Democrats won the House and Senate on Tuesday, with historic wins for the party across the country. A favorable national environment and weak Republican opponents, however, do not win races on their own. The new House majority was built by servant leaders backed by New Politics, winning in districts that were not on any map a year ago.
New Politics-backed House challengers won 15 of 20 races, flipping 14 Republican-held seats. Two additional races remain too close to call.
New Politics recruited candidates in these districts based on their record of service to their communities and country, long before talk of a “blue wave.” Our advisors built the infrastructure for many of these campaigns before anyone knew their names, helped them raise money, helped them hire strong teams, helped them win highly contested primaries, and ultimately helped carry their campaigns to victory in competitive general elections.
At the top of the ticket, James Talarico — who New Politics has supported since his state house race in 2018 — became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988, and David Crowley — who New Politics first helped run for office in 2015 — was elected Wisconsin’s first Black governor. All 10 House incumbents New Politics supported were reelected.
When the national environment favors one party, it’s easy to credit the environment for every win. Democrats had the wind at their back this year, but New Politics servant leaders outperformed their peers across the country. New Politics’ winning House challengers ran an average of roughly 13 points ahead of their districts’ 2024 presidential results, and several won seats the Cook Political Report rated Solid Republican when the cycle began. Between July and Election Day, the Cook Political Report moved 14 of New Politics’ 20 House races toward Democrats, and 11 were rated Toss Up or better going into Tuesday.
These candidates offer Democrats a roadmap to building a majority that holds up when the environment is less favorable in future cycles. Of the 35 biggest upsets in House and Senate races this cycle, 12 were won by New Politics candidates.
Some of the clearest examples of servant leaders outperforming the blue wave came in places where other Democrats have fallen short in the past:
12 of the Country's 35 Biggest Upsets
New Politics candidates, with their national rank among House and Senate flips.
None of these seats were handed to Democrats. They were won by high-quality candidates who earned voters’ trust through years of service, and by early investment that gave their campaigns the foundation to compete in places the party had written off.
Americans consistently rank nurses, teachers, and military officers among their most trusted professions, and those are the people New Politics recruits. From swing seats to districts Trump won by double digits, voters chose a Marine drill instructor in Arizona, a Navy test pilot in New Jersey, a hospital chaplain in Iowa, a Navy JAG officer in Kentucky, and a three-star admiral in South Carolina.
Servant Leaders Expanded the Map
Most of New Politics’ servant leaders weren’t on anyone’s target list a year ago. Many ran in districts Cook rated Likely or Solid Republican at the start of the cycle. Between July and Election Day, Cook moved 14 of our 20 House races toward Democrats, and 11 entered the final week rated Toss Up or better. These candidates redrew the map and made this historic cycle possible.
In KY-06, for example, Zach Dembo, a first-time candidate and former Navy JAG officer, won a seat Cook rated Solid Republican when the cycle began. In SC-01, Nancy Lacore secured a win for a seat that Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.
New Politics Recruited Early and Played a Key Role in Campaigns
This cycle, New Politics vetted 455 potential candidates, endorsed and advised 214, and backed 43 congressional campaigns. On November 3, New Politics-backed candidates won 89% of their races.
New Politics meets many of our servant leaders years before they decide to run for political office. Our advisors helped them launch their campaign, hire and train their teams, build fundraising operations, and get through primaries when the national party is not watching. In several races this cycle, New Politics was the first national organization to back House challengers that secured the Democratic majority.
In NY-17 for example, Emily Cherniack first met with Cait Conley in December 2024. By January 2025, New Politics was helping build her donor network and team. Similarly, New Politics endorsed Sarah Trone Garriott in IA-03 in July 2025, more than a year before Election Day, helping her clear her primary field. And in NJ-07, New Politics was helping Rebecca Bennett with hiring, fundraising, and team-building by February 2025.
New Politics backed Zach Dembo in KY-06 every step of the way throughout his campaign. Our advisors were heavily involved in his launch, helped place and train his team, and deployed to the district to help out before the primary, during the general election, and around crucial fundraising deadlines. This support set the Dembo campaign up for a historic win in one of Kentucky’s reddest districts.
Servant Leaders Out-raised Their Opponents
Fundraising is often the most challenging part of a campaign, especially for first-time candidates without a political network. New Politics helps candidates sharpen their pitch, work their contacts, and build an operation to sustain fundraising throughout the entire campaign. This cycle, our candidates out-raised other Red to Blue candidates by an average of 21% over the cycle, 19 of 20 House challengers out-raised their Republican opponents in the final pre-election filing, and New Politics raised over $2 million directly for endorsed candidates this cycle.
In a year when the national environment lifted Democrats almost everywhere, the most useful lessons are in the races that were supposed to be out of reach, where candidates won over voters that the party had been losing for years. If Democrats want this House majority to outlast a single good cycle, they will have to hold these districts when the environment is less favorable, and that depends on the quality of candidates that are on the ballot. Candidate quality matters, and so does recruitment. The party should look closely at who these candidates are and how they won, and then go find more of them.
That approach built New Politics’ class of 2018, which flipped seven Republican-held seats and produced two governors, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger. Two members of that class, Jason Crow and Chrissy Houlahan, won reelection on Tuesday. This class of servant leaders is the next bench.
Each of these servant leaders won with a mandate to deliver results for the constituents they represent, and each will take office in January with a career of service to build on. They’ll bring the lessons they learned in uniform, in classrooms, and in their communities to Congress, and New Politics will be alongside them as they govern.
The bench of candidates runs much deeper than Congress. This cycle, 114 New Politics-backed candidates won state and local races, from school boards to state legislatures, with several races still to call. These are the offices where David Crowley and James Talarico got their start, and where Sarah Trone Garriott proved she could win in a district Trump carried. Some of this year’s local winners will be on a federal ballot in the years ahead. New Politics is already looking for the leaders who will run in 2028 and beyond, many of them in districts no one in Washington is watching yet.
New Politics was founded on a belief that the people best prepared to lead this country are the ones who have already spent their lives serving it. Servant leaders know how to bring people together because they’ve done it in a platoon, a classroom, or an emergency room. They hold themselves accountable for delivering results, they put the mission ahead of their own ambition, and they have the values and leadership to put the country first. On Tuesday, voters chose servant leaders, and now those leaders are heading to Congress ready to deliver.
New Politics is an organization that revitalizes American democracy by recruiting, developing, and electing leaders across the ideological and political spectrum who have committed their lives to serving their communities and our country, either through military service, national service organizations like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, or by demonstrating strong service-based leadership in their community. New Politics' support includes strategic advising and training in all aspects of a candidate's campaign, such as fundraising, communications, organizing, hiring, and team building. New Politics has raised over $50 million to support over 550 candidates, successfully electing more than 200 of them to office, from Congress to School Board. Learn more at newpolitics.org.
