What WelcomePAC does

WelcomePAC is a federally authorized hybrid Political Action Committee founded in November 2021 to identify, endorse, and fund centrist Democratic candidates running in Trump-won U.S. House districts that the national Democratic Party typically overlooks. The organization is part of a three-entity structure that also includes The Welcome Party (a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 2019 for nonpartisan advocacy) and The Welcome Democracy Institute (a 501(c)(3) for nonpartisan democracy research, which publishes a quarterly Congressional Competitiveness Index). The portfolio spans electoral programs (Win The Middle slate), convening (WelcomeFest, the largest public gathering of centrist Democrats), research (the Deciding to Win report synthesizing 500,000+ voter surveys, public polls, and academic case studies), and media products (WelcomeStack Substack and The Depolarizers podcast).

The core methodology is a data-driven due diligence process that selects candidates correlated with 5%+ overperformance versus partisan baselines; in 2024 the slate achieved the highest Wins Above Replacement (+5.1) of any Democratic group, externally validated by Split Ticket. Revenue is generated through donations processed via ActBlue across the three legal entities (federal political contributions, non-deductible advocacy gifts, and tax-deductible research donations), with deployment focused on direct candidate support, coaching, and campaign infrastructure rather than independent expenditure advertising.

The organization operates with a small distributed team across seven U.S. states from a Washington, D.C. headquarters, and is led by co-founders Liam Kerr and Lauren Harper Pope. Strategic partners include Third Way, NewDEAL Leaders, Blue Dog Coalition, New Democrat Coalition, Future Caucus, and The Next 50 as WelcomeFest co-hosts, with ActBlue as core payment infrastructure and Global Strategy Group, Applecart, and Split Ticket as research vendors.

Name

WelcomePAC

Legal name

WelcomePAC

Website

https://welcomepac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WelcomePAC is a hybrid Political Action Committee that identifies, endorses, and funds centrist Democratic candidates running in Trump-won U.S. House districts, operating alongside affiliated 501(c)(3) research and 501(c)(4) advocacy entities to support depolarization and a big-tent Democratic coalition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Political Donations: WelcomePAC operates as a federally authorized hybrid Political Action Committee. Donations are processed through ActBlue's online fundraising platform. Federal law requires collection of occupation, employer name, and address for contributions exceeding $200 in a calendar year.
2. 501(c)(4) The Welcome Party Contributions: The Welcome Party (registered 501(c)(4)) focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important democracy issues. Gifts are not tax deductible but allow flexibility in work.
3. 501(c)(3) Welcome Democracy Institute Contributions: The Welcome Democracy Institute conducts non-partisan, non-ideological research into threats facing democracy. Gifts are tax-deductible.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WelcomePAC is a federally authorized hybrid Political Action Committee that identifies, endorses, and financially supports bold, pragmatic centrist Democratic candidates running in red and purple U.S. House districts overlooked by the national Democratic Party. It complements electoral spending with a data-driven research apparatus, an annual WelcomeFest conference, the WelcomeStack Substack, The Depolarizers podcast, and the Deciding to Win research report built on analysis of 500,000+ voters. Candidates backed by WelcomePAC have outperformed partisan baselines by 5–6 points in 2022 and 2024.

Product overview

WelcomePAC is a political organization consisting of three distinct legal entities sharing aligned missions: WelcomePAC (a federally authorized hybrid PAC focused on electoral work), The Welcome Party (a 501(c)(4) for advocacy), and The Welcome Democracy Institute (a 501(c)(3) for research). The portfolio includes Win The Middle (electoral program supporting centrist Democratic candidates in Trump-won districts), WelcomeFest (annual conference), WelcomeStack (Substack publication), The Depolarizers (podcast), and Deciding to Win (research report). The organization supports candidates who overperform by 5+ points through bold, pragmatic campaigns targeting voters in the political center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Depolarizers: A podcast from Welcome hosted by Lauren Harper Pope that dives into the history of polarization and strategies for depolarization through interviews with elected officials, political professionals, and academic experts.
• WelcomeFest
• Deciding to Win

Products and services

• Win The Middle Multi-cycle electoral program that identifies and financially supports dynamic centrist Democrats running bold pragmatic campaigns in center-right U.S. House districts. Targets candidates earlier than other Democratic groups with data-driven due diligence and supports them with endorsements, polling (e.g., Applecart), coaching, and direct financial backing. Fielded 9 candidates in 2024 and 12 candidates in the 2026 cycle.
• WelcomeFest Annual conference and the largest public gathering of centrist Democrats. Convened elected officials, media figures, journalists, and thought leaders to chart a path forward for the party. Co-hosted with Third Way, NewDEAL Leaders, The Next 50, New Democrat Coalition, Blue Dog Coalition, Future Caucus, and others. Drew 800+ attendees (600+ in 2025).
• WelcomeStack The Substack publication from Welcome providing the latest insights, breaking news, trends, and polling from the Welcome Team. A core content channel reaching 2M+ views across platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Welcome candidates outperformed other Democrats by 5+ points in both 2022 and 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Third WaymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, a center-left think tank focused on moderate Democratic policy positions. Third Way supports the centrist faction's vision and participates in WelcomeFest events and discussions.
• NewDEAL LeadersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, a network of state and local elected officials promoting pragmatic progressive policies. Co-hosts WelcomeFest 2026.
• The Next 50majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, organization focused on building a more inclusive economy. Co-hosts WelcomeFest 2026.
• New Democrat CoalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, a congressional member organization of moderate Democrats. Co-hosts WelcomeFest 2026.
• Blue Dog CoalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, coalition of conservative Democrats in Congress. Co-hosts WelcomeFest 2026. Blue Dog caucus co-chairs were part of Welcome's 2024 Win The Middle slate.
• Future CaucusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, bipartisan caucus of young elected officials focused on depolarization.
• The State's ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025, organization focused on state-level policy issues.
• The Inclusive Abundance InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025.
• Dream for AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of WelcomeFest 2025.
• ActBluecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party payment processor for online donations to WelcomePAC and candidates. Provides donation processing infrastructure including Act Blue express accounts. Federal law compliance for contributor records.
• Global Strategy GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted live focus groups in Pharr, Texas for South Texas swing district research.
• ApplecartminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolitical polling firm that conducted TX-15 survey for WelcomePAC. Conducted polling for Adam Rapfogel on behalf of WelcomePAC.
• Split TicketminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent political analysis organization providing Wins Above Replacement (WAR) analysis confirming WelcomePAC's slate had highest WAR of any Democratic group in 2024.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Third Way: Center-left think tank and WelcomePAC strategic co-host of WelcomeFest 2025/2026. Shares the same moderate Democratic policy positioning and donor ecosystem, making it the closest ideological and operational peer.
• NewDEAL Leaders: Network of state and local moderate Democratic officials and co-host of WelcomeFest 2025/2026. Operates a parallel state-and-local recruitment pipeline that complements Welcome's federal House focus.
• Swing Left: Progressive-aligned PAC supporting Democratic candidates and voter mobilization in swing districts. Comparable in mission (winning House races in competitive areas) but more progressive-leaning than Welcome's centrist slate.
• New Democrat Coalition: Congressional member organization of moderate House Democrats and WelcomeFest co-sponsor. Aligns with Welcome's pragmatic, pro-business centrist positioning and shares donor and candidate pipelines.
• End Citizens United: Democratic PAC focused on campaign finance reform and electing candidates who support it. Similar small-team hybrid PAC structure, donor base, and House-district targeting approach.
• Priorities USA: Major Democratic-aligned independent expenditure (IE) group operating in presidential and down-ballot races. Similar scale and direct-support model though focused on top-of-ticket rather than Welcome's House challenger niche.
• Blue Dog Coalition: Congressional caucus of conservative/moderate Democrats and active WelcomeFest co-host. Multiple Blue Dog members were on Welcome's 2024 Win The Middle slate, making it a direct organizational counterpart in the moderate Democratic ecosystem.
• EMILYs List: Large Democratic PAC supporting pro-choice women candidates across federal and state races. Operates a similar endorsement-and-fundraising model, comparable donor base, and overlapping House candidate slate.

Others

• ActBlue: Dominant Democratic online fundraising platform and WelcomePAC's core donation processing partner. Not a peer in mission but a critical infrastructure/platform dependency enabling all of Welcome's revenue collection.

Emerging players

• Justice Democrats: Progressive insurgent PAC explicitly positioned as the ideological opposite of WelcomePAC ("Justice Democrats for the Center" framing). Competes for the same donors and primary voters in Democratic primaries, with Welcome endorsees running 4.6 points ahead of them in 2024.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheWelcomeTeam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/welcomepac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WelcomePAC