An obscure nonprofit credited with helping liberal candidates win low-profile but crucial races for state legislative and school board seats is expanding to three new states, potentially providing a boost for Democrats seeking to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s unpopularity in this year’s midterm elections.
The Pipeline Fund, which trains and supports state and local candidates, is launching chapters in Tennessee, Nebraska and Minnesota. A spinoff of the massive liberal nonprofit 1630 Fund, the group launched in 2020, aiming to help organize a mishmash of groups focused on training liberal-leaning people to run for office.
Already active in 14 other states, the fund’s growth is a testament to Democrats’ renewed focus on building state and local power to combat Trump — something that’s been on display in a host of special elections this cycle where Democrats have either wildly outperformed the 2024 elections or flipped GOP-held seats. It also hopefully has longer-term benefits, setting up candidates to run for higher office in the future.
“For the first time, for as long as I’ve been in politics, folks are really understanding that we can’t just think about these federal races,” Denise Feriozzi, the group’s co-founder and executive director, said in an interview with HuffPost. “We have to think about this long-term infrastructure that’s going to get great leaders to run, help them learn what it takes to govern successfully and then move them up to higher office.”
