Anti-trump Former Republicans Have A Multimillion-dollar Plan To Save House Democrats

Anti-Trump former Republicans think Democrats are squandering their chance to flip the House — and they have a $100 million plan to save them.

On the heels of overperformances up and down the ballot this year, the Save America Movement, co-founded by former Lincoln Project founder Steve Schmidt, wants to pour up to $100 million into as many as 60 GOP-controlled House seats ahead of the midterms.

The ambitious strategy for the Democrat-aligned group, shared first with POLITICO, is the group’s first foray into electoral politics after it has spent significant capital protesting President Donald Trump’s return to office, which it deems a fundamental threat to American freedoms.

“The Save America movement was started with the express mission of defeating MAGA, but the electoral side, particularly the 2026 elections, are absolutely critical to that mission,” said Mary Corcoran, co-founder and executive director of SAM.

While its plans are big, SAM is starting small, identifying 10 Republican-controlled House seats it will focus on, spanning Alaska to Florida, according to an internal memo shared with POLITICO.

The seats the group is already targeting range from battleground areas like WI-03 — where Democrat Rebecca Cooke is making another run at unseating GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden after losing narrowly last year — to the solid red MN-08, where GOP Rep. Pete Stauber won by 17 points in 2024.

The high-dollar goal of $50 to $100 million is no easy fundraising task. Asked whether the group would have trouble meeting the figure, Corcoran said “what I can tell you is that the response from donors has been very positive.”

The timing of the launch comes just a week after progressive Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn made a double-digit cut into the GOP’s margin in a deep-red House seat but still came up 9 points shy of victory. That performance followed Democrats making sweeping gains in November’s off-year races, ranging from gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia to two flips on a statewide utility board in Georgia.

“We can't truly break the MAGA movement until these Republican members of Congress are more afraid of their own voters than they are of Donald Trump,” said Brandon Hall, a political adviser for the group.

There will be more districts on the radar soon. Documents shared with POLITICO detailed plans to identify more seats that party-aligned groups have “overlooked,” though many of SAM’s initial targets are also on the DCCC’s Red-to-Blue list. Plus, the DCCC is planning to expand its list soon given recent overperformances, POLITICO reported last week.

One thing SAM will do is spend earlier than the DCCC, which typically starts spending later in the cycle. SAM in pitch documents addressed to donors called the DCCC’s approach an “old, D.C.-driven, ‘play-it-safe’” formula that is “insufficient.” SAM plans to start spending as early as February or March, Corcoran said, with the hopes of shaping political messaging instead of using polling to dictate it.

“Republicans have always been really good about speaking to voters early,” she said. “We need to fill that gap and ensure by the time the candidates are actually campaigning, the voters already have a perspective in their minds about how they're going to vote.”

The DCCC welcomed SAM’s commitment to broadening the House map while defending its “expansive” list of target seats. “The DCCC is on offense, with more pick up opportunities in 2026 than last cycle,” spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement. “As [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries] always says, more is more. We welcome anyone and everyone to help get the People’s House back to work on behalf of everyday Americans, not the billionaires.”

While the group is making a play for dozens of seats next year, Republicans say they aren’t worried.

Mike Marinella, spokesperson for the NRCC, said Democrats’ hopes of expanding the House map was a “daydream,” adding that their primaries are a socialist brawl, their coalition is crumbling, and voters see a party that can’t get anything right."

A version of this article first appeared in POLITICO Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.