Former Republicans at the head of the anti-Trump Save America Movement are dumping up to $100 million into select House races across the country in 2026.
The promised donations, reported by Politico, will go toward as many as 60 GOP-controlled seats across the nation.
The Democratic-aligned group, co-founded by Lincoln Project founder Steve Schmidt, is heading into campaign politics for the first time with the investments. The SAM previously protested President Donald Trump’s return to office this year.
The SAM describes itself as “a dedicated group of Americans fighting for right vs. wrong, not left vs. right,” and it will take that message into the 2026 elections.
“The Save America movement was started with the express mission of defeating MAGA, but the electoral side, particularly the 2026 elections, are absolutely critical to that mission,” Mary Corcoran, co-founder and executive director of the SAM, told Politico.
The organization will start with 10 Republican-held congressional districts, including those represented by Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Eli Crane (R-AZ), and Cory Mills (R-FL). It will eventually expand to 50 to 60 House races.
In an internal memorandum obtained by Politico, the group showed mistrust of mainstream Democrats’ approach to flip the House.
“The disastrous 2024 election made one thing unmistakably clear: we cannot rely solely on the institutional power structure of the Democratic Party to take back power,” it reads. “The consequences are too great, the stakes too high, and too many Americans’ lives hang in the balance.”
The group is optimistic that it can meet its $50 to $100 million fundraising goal.
“What I can tell you is that the response from donors has been very positive,” Corcoran said of the goal.
Democrats won across the country in the 2025 elections. In Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans lost gubernatorial races and a number of state legislative seats. In the former state, Democrats also won the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general. In Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, noted swing states, Democrats won all four Supreme Court races.
And most recently, Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn ran closer than expected in her election loss to Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-TN). The group wants to use the momentum to effect in 2026.
“We can’t truly break the MAGA movement until these Republican members of Congress are more afraid of their own voters than they are of Donald Trump,” Brandon Hall, a political adviser for the group, told Politico.
The SAM plans to gain an edge by spending earlier in the cycle than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee does. It views the DCCC’s usual late spending as a boon to its efforts because Republicans focus their efforts earlier.
“Republicans have always been really good about speaking to voters early,” Corcoran said. “We need to fill that gap and ensure by the time the candidates are actually campaigning, the voters already have a perspective in their minds about how they’re going to vote.”
The DCCC is open to the help but defended its methods.
“The DCCC is on offense, with more pick up opportunities in 2026 than last cycle,” spokesman Viet Shelton said in a statement. “As [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries] always says, more is more. We welcome anyone and everyone to help get the People’s House back to work on behalf of everyday Americans, not the billionaires.”
DEMOCRATS MADE GAINS WITH YOUNG MEN IN 2025, BUT HOLDING EDGE FOR MIDTERMS IS NO SURE THING
The National Republican Congressional Committee sought to relate Democratic primaries to “socialist brawls.”
“Their coalition is crumbling, and voters see a party that can’t get anything right,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said.
