Founded in 2018, the Adopt-A-Dem Program was conceived as a means of Twitter-boosting Democratic candidates challenging Republican incumbents in the US House. The purpose was to flip the House blue — and what a success story! Okay, it wasn’t all down to Adopt-A- Dem but, for those involved, there’s no doubt the program made a major contribution to the 2018 blue wave.
The featured image above depicts fourteen of twenty-eight 2018 House alumni who were re-elected in 2020. So none were left out, the other fourteen are pictured in the body of the article.
Among those featured are:
• Katie Porter who is the scourge of all CEOs who find themselves 
confronted with her penetrating questions and ubiquitous whiteboard;
• Jason Crow, one of the House Impeachment Managers who prosecuted the first Trump impeachment in the Senate trial;
• Mikie Sherrill, the first to report her observation of groups surveilling the Capitol the day before the January 6 Insurrection;
• Andy Kim whose reflections one month on from the Capitol Insurrection were heart-wrenching, compassionate and inspiring;
• Sharice Davids, the first openly LGBT Native American elected to the US Congress.
All twenty-nine are a credit to themselves, to Congress and the Adopt-A-Dem project.
The idea is simple. Candidates followed Claude on Twitter. He RTed their campaign tweets to his 220k+ followers then encouraged them to “adopt” one or more of the Democratic challengers and assist them throughout their run. While money donations top the list, adopters also donate materials and equipment, e.g. one lady designed and printed leaflets for her adoptee, and an office equipment business donated printers.
Adopters also wrote postcards, phone-banked or door-knocked and some provided professional services like website design. The one contribution common to everyone was boosting their adoptees wherever and whenever possible, mostly on social media sites but also with letters to the editors of local newspapers and local radio phone-ins.
Though adopters rarely lived in the same congressional district as 
their adoptees, they nevertheless formed strong attachments to their chosen candidates. Taking on two, three or more candidates in different parts of the country was surprisingly common.
How they chose their candidates was unexpectedly interesting too; a candidate’s policy strengths were not necessarily a prime consideration. For example, some chose districts (rather than the candidate) based on a personal connection with the location. Some 
based their choices on an affinity with a candidate’s family status or career background or some aspect of their personal history. It was fascinating to watch. It quickly became apparent that the concept of “adoption” made a personal difference to how voters viewed those they supported.
It was also stunningly effective. Within a month, first-time candidates 
were reporting upwards of a 200%++ boost in their fundraising and that made all the difference to the depth and breadth of their campaigns. A surprising number of adoptees even out-raised their republican targets without any assistance from the DNC or DCCC. Of the 43 Democratic candidates who turned red CDs blue, the majority were Adopt-a-Dem 2018 alumni.
My contribution to Adopt-a-Dem was to keep track of all the candidates from pre-primary to post-election. I began with a spreadsheet in excel before transferring the bourgeoning list to a google sheet so it was accessible to anyone with the link. After each state’s primary/caucus, the spreadsheets transitioned from a list of all-comers to a list of primary/caucus winners which was then whittled down to the election winners.
On the spreadsheets, candidates are organized alphabetically by state and CD with additional columns for their Twitter handles, website links, relevant dates (primaries, runoff, registration deadlines and early voting), the R incumbent and, added in 2020, a column for supplemental notes. Though the US House spreadsheet is looking somewhat bare at this early stage, it does include special elections (OH-15 and TX-06) slated for later this year.
After Democrats won back the majority in the US House in 2018, Claude decided to shift the program’s focus to the US Senate in 2020 and next year’s midterms.
The 2022 Senate spreadsheet is also looking somewhat bare but it’s gradually filling up.
The two current sheets are paired for convenience. Tabs for the US House and US Senate candidates are located bottom left so you can easily toggle from one to the other.
Keeping the sheets up-to-date and accurate is a constant challenge so I really appreciate any and all assistance.
Please feel welcome to drop a note in the comments here or contact me on Twitter to let me know of any corrections I need to make or new information to be added.
Between now and when the 2022 midterm election results are certified, managing these spreadsheets is a huge job. But it’s worth every minute I put into it. It’s one of the few constructive ways I can contribute to US elections and besides, I really enjoy doing it! I’ve discovered to my delight that participating in election campaigns is a joyful and hugely fulfilling experience.
I strongly urge everyone to get involved. Bookmark the Adopt-A-Dem spreadsheets, adopt one or more candidates from either or both the House and Senate lists then begin by boosting their social media output.
Please find and follow me as @Mopshell on Twitter.
Together we can build another big, beautiful blue wave in 2022! Ready? Let’s do it!
This is FANTASTIC, Michelle! GREAT WORK????????