Building a Progressive South from the Ground Up
For too long, progressive political strategists have dismissed the Deep South as a lost cause, choosing to direct donations to candidates in regions that they deem as friendlier playing fields. But change takes long-term investment. And a more inclusive, prosperous future for all Americans can only be won with the support of the South.
What we do
The New Southern Majority (NSM) is a political action committee that backs progressive candidates running for local, county, state and federal offices in the Deep South. We make independent expenditures (IEs) to conduct polling research and turn out the vote in support of our chosen candidates. Together with donors and community allies, we march for the South’s new majority: a diverse and growing population with a rich history of civil rights action and the potential to spark progressive change nationwide.
Where We Work
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Louisiana
Mississippi
2025: A historic year for local Black leadership
Communities deserve to have representatives in government who share their lived experiences. Unfortunately, that often does not happen in the Deep South, where many small towns with sizable Black populations have never elected a Black mayor.
But in 2025, Black mayors made history — with the support of the New Southern Majority and with the support of the New Southern Majority and our donors.
In Louisiana, Marshall Simien Jr. won his race to become the first elected Black mayor of Lake Charles, running on a platform of accountability and economic prosperity for all residents. In Alabama, Jae’Ques Brown defeated a 25-year incumbent to make history as Greenville’s first Black mayor. And in Mississippi, Larry Jointer successfully challenged a three-term incumbent to become Brookhaven’s first Black mayor, besting his opponent by just 37 votes.
These victories belong first and foremost to the candidates who ran strong, values-driven campaigns and to the voters who showed up and cast their ballots for justice and equity. However, they also show what is possible when funding and support is directed to local candidates in the South. NSM — and our supporters — provided a critical boost to these candidates through billboards, text banks, mailers and other independent expenditures. And we can proudly say that we supported 10 eventual winners who either expanded or protected Black political power in the South at the local level.
Real change starts in communities and expands outward until it becomes impossible to ignore. The Deep South is poised to lead the nation in progress, just as it did during the Civil Rights Movement. In 2026, NSM will build on the wins of the 2025 election season by continuing to uplift the next generation of civil rights trailblazers.
2025 by the numbers
$179,931
invested in Southern political races
2,098,728
voters reached
325,952
texts sent to potential voters
9,187
live phone calls made to potential voters
12
independent expenditure campaigns in 3 states to support progressive candidates
10
electoral victories in the Deep South
6
candidates became the first elected Black leaders to their positions
878,600
digital impressions
Digital ads, from left, for mayoral candidates Larry Jointer, of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and Jimmy Stokes, of Horn Lake, Mississippi.
Billboard for Ciara Smith-Roston, mayoral candidate in Anniston, Alabama.
51,014
mail pieces sent to voting households
Champions for racial justice and human rights in 2025
Top row, from left: Ciara Smith-Roston, Jae’Ques Brown, Jimmy Stokes
Bottom row, from left: Larry D. Jointer, Yolanda Lawson, Marshall Simien Jr.
Thanks to donors across the country, NSM invested in the elections of 10 winning candidates in 2025:
- Marshall Simien Jr.*, Mayor of Lake Charles, Louisiana
- Larry Jointer*, Mayor of Brookhaven, Mississippi
- Ray Sykes, City Commissioner of Clarksdale, Mississippi
- Jimmy Stokes II*, Mayor of Horn Lake, Mississippi
- Ken Featherstone, Mayor of Indianola, Mississippi
- Ciara Smith*, Mayor of Anniston, Alabama
- Jae’Ques Brown*, Mayor of Greenville, Alabama
- Carletta Davis, Mayor of Prichard, Alabama
- Teresa Fox Bettis, City Councilmember of Prichard, Alabama
- Yolanda Lawson*#, Mayor of Pleasant Grove, Alabama
* – First Black leader elected to the position; # – NSM ran a general Get-Out-the-Vote campaign in Pleasant Grove that did not explicitly endorse Lawson, but instead focused on getting more voters to the polls.
Powered by grassroots support in 2025
“I am a monthly donor to New Southern Majority because I live in Mississippi, and I know change here doesn’t come from parachuting in every four years. New Southern Majority is doing the slow, essential work of backing local leaders and investing in a long-term vision. I want my daughters to grow up in a South that feels like it belongs to all of us, and NSM is helping create that future.”
— S.T., NSM donor
Looking ahead to 2026
NSM is thinking big in 2026. For the first time, we will participate in two statewide elections in one year: the race for governor of Alabama and the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi. Both elections have far-reaching implications. One more progressive vote in Congress could be what stands in the way of the continued rise of Trump’s authoritarianism.
In Mississippi, we are supporting Democrat Scott Colom’s bid for Senate. He is up against incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who prevented him from becoming a federal judge just a few years ago.
In Alabama, we are backing former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones for governor. He is up against Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville. In 2017, Jones became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alabama since 1997. He is no stranger to flipping seats from red to blue.
In a photo from Jan. 3, 2018, Senator-elect Doug Jones of Alabama is sworn in during a ceremony in the old Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol. (Credit: Glen Stubbe/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS via ZUMA Wire)
NSM also plans to invest in school board races across the Deep South. The environments that shape the hearts and minds of the next generation have unfortunately become a political battleground. The far right wants to keep children ignorant, isolated and easy to control by banning books and censoring curriculums. But school board members, who establish classroom standards and decide how to spend billions in taxpayer dollars, have the power to promote inclusive education. With far-right extremists vying to elect their endorsees across the nation, we must remind communities what is at stake on the ballot.
From statewide elections to local races, there is immense power in working together. We saw that in 2025. With you by our side, we will keep up the momentum in 2026. We will show the nation that the South shouldn’t be written off; it should be the epicenter of lasting progress.