Leaving No Race Uncontested

In 2024, nearly 1 in 5 state legislative districts across the country had no Democratic candidate running on the ticket. This leaves many rural communities without any campaign presence or organizing infrastructure to identify alternatives at the ballot box or in their communities.

In fact, the KFF/AP poll found that negative sentiment alone is not enough to displace the Republican party’s popularity. The poll found 54% of rural voters still identify as Republican, above the national average, while 32% identify as Democrat and 10% identify as independent. When asked which political party would do a better job of addressing the cost of living, Republicans came out on top at 40%, while 27% of voters said they trusted neither party to address the issue, and only 25% of voters preferred the Democratic party.

Since 2016, Every State Blue has sought to close the gap of uncontested races. Founded by three attorneys, including a former CEO of ActBlue, the organization has raised and distributed more than $2 million to Democratic nominees, largely targeting three states—Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.

More money is landing in all Democratic candidates’ bank accounts after Blue Missouri, Blue Ohio and Blue Tennessee began work. In 2020, before the group launched in Ohio and Missouri, 13 Democratic nominees for Ohio state legislature raised less than $5,000 during their entire campaign. In Missouri, eight nominees raised less than $1,000. Last cycle in Tennessee, one out of four Democratic nominees raised less than $5,000.

In total this cycle, 74 Missouri candidates shared an estimated $350,000, 41 Ohio candidates shared $188,000 and 22 Tennessee candidates shared $43,000 distributed by Every State Blue, according to Executive Director Michele Hornish, one of the founders.

“Our mission is to support the people who are running hard in the hardest places,” Hornish says. “We create communities of people that crowdfund for the folks who are running in the reddest, roughest, toughest places.”

Using a “bottom-up bathtub” model, funds get distributed to candidates so that certain funding goals are hit by all candidates, instead of targeting the most competitive races. The most funding goes to those struggling the most financially. 

For example, in 2024, Every State Blue ensured that all Ohio Democratic candidates for state legislature had at least $12,000 or more for their campaigns.

With Every State Blue’s funding pipeline, organizations such as Run for Something and the Ohio and Missouri Democratic parties report an easier time recruiting candidates.

In 2022, 40% of races for the Missouri state legislature were uncontested, according to Hornish. That same year Blue Missouri started its work. The following election cycle, uncontested races fell to 20% and now in 2026, that number has fallen to only 2%.

A similar story unfolded in Ohio. In 2022, 20% of races were uncontested, then 9% in 2024 and now 3% this election.

“We know that running people in otherwise uncontested districts leads to voter turnout,” Hornish says. In 20 states where a challenger was funded at 36 cents per eligible voter, turnout increased 1%, according to a study by Every State Blue and Washington University in St. Louis.

Every State Blue’s own study also shows that having a down-ballot Democrat in the election increased votes cast for the top of the ticket Democrat by 1.5%, multiplying the impact of supporting those candidates. Contested races also lead to increased voter turnout, which traditionally favors Democrats.

Earlier this year, Judy McNeece recalls hearing Jess Piper, the executive director at Blue Missouri, encouraging people to run for State Senator in District 12. The deadline for candidates to file to run was approaching. McNeece, a constituent of that district said she and a friend were discussing the need for someone to step up and run.

“[My friend] said ‘Well, why don’t you do it?’ And it’s like well, I have the time, but I don’t know. I said I’ll wait and see.”

McNeece waited until the final day to file before making the trip to the state capitol and putting her name down as the Democratic candidate for her district.

“Did I know what I was getting myself into? No, I did not.” McNeece says. “Has it been a wonderful experience? Yes, it has.”

Two years ago, Blue Missouri distributed $220,000 to 49 candidates across the state. This year it saw a 59% increase in funding to a 53% increase in candidates.

Blue Missouri has given McNeece nearly $2,000 in donations, according to Missouri Ethics Commission data. The candidate says she has put more than 10,000 miles on her car traveling her district, which includes a large, rural area. She says she used the funds she received from Blue Missouri to get on the radio and reach more people, which leads to more campaign contributions.

“I’m not in it to make any money,” she says. “I just need enough to buy yard signs and make it to the next stop.”

“Progress is progress,” Hornish says. “Rather than consistently focusing only on races that are flippable or competitive, we need to go back to this idea that running everywhere, funding everywhere, fighting everywhere, that has benefits far beyond just flipping the race.”

Hornish’s strategy is to deny Republicans of what she calls “financial flexibility”: forcing the GOP to divert resources to historically red areas that have become more competitive.

Where do donations go?

“For our ‘Blue State’ projects, Blue MO, Blue OH, Blue TN, funding is split 75/25, with 75% going to candidates and 25% to operations,” Hornish says in an email to Barn Raiser. Outside these three states, the organization has set up a First in Line program, which allows visitors to the group’s website to directly support a given state and candidate. Only transaction fees are deducted from First in Line donations.

Not every state has received donations, but some states have seen a few thousand dollars pledged to down-ballot Democrats.

One of those candidates is Amanda Potter, running for South Dakota’s House District 9. Her district comprises western Sioux Falls and includes suburban and rural areas. Early financial support from the First in Line program was vital to her campaign, she says.

Potter, a first-time candidate, used her funds for a first run of fliers and candy for parades she walked in. She described the early financial support like a “shot in the arm” and boost to her morale.

“When you have a group like Every State Blue at the beginning who is willing to say, ‘Yes, you can do this. People do care. And here’s some financial proof.’ [It] means a lot psychologically.”

More than financial support

While the main focus is financial support, Every State Blue also helps build community for candidates who may be the only Democrat on the ballot or who might be running their first campaign.

Every State Blue hosts a monthly call for candidates to introduce themselves and learn from one another. It includes an off the record “mastermind” session for new ideas.

Every State Blue also pairs inspired supporters with volunteer opportunities in their state.

After retiring from a roughly 30-year career in banking, McNeece wanted to settle in rural Missouri. Running her first campaign has been a grueling experience, she says.

“I remember saying at one event, ‘I’m still doing it. I’m terrified, but I’m still doing it,’ ” McNeece says. “But then again, I have all these people coming up to me and just thanking me for running, for giving them a choice.”

In South Dakota, Potter was disappointed with the representation she was getting from her district and the state legislature as a whole. There was an emphasis on culture war issues instead of kitchen table issues, she says. Even though she knew it wouldn’t be easy for a Democrat to run in a red district in a red state, she ran anyway.

“It does feel a bit like a David and Goliath situation sometimes,” Potter, a seminarian graduate, said. “In a way, that keeps me going because David is the hero in this story. Everyone loves an underdog who prevails.”

Clayton StewardMore by this author →

Clayton Steward grew up on 40 acres where the Ozarks and Prairie meet and now works as a writer, photojournalist and adjunct professor based in Kansas City, Missouri. His visual reporting has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and other outlets.