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States Project

Website:

statesproject.org/
Headquarters:

611 Pennsylvania Ave SE, #143, Washington D.C., 20003
Formation:

2017

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The States Project is an advocacy group fiscally sponsored by PAC for America’s Future that supports the campaigns of Democratic candidates running for state legislative offices in politically competitive states.  1  2 The group was founded in 2017 by former New York state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn) and Adam Pritzker, a member of the Pritzker political family.  3 Its executive director, as of 2025, is Mandara Meyers, a liberal political operative. 3

As of 2025, according to its website, the group claims previously to have helped Democratic candidates win majorities in both the state house and senate chambers for both Michigan and Minnesota as well as the governorships of both states. The site also claims it was responsible for a Democratic majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, increased Democratic representation in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and for defending Democratic majorities in the Maine, Nevada, and Colorado legislatures. 1

Background

The States Project is a voter advocacy group that promotes the campaigns of Democratic candidates running for legislative office in battleground states. The group is a fiscally sponsored project of the PAC for America’s Future.  3   4 The group was founded in 2017 by former New York state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn) and Pritzker political family member Adam Pritzker,  3   5  4 with Squadron previously working as the group’s executive director. 6

As of 2025, Mandara Meyers is the executive director of the States Project . Meyers has worked in several positions for the group since joining it in 2019. She previously held positions with the Leadership for Educational Equity and the Center for Progressive Leadership. 7

Activities

Election Spending

The States Project focuses its advocacy efforts on state-level legislative races in politically competitive states. Activities include voter canvassing, ad testing, data analysis, and leveraging local press coverage.   4

According to its website, during the 2026 election cycle, the States Project would focus on Democratic campaigns for state legislatures in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 8

In October 2025, the group announced it spent roughly $5 million towards Democratic candidates in Virginia state legislative races, which was reportedly the largest single amount spent during the election. 3

During the 2024 election cycle, the States Project raised $70 million for state legislative races. It later claimed to have contributed towards holding a Democrat majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives while increasing Democrat candidate representation within the North Carolina legislature. 9 Also in 2024, the States Project worked with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee towards supporting Democratic state legislative candidates in Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 10

In 2022, the organization spent $60 million on local legislative races races, claiming to have helped earned Democratic majorities in the state Houses of Representatives in both Michigan and Pennsylvania as well holding the Minnesota state Senate for Democrats. The group also spent on legislative races in Arizona, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, and New Hampshire.  4 Also in 2022, the States Project worked with Arena to place staffers in the campaigns of competitive legislative races in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. 6

During the 2018 midterm election cycle, the organization spent $60 million on legislative races in Arizona, Michigan, Maine, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. 5

Giving Circles

The States Project raises election funding from “Giving Circles,” or small groups of donors who raise money through social events within specific states. The group claims that such donations only go towards local legislative races and not towards national campaigns. 3 Events organized by “Giving Circles” have included meet-and-greets, social gatherings, and “bake sales for democracy.”  4

Advocacy

States Project’s policy advocacy focuses on abortion, education, health care, and environmental issues within targeted states. 11 The group claims that finding solutions to policy issues begins with statewide debates, further alleging “State legislatures are the strongest line of defense against an extremist rightwing trifecta at the federal level.” It has previously claimed that Democratic-controlled state legislatures can “mitigate the worst” of the Trump administration. 11

According to its website, the group claims to support limiting business spending in politics, equalizing pay between men and women, increasing infrastructure spending, ensuring “livable wage[s],” and enacting universal health care.   12

References

  1. “About The States Project.” Game Changers for Democracy. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.gamechangers4democracy.com/about-the-states-project 
  2. “The States Project.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/company/statesprojectus/about/ 
  3. Compton, Liz. “$5 million investment reveals Democrats feel bullish about pulling off a trifecta in Virginia.” Politico. October 9, 2025. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/09/virginia-democrats-states-project-legislature-00598429 
  4. Kapos, Shia. “Dem-leaning States Project group pours $4.5 million into Virginia legislative races.” Politico. October 9, 2023. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/virginia-elections-states-project-millions-00120462 
  5. Corasaniti, Nick. “How a Little-Known Group Helped Resurgent Democrats Wield Power.” New York Times. September 25, 2023. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/us/politics/states-project-democrats.html 
  6. Montellaro, Zach. “Dem groups launch staffing program in battleground legislative races.” Politico. July 25, 2022. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/25/dems-staffing-program-battleground-races-00047508 
  7. “Meyers, Mandara.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandarameyers/ 
  8. “Our States.” States Project. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://statesproject.org/our-states/ 
  9. “Stories of Impact 2024.” States Project. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://statesproject.org/stories-of-impact-24/ 
  10. Press Release. “NDRC and The States Project Announce Multi-Million Dollar Investment in State Legislature Races in Battleground States.” National Democratic Redistricting Commission. June 5, 2024. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://democraticredistricting.com/ndrc-and-the-states-project-announce-multi-million-dollar-investment-in-state-legislature-races-in-battleground-states/ 
  11. The States Project. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://statesproject.org/ 
  12. “About Us.” States Project. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://statesproject.org/about-us/ 
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