A series of practically unknown wealthy individuals with little history of political spending have been donating millions of dollars to support far-Left candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.
Progressives have been scooping up primaries across the US over the past few months with the support of far-Left organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and funding from Democratic establishment and ‘anti-Aipac’ super PACs.
The money flowing into those races has come in large part from non-traditional donors, many of whom are of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent and work in industries such as tech and medicine.
The top-two donors to the most popular ‘anti-Aipac’ super PAC, American Priorities, are Mohammad Waqas and Omer Hasan, who are both executives at tech companies.
The single largest donor to progressive causes this election cycle, Saikat Chakrabarti, has given a total of $13.4 million to various campaigns and PACs. Chakrabarti earned his fortune through early equity in the tech company Stripe as one of its first software engineers.
American Priorities’ top-12 donors have collectively given the group around $5.7 million during the 2025 to 2026 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission filings reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
Among those 12, four had given no money to the PAC between 2014 and 2024, including the two highest donors who together gave $2.1 million over the past year.
The other two brand new donors, an investor named Afaq Ahmed and a Delaware-based corporation called Fig And Olive Action that does not disclose its funders, together donated nearly $1 million.
Progressive candidates such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have been scooping elections and primaries across the US with the support of little-known donors
Michigan US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is favored to win against his Republican opponent Mike Rogers. El-Sayed has been endorsed by Alexandrai Ocasio-Cortez,
Saikat Chakrabarti, a centi-millionaire who built his fortune in tech, has donated $13.4 million to various progressive candidates and PACs this election cycle
The rest donated just a fraction of what they spent over the past year between 2014 and 2024. Five of the top-12 donors also gave to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. None of those five live in New York.
The new class of non-traditional donors have helped spur a projected blue wave in the 2026 midterms, as polling indicates that Democrats are likely to take control of the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate as well.
Political analyst Nate Silver, who has accurately predicted the outcome of many presidential elections, gave Democrats a 93 percent chance of winning the House and 75 percent chance of winning the Senate.
The prediction market Polymarket has pegged the odds of a House takeover at 91 to 93 percent and a Senate takeover at 64 percent.
Progressive candidates are showing polling advantages over their Republican counterparts in races across the country, and some races in previously solid-red districts are coming down to a tossup.
Abdul El-Sayed, who has former connections to DSA but says he is not affiliated with the organization, has been endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamala Harris in his race to win a Senate seat in Michigan.
Polls predict that the election is leaning in his favor as he faces off against Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
The race between progressive candidate Randy Villegas and Republican incumbent David Valadao for California House Seat 22 has come down to a tossup, despite Valadao winning his seat by nearly seven points two years ago.
The race between progressive California US House candidate Randy Villegas and Republican incumbent David Valadao is projected to be a tossup
Progressive Ohio US House candidate Brian Poindexter is also projected to be in a tossup race against Republican Incumbent Max Miller despite the district traditionally being solidly red
The race between progressive candidate Brian Poindexter and Republican incumbent Max Miller for Ohio House Seat 7 has also come down to a tossup, despite the district not having elected a Democrat to the US House since 1936.
Those races are just a few examples of a larger story playing out across the nation this election cycle.
The strong position of progressive candidates was ushered in by Mamdani’s victory in New York City, as the mayor showed his platform resounded with large swathes of voters and could be emulated by others.
El-Sayed is one of the most successful examples of the new wave of far-left candidates. Ocasio-Cortez has said that ‘if Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere.’
Chakrabarti, the top donor to progressive causes this year, contributed to Abdul’s campaign for Senate, and Miller’s and Villegas’ campaigns for the House.
The California-based centi-millionaire has also donated to four other House races in California, three in New York, and one in New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
