Stand Up America is a left-of-center advocacy group created by Sean Eldridge, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives and spouse of left-of-center activist Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. ¹

Eldridge founded Stand Up America in 2016 to oppose then-president-elect Donald Trump, supported theories that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election and organized support for President Trump’s later impeachment. ² Since 2016, the group has expanded to support a range of left-of-center policy initiatives, including giving Washington, D.C. statehood, abolishing the Electoral College, and ending the Senate filibuster to promote left-of-center policies. ³ During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stand Up America became active in supporting efforts to expand mail-in voting for the 2020 presidential election. ⁴

Stand Up America has been led by officials with extensive ties to the left-of-center organizing community, including the Poor People’s Campaign, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Unite Here, and MomsRising. ⁵

Background

After the 2016 election, Sean Eldridge founded Stand Up America as a “resistance” organization to oppose then-President-elect Donald Trump as well as the right-of-center political agenda. ⁶ Eldridge was a Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives in 2014, and is the spouse of Facebook co-founder and liberal activist Chris Hughes. ⁷ Stand Up America described President Trump and conservative policy as promoting a “dangerous agenda.” ⁶

Stand Up America has used President Trump to support a larger range of left-of-center electoral policies, calling President Trump’s election symptomatic of “broken democracy” in the United States. Stand Up America aims to institute left-of-center reforms to “unrig” what the group claims is an American system controlled by “conservative, corporate and largely white voices.” These reforms include giving Washington, D.C. statehood, abolishing the Electoral College, and ending the Senate filibuster to promote left-of-center policies. ³

Stand Up America runs both digital and offline campaigns. The group claims to have mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to contact their representatives in Congress and in their state legislatures to push left-of-center policies. Stand Up America claims to have more than two million members in its community and have organized more than 1.7 million calls to lawmakers, more than 6,000 letters-to-the-editor, more than 75,000 active protesters, and 35,000 emails sent to policymakers. ³ The organization also claims to have 15,000 individual donors. ^{8 3}

The group has a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statement on its website, claiming its mission is to pass “anti-racist policies” and that “In our early days, we often failed to be explicit about the racialized impact of the Trump administration and its policies. When we shifted our focus to democracy reform, we were slow to articulate the connection between our new mission and racial equity and to ensure we were centering diverse perspectives in decision-making.” The group went on to commit to “ongoing DEI training.”  ⁹

Leadership

Sean Eldridge is the founder and president of Stand Up America. He is a long-time political activist, primarily working on LGBT issues. Eldridge previously worked as director of Freedom to Marry, a group which advocated for the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. Even before founding Stand Up America, Eldridge has advocated for campaign finance laws to restrict political donations, despite his marriage to left-of-center activist Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. ^{7 10}

Christina Harvey is the executive director of Stand Up America. She has worked as the group’s executive director since 2021. Before joining Stand Up America as its managing director in 2019, she worked for then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) before he resigned after four women accused him of abuse. Before joining Schneiderman’s staff, she worked as an organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Unite Here, 32BJ SEIU, and HERE Local 100. Her mom was a coal miner in West Virginia and she claimed her first political activism was standing on a picket line as a six-year-old. ¹¹

Monica Escobedo is the managing director of communications for Stand Up  America. She previously worked in the office of U.S. Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) as his communications director. She also previously worked as the deputy communications director for Latino Victory Project and as the national translation coordinator for the Obama 2012 presidential campaign. ¹²

Policies and Advocacy

2020 Election and First Trump Administration

Stand Up America previously supported efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. Throughout the early years of Trump’s first presidency, Stand Up America campaigned to support Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of an alleged conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. ² In late 2019, Stand Up America joined with Defend the Republic, a Democratic Party-aligned advocacy group, to establish ImpeachmentHQ, a nonprofit that created a rapid response campaign “war room” to send out press links and spin to media to support President Trump’s impeachment and removal. ¹³

Throughout the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Stand Up America led a series of left-of-center election initiatives. In April of 2020, Stand Up America organized a group of 50 left-leaning organizations to push Congress to provide funding for states to expand mail-in voting and early voting. ¹⁴ In May, the organization launched a campaign to pressure the Senate to approve a $4 billion funding bill backed by Democrats to provide election assistance. Stand Up America mobilized constituents to call members of Congress and prompted 50 left-of-center electoral organizations to send letters to Congressional leadership. ¹⁵

In August of 2020, Eldridge and Stand Up America accused President Trump of seeking to defund the U.S. Postal Service in order to “sabotage the election” by damaging the efficiency of mail-in voting. ¹⁶ Later that month, the group launched a $1.5 million virtual campaign with the goal of reaching 20 million people to increase mail-in voting in the battleground states key to determining the 2020 election. The campaign targeted Democratic-leaning voter demographics such as African Americans, Latinos, and young voters. ⁴

On September 1, 2020, Stand Up America announced that its new project Protect the Results added over 80 advocacy groups and organizations to its coalition. ¹⁷ The coalition was designed to coordinate protests in the event that President Donald Trump contested the outcome of the 2020 election. Protect the Results organizes protests, teaches how to effectively mobilize a protest, and requires its partners to advertise the protests with their members. As of October 23, 2020, the organization garnered over 100 partners. ¹⁸

Voting Stances

In January 2024, Stand Up America, along with other left-of-center groups, threatened No Labels with a lawsuit if it did not reveal its donors. The group at the time planned to run a third-party campaign for president. ¹⁹

In March 2024, Stand Up America denounced Alabama’s criminalization of ballot harvesting claiming it would prevent, “older voters, voters with disabilities, and other voters who might need additional support from getting assistance” and it was a form of voter suppression. ²⁰

In August 2024, Stand Up America praised the selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) by then-Vice President Kamala Harris as her running as a champion of voting rights. The group praised Walz’s Democracy for the People Act, which was enacted in May 2023 which “enacted automatic voter registration at state agencies, established a permanent list for mail-in ballots, allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, and strengthened penalties against voter intimidation.” ²¹

In August 2024, Stand Up America’s Tracy Adair attacked Project 2025 and claimed that it would threaten voting rights if it was implemented. ²²

In October 2024, Stand Up America’s Sarah Harris wrote an op-ed denouncing the actions by states to crackdown on voter fraud as “voter suppression.” Among the things denounced as “voter suppression” is regular maintenance of voter rolls, including the removal of inactive voters. She called this “tired Jim Crow tactics.” ²³

In March 2025, Stand Up America denounced an executive order by President Donald Trump which worked to make it more difficult for non-citizens to attempt to vote in federal elections. The group claimed the executive order was an illegal usurpation of U.S. Congressional and state power and would make it more difficult for eligible persons to register to vote and to vote. The group claimed the executive order was a form of voter suppression. ²⁴

In April 2025, Stand Up America’s executive director Christina Harvey denounced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, claiming that it requires every American to bring either their passport or birth certificate to register to vote or update their voter registration, which would allegedly be a substantial obstacle for millions. Harvey claimed that the mandates would be burdensome especially for rural voters due to the high cost and long wait times required to acquire and present the documents. Harvey also claimed that it would effectively end online and mail-in voter registration, which she claimed rural voters disproportionately rely on. Harvey concluded her piece by comparing the legislation to Jim Crow poll taxes. ²⁵

Judiciary

In January 2024, Stand Up America demanded that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from the case determining if former President Donald Trump could be on the presidential ballot. ²⁶

In January 2024, Stand Up America released a statement on the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision to call for expansion of the U.S. Supreme Court. The group called for the passage of the Judiciary Act, which would have increased the number of justices from nine to 13; the SCERT Act, an ethics package; and the TERM Act, which would impose term limits. The group claimed the legislation was necessary to “hold the Court accountable and restore balance to the bench.” ²⁷

In April 2024, Stand Up America joined with 50 other left-of-center groups to endorse the TERM Act by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) which would establish an 18-year term limit for U.S. Supreme Court justices and would guarantee two appointments in each presidential term. The groups called on other Democratic members of the U.S. Congress to endorse the legislation. ²⁸

In June 2024, Stand Up America denounced the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron decision, claiming, “more people will get sick, injured, or die.” ²⁹

In June 2024, Stand Up America launched a $1 million digital ad campaign to increase advocacy and attention towards the impact the 2024 presidential election will have on the U.S Supreme Court. Announced on the 2-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the Supreme Court in 2022, the campaign is set to focus on policy issues including abortion access, gun safety and voting rights. Television host Andy Cohen was featured in one advertisement for the group, claiming that, “We need a vote this fall to prevent Trump from picking more MAGA justices who will threaten our fundamental freedoms for decades to come.” ³⁰ In addition, the campaign includes a get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign, with the group’s executive director Christia Harvey claiming, “Cases related to abortion, marriage equality, gun safety, voting rights, the climate crisis, anything you could think of, we think that’s not given enough focus.” ³⁰

In November 2024, Stand Up America’s Brett Edkins wrote an op-ed urging Democratic U.S. Senators to stay in session until through January, including canceling holiday breaks, to confirm as many Biden-appointed judges as possible. ³¹

In April 2025, Stand Up America’s Brett Edkins and Public Citizen’s co-president Lisa Gilbert wrote an op-ed accusing President Donald Trump of attacking the courts and threatening judicial independence. The op-ed attacked the proposed JUDGES Act, which would add 22 new judges to the federal bench. The op-ed also criticized other legislation that would make it easier for current and former federal officials to move cases to federal court, make it easier for presidents to have cases against them dismissed, and legislation that would ban nationwide injunctions. The op-ed also criticized President Trump for pressuring law firms into working on Trump-favored projects. ³²

Second Trump Administration

In March 2025, former Wall Street Journal reporter Asra Nomani identified Stand Up America as one of the groups organizing demonstrations at Tesla dealerships to protest Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s role in the second Trump administration with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). ³³

In April 2025, Stand Up America posted on Facebook a statement by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and urged its followers to join the “Hands Off” protests against proposed budget cuts by Musk and President Donald Trump. ³⁴

In May 2025, Stand Up America announced that it was helping organize the “No Kings” protests on June 14, 2025 to protest a military parade requested by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. that will fall on his birthday coincident with the 250th anniversary of the United States Army and Flag Day. ³⁵

In May 2025, Stand Up America denounced the arrest and prosecution of U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) for storming an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center claiming it would “dismantle the checks and balances that protect our freedoms.” ³⁶

Finances

According to Stand Up America’s 2023 tax return, the group had $9,867,658 in revenue, $4,614,756 in expenses, and $5,962,181 in net assets. ³⁷

The group claims that founder and president Sean Eldridge provides the core funding and the rest of the money comes from over 15,000 individual donors. ⁸

The group has given funds to America Votes and Common Cause. ³⁷

1. “Sean Eldridge – Founder and President – Stand up America.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 3, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/seaneldridge/.
2. Stand Up America. The Action Network. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/groups/stand-up-america
3. About Us. Stand Up America. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.standupamerica.com/about-page/
4. Touchberry, Ramsey. “Amid Trump Attacks, $1.5 Million Campaign Targets Mail-In and Early Voting in Swing States.” Newsweek. August 19, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.newsweek.com/amid-trump-attacks-15-million-campaign-targets-mail-early-voting-swing-states-1525988
5. Meet the Team. Stand Up America. Archived from the original November 5, 2020. Accessed June 3, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20201105015533/https://www.standupamerica.com/our-team/
6. Stand Up America. Idealist. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/3204ddbe408d41e98e4710947ceae835-stand-up-america-new-york
7. Meet the Team. Stand Up America. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.standupamerica.com/our-team/
8. “About.” Stand Up America. Accessed May 26, 2025. https://standupamerica.com/about-us/.
9. “Stand up America’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” Stand Up America. Accessed May 26, 2025. https://standupamerica.com/sua-dei-commitment/.
10. Zahn, Max. “How Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes Could Use His Fortune to Help Break up Big Tech.” Yahoo! Finance. Yahoo!, May 9, 2019. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/facebook-chris-hughes-political-donations-172050406.html.
11. “Christina Harvey – Executive Director – Stand up America.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 26, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-harvey-078289161.
12. “Monica Escobedo.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 26, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-escobedo-b018b220/details/experience/.
13. “Homepage.” Impeachment HQ. Archived from the original May 16, 2020. Accessed June 3, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20200516032642/https://impeachmenthq.org/.
14. Miller, Maggie. “Dozens of Progressive Organizations Call on Congress to Fund Vote-by-Mail Efforts.” The Hill. https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/492580-dozens-of-progressive-organizations-call-on-congress-to-fund-vote-by
15. Press Release. “Stand Up America to Senate: Pass House Democrats Relief Bill With Election Assistance Funding.” May 12, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/12/stand-america-senate-pass-house-democrats-relief-bill-election-assistance
16. Johnson, Jake. “GOP Stands by Complicit as Trump Openly Touts His Sabotage of Postal Service.” Salon. August 15, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.salon.com/2020/08/15/gop-stands-by-complicit-as-trump-openly-touts-his-sabotage-of-postal-service_partner/
17. “‘Protect the Results’ Expands To 80 Groups As Coalition Prepares To.” Indivisible, September 1, 2020. https://indivisible.org/statement/protect-results-expands-80-groups-coalition-prepares-mobilize-should-trump-contest.
18. “Timeline: Censorship of Pro-Life Speech by Big Tech – Susan B. Anthony List.” Susan B. Anthony List, October 23, 2020. https://www.sba-list.org/censorship.
19. Robillard, Kevin. “Campaign Finance Watchdogs Threaten No Labels with Lawsuit.” HuffPost, January 12, 2024. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/campaign-finance-watchdogs-threaten-no-labels-with-lawsuit_n_65a08a06e4b0acd97bc6fd55.
20. Holmes, Jacob. “Legislature Passes Bill Criminalizing ‘Ballot Harvesting.’” Alabama Political Reporter, March 8, 2024. https://www.alreporter.com/2024/03/08/legislature-passes-bill-criminalizing-ballot-harvesting/.
21. Berman, Ari. “Tim Walz Has a Stellar Record on Voting Rights.” Mother Jones, August 6, 2024. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/08/tim-walz-has-a-stellar-record-on-voting-rights/.
22.  Adair, Tracy. “Project 2025: The Voting Rights Act.” The Fulcrum, August 9, 2024. https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/project-2025-voting-rights.
23. Harris, Sarah. “Become an Informed Voter – It’s the Best Way to Fight Voter Suppression.” The Fulcrum, October 7, 2024. https://thefulcrum.us/electoral-reforms/voter-suppression-laws.
24. Queally, Jon. “Critics Slam Trump’s Executive Order on Voting as an ‘Authoritarian Power Grab.’” Truthout, March 26, 2025. https://truthout.org/articles/critics-slam-trumps-executive-order-on-voting-as-an-authoritarian-power-grab/.
25. Harvey, Christina. “In Rural America, the Save Act Is a Direct Attack on Voting: Opinion.” Newsweek, April 18, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/rural-america-save-act-direct-attack-freedom-vote-opinion-2061138.
26. Levine, Sam, and Martin Pengelly. “US Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Colorado Ruling Removing Trump from State Ballot.” The Guardian, January 5, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/05/supreme-court-trump-appeal-colorado-state-ballot.
27. “Anniversaries of Roe and Citizens United a Reminder of Urgent Need for Supreme Court Reform to Safeguard Our Fundamental Freedoms.” Stand Up America, January 22, 2024. https://standupamerica.com/2024/01/anniversaries-of-roe-and-citizens-united-a-reminder-of-urgent-need-for-supreme-court-reform-to-safeguard-our-fundamental-freedoms/.
28. “New: 50+ Advocacy Organizations Endorse Supreme Court Term Limits, Urge Members of Congress to Do the Same.” Stand Up America, April 9, 2024. https://standupamerica.com/2024/04/new-50-advocacy-organizations-endorse-supreme-court-term-limits-urge-members-of-congress-to-do-the-same/.
29. Johnson, Jake. “Dire Warnings as Supreme Court Scraps Chevron Doctrine.” Alaska Native News, June 28, 2024. https://alaska-native-news.com/dire-warnings-as-supreme-court-scraps-chevron-doctrine/74722/.
30. Corasaniti, Nick. “On Dobbs Anniversary, Democrats Look to Make the Court a Campaign Issue.” New York Times, June 24, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/24/us/politics/dobbs-supreme-court-biden-trump.html
31. Edkins, Brett. “Sen. Schumer, Confirm Biden’s Judges before the Clock Runs Out.” Syracuse Post-Standard, November 25, 2024. https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2024/11/sen-schumer-confirm-bidens-judges-before-the-clock-runs-out-guest-opinion-by-brett-edkins.html.
32. Gilbert, Lisa, and Brett Edkins. “Trump’s Attack on Our Courts Threatens Every American: Opinion.” Newsweek, April 17, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-attack-our-courts-threatens-every-american-opinion-2061028.
33. “Asra Nomani.” X (Twitter), March 30, 2025. https://x.com/AsraNomani/status/1906281197430329459.
34. “Stand up America.” Facebook, April 5, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/100068791826879/posts/966506308985754/?rdid=f5M6Gna5cBO77cDw#.
35. “Stand Up America.” Facebook, May 23, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1001688288800889&id=100068791826879&rdid=RUH24FkRz3OOz1Sp#.
36. “Charges against McIVER Are Direct Attack on Checks and Balances.” Stand Up America, May 19, 2025. https://standupamerica.com/2025/05/charges-against-mciver-are-direct-attack-on-checks-and-balances/
37. “Stand up America Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed May 26, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/320512546/202443209349301124/full.