DNC Rolls Out Pair of Programs to Staff Down Ballot Campaigns

Democrats think the political environment is turning against Republicans ahead of next year’s midterm elections, and they’re taking steps to make sure their campaigns are ready to take full advantage.

The Democratic National Committee on Monday announced the creation of a pair of novel programs meant to help candidates find qualified people to run their campaigns, part of what officials with the group said is a two-pronged approach to help the party win as many races as it can in 2026.

One effort, called the Battleground Leadership Project, will recruit and train men and women to be organizing directors and run the party’s coordinated campaigns in battleground states, an effort that would benefit Democrats up and down the ballot.

The DNC is also planning to create a program in January called BlueMatch that will help match potential campaign staffers with Democratic candidates and state parties nationwide.

Officials said they hope that the dual effort, backed by an initial six-figure investment from the DNC, will help resolve a longstanding problem of campaigns struggling to find qualified staff. The issue is especially acute for candidates running in more remote areas of the country, they said.

“As we head into the midterms, Democrats must seize this moment and ensure that our coordinated campaigns are staffed early with the strongest talent,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “There are thousands of people who want to join our movement, and the DNC will get them on the ground across the country through the Battleground Leadership Project and BlueMatch — two critical programs to ensure our coordinated campaigns and state parties have the high-quality staff they need to win in 2026.”

DNC officials said that since the 2025 election, they have seen a 76% increase in the number of applicants sent to their resume bank. BlueMatch will help match those applicants with the right campaign, they said.

Democratic candidates down the ballot have often complained about a lack of support from the party infrastructure, saying they often felt as if they had to do everything themselves despite many of them knowing little about how to build a professional campaign. That lack of assistance has cost the party some otherwise winnable races, they said, especially in less visible local and state races.

Party leaders are hopeful that a series of big wins this year will foreshadow even greater gains during next year’s gubernatorial and congressional contests, buoyed by President Donald Trump’s slumping popularity numbers and still-simmering concerns among everyday people about the cost of living.