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 has led several campaigns promoting mail-in voting and has 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. ^{1 2}

Background and History

Common Power was founded in 2018 as an “all-volunteer” initiative and was formally organized as an organization in 2019 with several staff members. The organization states that it made a “hard pivot” at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to increase remote activism and volunteer opportunities including remote campaigns to register voters in targeted states and recruiting volunteers in Seattle to participate in remote get-out-the-vote and voter registration efforts throughout the nation. ³

In 2020, the organization changed its name from Common Purpose to Common Power, citing an alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement and a goal of rebranding the organization ahead of supporting Democratic candidates in the 2020 elections. ⁴

Political Activity

While Common Power is organized as a nonprofit educational organization, much of the organization’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. ⁵

Political Action Committee

Common Power also operates a political action committee called the Common Power PAC, which is organized as a hybrid PAC/Super PAC also known as a Carey Committee. The PAC reported spending $2.86 million during the 2020 election cycle and $3 million during the 2022 election cycle in support of Democratic campaigns. The PAC also spent a significant amount of its overall spending on administrative expenses. The PAC spent over half of its total expenditures from 2019 to 2020 on salaries, administrative expenses, and “unclassifiable” expenses. It also provided over $200,000 in salary to Common Power executive director Charles Douglas during that time frame. ^{6 7}

Affiliated Organizations

Common Power has listed several left-of-center advocacy groups and political organizations as state-level or national partners in its voter outreach efforts. The group has also listed the Democratic National Committee as a partner as well as state Democratic parties in states where it has helped Democratic candidates. Other partners listed by the organization include the League of Women Voters of Maine, Black PAC, NextGen America, New Virginia Majority, SEIU 1199, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Florida Forward Action, Florida Rights and Restoration Coalition, the New Georgia Project, Indivisible, Mi Familia Vota, Move Texas, and the Harris County Democratic Party. ⁸

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 a series of 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 organization is a project of Public Citizen Foundation, a left of center advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader. ⁹

1. “About.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/about
2. “Purpose to Power.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/purposetopower
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. “About.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/about
6. PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Summary.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/summary/2020
7. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Expenditures 2019-2020.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed February 1, 2023 https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/expenditures/2020
8. “How We Field Work.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/howwefieldwork
9. “About.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://declarationforamericandemocracy.org/about/