist friends, @cdelawalla.bsky.social and @markhisted.org and the rally coming up March 7th!

Politico: Immigration takes center stage in New Jersey special election (featuring Quote of the Day from @torygavito.bsky.social)

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Original thread with a summary of the summary here, and thank you for reading and sharing the piece!

We are very excited to be included in this! Direct link to the @jenancona.bsky.social piece here. We spent a lot of '24 talking to voters and found profound alignment with Grumbach and Bonica's approach. We can not keep thinking small. Building a strategy around moderation has failed countless Dems.