Common Power is a left-of-center political organizing group founded in 2018 as Common Purpose that promotes left-of-center issues and partners with other advocacy groups to support Democratic campaigns across the United States. The organization is based in Seattle and operates organizing campaigns with an emphasis on the Pacific Northwest. The group is described as the parent organization of the multiple organizations operating under the Common Power umbrella with Common Power Future acting as the educational and organizing arm, the Common Power PAC funding Democratic and left-of-center political campaigns and ballot initiatives, Common Power acts as the political advocacy arm and parent organization of other groups. ¹

Common Power and its affiliates have led several campaigns promoting mail-in voting and have supported left-of-center election administration policy through the Declaration of American Democracy coalition. Listed partners of the organization include the Democratic National Committee, SEIU 1199, the League of Women Voters, and NextGen America. ^{2 3}

Background

Common Power was granted tax-exempt status in 2023 and was formed to operate as the advocacy arm of the Common Power group of organizations. The group was initially formed in 2018 and consisted of a charitable educational arm originally called Common Purpose and now called Common Power Future, and a political action committee, the Common Power PAC. ⁴  

Common Power Future is organized as a charitable organization while Common Power is a lobbying and advocacy organization. While public tax and financial records exist for Common Power Future, which generated nearly $2 million in revenue in 2021, Common Power was granted tax exempt status in February 2023 and no records were available for the organization as of December 2023. ^{5 6}

Common Power was founded by Charles Douglas, a former brand manager at Starbucks where he worked on a variety of projects for the company including leading an e-commerce site. His wife Larcy Douglas also works for Common Power as the director of finance and the executive director of Common Power Future. ^{7 8 9 10}

Activities

In 2023, Common Power executive director Charles Douglas wrote an article for the Harvard Advanced Leadership initiative Social Impact Review titled “Next Steps in Our Post-COVID Political World: A Blueprint for Blue-State Organizations.” In the piece Douglas stated Common Power and its affiliated organizations’ commitment to electing Democratic candidates and flipping states and districts from Republican to Democratic control. Douglas stated that “political organizations headquartered in blue states owe it to fellow citizens to invest in red states and purple states.” He also urged Democrats in blue states to devote time and money to flipping Republican state legislatures including North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Iowa. ¹¹

Much of Common Power’s work is centered around explicitly supporting Democratic candidates in competitive congressional and statewide elections. The organization has reported providing support to Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Kentucky as well as U.S. Senate candidates in Arizona and Nevada. The group also supported other Democratic state-level and congressional campaigns. ¹²

Declaration for American Democracy

Common Power is a member of the Declaration for American Democracy, a coalition of left-leaning activist groups that advocates for governmental and electoral administration policy changes. The coalition supports Congressional legislation that would enact several left-leaning policy priorities surrounding elections including enacting automatic voter registration and placing restrictive regulations on political campaign-related speech acts. The coalition is a project of Public Citizen Foundation, a left-of-center advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader. ¹³

1. “Donate.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://commonpower.org/donate
2. “About.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/about
3. “Purpose to Power.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/purposetopower
4. “Purpose to Power.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/purposetopower
5. “Donate.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://commonpower.org/donate
6. “Common Power.” ProPublica. Accessed December 15, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/872832368
7. “About.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023, 2023. https://commonpower.org/about
8. “Larcy Douglas.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023.  https://commonpower.org/larcy
9. Douglas, Charles and Domke, David. “Next Steps in Our Post-COVID Political World: A Blueprint for Blue-State Organizations.” Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Social Impact Review. April 1, 2023. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.sir.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/articles/next-steps-in-our-post-covid-political-world
10. “@3dcharles.” Instagram Post. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdvL6AHrJr/?hl=en
11. Douglas, Charles and Domke, David. “Next Steps in Our Post-COVID Political World: A Blueprint for Blue-State Organizations.” Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Social Impact Review. April 1, 2023. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.sir.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/articles/next-steps-in-our-post-covid-political-world
12. “About.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/about
13. ^[1] “About.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://declarationforamericandemocracy.org/about/