DemocracyFIRST is a political advocacy organization that focuses on the electoral process. It awards grants to left-of-center “pro-democracy organizations” such as Promote the Vote and Future Forward USA Action, organizes events with academic speakers who claim that democracy is being threatened, and promotes the democracyFIRST Promise that calls for candidates at the national and state levels to make a pledge to support election integrity with left-of-center approaches. ^{1 2}

Background

DemocracyFIRST is a political advocacy organization founded in 2021 to “confront the anti-democracy movement in America” and to “defeat authoritarianism.” Its leadership team members have all worked for Democratic candidates before joining democracyFIRST. ¹

Work Areas

DemocracyFIRST claims to work to “identify, isolate, and defeat politicians who threaten the future of our democracy.” ¹

The democracyFIRST Promise campaign encourages candidates and elected officials to agree to “(1) protect the right to vote for eligible citizens, (2) denounce political violence against election workers and political opponents, (3) stop the spread of election disinformation, and (4) accept the election outcome, certify the result when all the votes are counted, and support the peaceful transfer of power.” ¹

DemocracyFIRST has formed one national and five state coalitions in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, which were considered political battleground states in the 2024 election. The coalitions were made up of elected officials and incumbents who had signed the democracyFIRST Promise. ³

United to Preserve is a democracyFIRST initiative that hosts events “promoting democracy” primarily in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to “raise public awareness about the historic anti-democratic threat facing the United States.” It hosted an event in November 2024 before Election Day featuring Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc. She is a journalist for The Atlantic who has compared former President and 2024 Presidential candidate Donald Trump to dictators from the 1930s and 1940s including Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Benito Mussolini. ^{4 5 6} A similar October event featured authors Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky who claim that democracy was in danger if Trump is elected. Ziblatt and Levitsy co-authored the book How Democracies Die. ⁷ Other United to Preserve speakers include CUNY history professor Benjamin Carter Hett, author of The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic, and University of California San Diego professor Barbara Walter, author of How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them. ⁸

The democracyFIRST YouTube page contains videos of professors and authors who claim that former President Donald Trump is “fascist” and “authoritarian” and that democracy would be in danger if he were to win the 2024 election. ⁹

Funding and Grants

DemocracyFIRST awarded $4.4 million in grants to 24 left-of-center organizations in 2023, including $290,000 to America Votes, $100,000 to Arizona Wins, $100,000 to Tides Advocacy, $450,000 to Citizen Action of New York, $300,000 to Florida Rising, $50,000 to the Center for Empowered Politics, $500,000 to Future Forward USA Action, $400,000 to the Ohio Progressive Collaborative, $650,000 to Promote the Vote, and $250,000 to Voces de la Frontera Action. ¹⁰

The democracyFIRST PAC located in Washington, D.C., is associated with democracyFIRST. ¹¹ It has identified “priority candidates” for the 2024 election. These include U.S. Congressional candidates Janelle Stelson (D-PA), Rebecca Cooke (D-WI), and Amish Shah (D-AZ). ¹² The PAC is considered “Democratic/Liberal” by OpenSecrets. It raised almost $3.7 million and spent almost $3 million in the 2024 election cycle, including over $1 million in expenditures against Republican U.S. House candidates in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Wisconsin. ^{13 14}

Leadership

Jordan Wood is the executive director of democracyFIRST. Wood earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Calvin University in 2012. While there, he co-founded the local chapter of Amnesty International, was chapter president of the Calvin College Democrats, and volunteered for the Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign. After college, he held several political positions, including field organizer for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and senior positions in U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-IL) campaign in 2014 and in U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz’s (D-CA) campaign in 2015. He then held several positions at Democratic-aligned political action committee End Citizens United. In 2020, he became U.S. Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-CA) chief of staff before joining democracyFIRST as executive director. ¹⁵

Julian Wolff is program director of democracyFIRST. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. He was a legislative intern for U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and worked for the Coconino County, Arizona municipal government before joining democracyFIRST in 2023. ¹⁶

Sam Jones is policy and research director at democracyFIRST. He earned his masters of public administration at the University of Southern California and held several short-term positions including internships for Democracy for America, then-U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), and former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA). In 2017 he joined Democratic-aligned PAC End Citizens United where he held several positions until moving to democracyFIRST in 2023. ¹⁷

1. “About Us.” democracyFIRST. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://democracyfirst.org/about/
2. Democracyfirst. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2023.
3. “Coalitions.” democracyFIRST. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://democracyfirst.org/state-coalitions/
4. Facebook – democracyFIRST. Posted October 31, 2024. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/DemocracyFirstPAC/
5. Francis P. Sempa. “Anne Applebaum’s Comparison of Trump to Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini Is a Sign of Political Desperation on the Left.” The American Spectator. October 21, 2024. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://spectator.org/anne-applebaums-comparison-of-trump-to-hitler-stalin-and-mussolini-is-a-sign-of-political-desperation-on-the-left/
6. “United to Preserve Democracy and the Rule of Law.” Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/united-to-preserve-democracy-and-the-rule-of-law-90811651723?msockid=2c1b0ec5e84b6fea37c81bc6e94c6e5f
7. Facebook Event post. “An Evening with Authors Daniel Ziblatt & Steven Levitsky.” https://www.facebook.com/events/1345837760105146/?ref=newsfeed
8. “Speakers Bureau.” United to Preserve. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://unitedtopreserve.org/speakers/
9. YouTube – democracyFIRST. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/@democracyFIRSTPromise
10. Democracyfirst. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I). 2023.
11. Democracyfirst. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule R. Part II) 2023.
12. “Help pro-democracy candidates to the House!” democracyFIRST. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://elections.democracyfirst.org/page/dFpriorities
13. “Spending by Election Cycle.” OpenSecrets PAC Profile: DemocracyFirst PAC. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/spending-section
14. “DemocracyFirst PAC Independent Expenditures.” OpenSecrets. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/democracyfirst-pac/C00808998/independent-expenditures/2024
15. LinkedIn – Jordan Wood. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-wood-37925961/
16. LinkedIn – Julian Wolff. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliankwolff/
17. “Sam Jones.” LinkedIn, Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-jones-9229a4179