Republican dirty tricks (and what we can do about them)

The good news is that some Democrats are starting to fight back.

Dear MoveOn member, On the bread-and-butter issues like inflation that dominated the 2024 election, Trump is a failure. Household energy bills are up 10%.1 The cost of groceries is surging.2 And prices for some cars are expected to rise nearly 29% for 2026.3 Donald Trump's horrible budget bill—and many of his tariffs—have barely started to trickle through the economy. When they do, they'll make our economic situation even worse. It's looking increasingly likely that—with a free and fair election in the 2026 midterms—Republicans will lose control of the House of Representatives. But MAGA Republicans have already made it clear that they do not support free and fair elections.4 They want to rig the game in their favor. Texas Republicans just rammed through a hyper-partisan gerrymandering scheme to reshape congressional districts in Texas, pack in MAGA voters, and drown out the voices of Democrats.5 What they did is so extreme that the voting rights expert David Daley calls it "gerrymandering Armageddon."6 Texas state legislator Trey Martinez Fischer, a Democrat representing San Antonio, says, "Donald Trump does not want to have an election fair and square … he wants to be the 'commander-in-cheat.' He wants to cheat on America, cheat on democracy, steal these congressional seats."7 And this comes on the heels of extreme partisan redistricting by Republicans in other states. In swing states like Wisconsin and North Carolina (which are nearly 50/50 Republican/Democrat), Republicans have pushed through distorted district maps to lock in outsized power with a minority of votes.8 They know that their agenda of banning books, criminalizing abortion care, and gutting successful programs like Social Security is wildly unpopular with the American people—so instead of changing their policies, they're trying to get ahead by cheating. The good news is that some Democrats are starting to fight back. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature have drawn up five new Democratic districts. If approved by California voters, this has the potential to neutralize the Republicans' power grab in Texas and help Democrats flip five congressional seats.9 While California works to keep maps fair, MoveOn is going ALL-IN to take down the most vulnerable House Republicans across our country in 2026—including members of Congress who won their elections by razor-thin margins in 2024. We've got to be firing on all cylinders NOW to make this happen, and we need grassroots support from MoveOn members like you. Will you donate $5 a month to fund our on-the-ground organizing, including billboards, postcards, and a cross-country rally tour—and all of the other long-term and rapid-response work we're doing to hold Republicans accountable and to flip control of the House in 2026? Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.) No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. With your help, we're going all-in on ... GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING: Our on-the-ground organizing teams are in the most vulnerable districts across the country to hold Republican members of Congress accountable for voting to cut health care and food assistance. BILLBOARDS: We've put up hard-hitting billboards in these districts to make sure everyone there knows that their Republican members of Congress voted to rip away health care coverage from their own community, all to fund even more tax breaks for billionaires. RALLIES: And we've launched our nationwide Won't Back Down tour, which is going into the communities where vulnerable Republicans lied to their constituents and took away their health care. Joined by progressive champions Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Jasmine Crockett, and others, we're talking to thousands of voters to expose Republicans' cruel agenda and record and to ensure they're thrown out of office come election time. We know what we have to do—will you help us get it done? Chip in $5 a month to help flip the House in 2026! Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.) No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. This is not the first time that Republicans have tried dirty tricks to win elections. And history has shown that in spite of their efforts to lie, cheat, and steal their way to victory, we can still prevail. The surest way to beat voter suppression efforts is to out-organize the opposition. When we invest in educating the public, registering new voters, and turning people out to vote, we can overcome even the most aggressive suppression tactics. We've done it before: The record turnout in 2020 and 2022 defeated dozens of voter-suppression efforts. In Georgia, despite draconian new voting restrictions, Black and brown voters organized and turned out in force, flipping the Senate in 2020 and reelecting Senator Raphael Warnock in 2022. MoveOn's 2022 voter outreach program targeted "surge voters" (folks likely to sit out the midterm elections) and helped drive many of them to the polls—contributing to those razor-thin victories that kept election deniers out of power. And, in 2022, we ran the largest relational organizing program in the country, reaching out to over 4 million infrequent voters.10 Because of you and millions of Americans like you, 2022 became the most successful midterm election for a party in power in years. And Democrats took back control of the House of Representatives! History shows that when we come together, we can overcome the GOP's dirty tricks in a critical midterm election like this one. But Republicans are doubling down on their anti-democratic playbook for 2026 and beyond. And we can win only with your early and consistent support. Please, step up right now and turn your outrage into action. Donate $5 a month, or whatever you can, and help us win in 2026! Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.) No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. Thanks for all you do. –Alexis, Mia, Amanda R., Kenia, and the rest of the team Sources: 1. "Trump tariffs and green energy rollbacks push household electricity bills up 10%," The Guardian, August 19, 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/19/electricity-bills-increase-trump 2. "Restaurant sales hit as food prices forecast to keep rising this year," MSN, August 19, 2025 https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/restaurant-sales-hit-as-food-prices-forecast-to-keep-rising-this-year/ar-AA1KNfLx 3. "Kicking the Tires on a New Car? Buy It Now, Experts Say," Newsweek, August 21, 2025 https://www.newsweek.com/kicking-tires-new-car-buy-it-now-experts-say-2117229 4. "Republicans want to rig the midterm elections. Will they succeed?" The Guardian, August 19, 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/19/republicans-midterm-elections 5. "'Commander-in-Cheat': After Texas, Trump's Redistricting Push Goes National," Democracy Now!, August 22, 2025 https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/22/texas_democrats 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. "Threats From Political Minority Rule in Wisconsin and North Carolina," Center for American Progress, December 7, 2023 https://www.americanprogress.org/article/threats-from-political-minority-rule-in-wisconsin-and-north-carolina/ 9. "Newsom Signs California Redistricting Plan to Counter Texas Republicans," The New York Times, August 21, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/us/politics/california-newsom-redistricting-texas.html 10. "The MoveOn Community's Powerful Impact in a Historic Midterm Result," MoveOn, November 17, 2022 https://front.moveon.org/the-moveon-communitys-powerful-impact-in-a-historic-midterm-result/ Want to support MoveOn's work? The Democratic Party needs big change. That's why MoveOn is partnering with Run For Something to recruit, train, and support young, progressive, diverse candidates—including MoveOn members—to run for local and state office all across the country. From town council to mayor's offices to state legislatures and more, our partnership will support candidates who are fighting for a living wage, combatting climate change, investing in affordable housing, and so much more. Will you make a monthly donation to elect young, progressive, and diverse candidates across the country? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Donate: $5 monthly Donate: $15 monthly Donate: $50 monthly Donate another amount monthly Or make a one-time gift PAID FOR BY MOVEON POLITICAL ACTION, https://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. MoveOn Political Action - PO Box 96142, Washington, D.C. 20090-6142. This email was sent to Andra Patterson on August 24, 2025. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, unsubscribe. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from MoveOn, please click here.