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One thing I learned from my 22 years in politics is that grassroots donors, many of whom survive on pensions and Social Security, are always looking for ways to stretch their limited donation budgets so they can make the biggest impact possible.
As such, every two years I make recommendations targeted just for those folks who may not have much to give, but who want to make a big difference. For lack of a better term, I call these “Bang for Your Buck” recommendations.
Today, I am happy to announce my first two Bang for Your Buck recommendations for 2026: Mary Peltola for U.S. Senate in Alaska, and Josh Turek for U.S. Senate in Iowa.
Here is my reasoning:
Control of the U.S. Senate in the 2026 elections is probably going to come down to four red states: Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas. In 2024, Donald Trump won all of these states by between 11 and 14 points. However, polling now shows Democrats narrowly leading in all four states (see Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas), and they need to hang on to two of those leads in order to win the majority.
Now, I know there are many other close Senate races. However, when it comes to purple and lean-blue states like Georgia, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire and North Carolina, the truth is that if Democrats can’t win those states in a strong pro-Democratic year like this one, then it is unlikely we are going to take back the Senate.
Further, I also know there are other, perhaps even longer-shot races worth watching, such as Florida, Kansas, Montana and Nebraska. However, if Democrats or Democratic-aligned Independents win those races, then 2026 will be such a big wave year for Democrats that we will easily take control of the Senate.
When looking at the four pivotal races I mentioned in point #1, of which Democrats only need to win two, Iowa and Alaska are by far the least expensive states for running campaigns. Both have much smaller populations than Ohio or Texas. It is also a lot less expensive to buy advertisements in Iowa and Alaska media markets than in Ohio or Texas.
Finally, both Mary Peltola and Josh Turek are strong, highly overperforming candidates. Peltola performed about 10 points better than the national Democratic ticket in both 2022 and 2024, while Turek represents the reddest state House district held by any Democrat in Iowa. Your donation will go to effective campaigners who know how to win in red areas.
So, if you are looking for a highly impactful way to give just $10, $20 or $40, right now I recommend donating to Mary Peltola and Josh Turek.
Note: The amounts you give to each entity can be adjusted. Bowers Kerbel Media is the two-person, pro-democracy and pro-Democratic organization that operates Wolves and Sheep and the Bowers News Media news and activism email list.
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