Formed in 2017, Progressive Takeover is a far-left political action committee (PAC) that works to elect progressive Democrats to serve in Republican-majority state legislatures. ¹

Progressive Takeover was established in 2017 by Harry Pascal, founder of Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans. ^{2 3} Concerned with the number of state legislatures under Republican command, Progressive Takeover uses its funds to bolster Democratic candidates in competitive state legislative elections. ⁴

Activities

The group works to boost Democratic voter participation rates in “the most competitive state-level races in the country,” with the goal of turning “red” legislative districts into “blue” districts. ⁵

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Progressive Takeover teamed up with dozens of left-wing nonprofits and political advocacy groups, including Women’s March National, 18MillionRising, and MPower Change, to sign a petition requesting that states provide universal access to mail-in ballots for the 2020 U.S. Election. ⁶ The petition, spearheaded by the left-progressive media website Daily Kos, claims without substantiation that all-mail elections protect the health of the electorate and help ensure integrity of the election results, as paper ballots boast an “unhackable” security advantage. ⁷

Funding

Progressive Takeover is funded by individual donors, FEC filings show. ⁸ In the 18-month period from January 2019 through the end of June 2020, Progressive Takeover amassed over $3 million in revenue, which is more than twice the amount it had earned over the previous 24-month period. ⁹

Leadership

Alex Morgan is the executive director of Progressive Takeover. Morgan also oversees the organization’s affiliates, Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans. Progressive Takeover founder Harry Pascal currently serves as treasurer of the organization. ¹⁰

Affiliated Groups

Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans—both far-left political action committees—are close affiliates of Progressive Takeover. ¹¹

1. “About Us.” Progressive Takeover. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://progressivetakeover.org/about/.
2. “About Us.” Progressive Takeover. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://progressivetakeover.org/about/.
3. “Our Work” Progressive Takeover. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://progressivetakeover.org/ourwork/.
4. “About Us.” Progressive Takeover. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://progressivetakeover.org/about/.
5. “About Us.” Progressive Takeover. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://progressivetakeover.org/about/.
6. “Sign the Petition to Your State Election Officials: Vote by Mail Must Be Available to ALL Voters.” Action Network. Accessed June 11, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-your-state-election-officials-vote-by-mail-must-be-available-to-all-voters.
7. “Sign the Petition to Your State Election Officials: Vote by Mail Must Be Available to ALL Voters.” Action Network. Accessed June 11, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-your-state-election-officials-vote-by-mail-must-be-available-to-all-voters.
8. “FEC Disclosure Form 3X for Progressive Takeover.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed September 2, 2020. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00659599/1422943/.
9. “Progressive Takeover – Financial Summary.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed September 2, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00659599/.
10. “Our Work” Progressive Takeover. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://progressivetakeover.org/ourwork/.
11. Statement of Organization (FEC Form 1). 2019. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/527/201904189149493527/201904189149493527.pdf.