FOLLOWING EIGHT YEARS OF LEADING PRIORITIES USA CHAIRMAN GUY CECIL TO STEP DOWN AT THE END OF MARCH
Cecil Grew Priorities Into Critical Piece of Democratic Infrastructure Helping Take Back the House in 2018, Win the Presidency and the Senate in 2020, and File 30 Voting Rights Lawsuits with Litigation Victories in 11 States
Over Cecil’s 8 Years Priorities Raised More Than $650 Million, Produced More than 12,000 Ads, Invested in 90 House, Senate and Gubernatorial Races and Over 100 Local Races
The Priorities Digital Training and Fellowship Program Trained Over 2,500 Democratic Organizers on Cutting-Edge Digital Practices
Washington, DC – Today, Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil announced that after eight years of leading Priorities USA through numerous Democratic victories, he will step down from his role as chairman at the end of March. Cecil will remain a board member following the end of his tenure.
While Priorities USA Action started as a traditional presidential Super PAC in 2012, Cecil became Chairman in 2015 and grew it into a critical piece of Democratic infrastructure including building a cutting-edge in-house digital and analytics operation. No longer a traditional PAC, Priorities went on to help win everything from the White House and Senate to House and local races as well as defending and strengthening voting rights for millions of Americans across the country. In 2022, Priorities ran the largest digital mobilization program in the history of mid-term elections. Cecil leaves Priorities in good hands with a senior leadership team that’s been with the organization for six years and $26.5 million on hand and committed so far this year.
Here’s a brief look at the more than $650 million Priorities raised under Cecil:
2016: Served as Hillary Clinton’s Super PAC
2017: Ran an independent digital campaign to elect Doug Jones.
Founded the Priorities USA Foundation which went on to spend $60M on 30 voting rights lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Florida and other states across the country.
Founded Priorities USA, a non-profit, focused on increasing the participation of underrepresented communities in civic life.
Developed significant partnerships with allies focused on increasing Black, Latino, youth, and LGBQ turnout.
2018: Invested in 60 House races, helping Democrats take back the majority.
Supported the reelection of Senator Tammy Baldwin.
Launched the Priorities Digital Training and Fellowship Program which went on to train over 2,500 progressive organizers on digital best practices.
2020: Ran the earliest and largest independent campaign focused on defeating Donald Trump, including the largest independent digital campaign in history.
Launched the first advertising campaign taking on the President’s disastrous handling of the pandemic. The ad campaign was so successful, the Trump campaign (unsuccessfully) sued Priorities and local stations to take the ad down.
Supported Mark Kelly’s campaign, helping Democrats retake the Senate majority.
2022: Invested $48 million in the largest midterm digital campaign in the country, helping Democrats increase their Senate majority and hold key gubernatorial seats.
Supported John Fetterman, Mark Kelly, Raphael Warnock, and Catherine Cortez-Masto’s successful campaigns for Senate.
Supported Josh Shapiro, Gretchen Whitmer, Tony Evers and Katie Hobbs successful campaign for Governor.
“Guy Cecil’s leadership at Priorities USA came at a critical time for the Democratic Party and the country. He understood more than anyone that we needed new ways of thinking and communicating to fight back against far-right forces. His success comes as no surprise to me. From the moment we began working together, I have valued his strategic thinking, relentless work ethic, and deep belief in our country. I am grateful to call him my friend and look forward to seeing what he has in store next,” said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“Whenever you are in a political fight, you want Guy Cecil in your corner. His eight years as Priorities’ Chairman have been critical to Democratic successes across the country. Guy never hesitates to fight back against right-wing extremists like Donald Trump, Ron Desantis and the rest of the MAGA crowd, but he always does it with integrity and in partnership with the people around him. Congratulations to him on an incredible run at Priorities,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
“Guy Cecil is a leading voice in the Democratic Party, always pushing us to think bigger about how we can create a fairer, more just, more prosperous country – and how to win elections at every level to deliver on that promise. Under Guy’s leadership, Priorities USA has made critical investments in Pennsylvania, helping us build a broad coalition of support and turning out the vote. I look forward to working with him on whatever his bright future holds,” said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
“I am full of gratitude today. It’s been a privilege to work alongside the hundreds of talented staffers at Priorities USA over these last eight years and I want to thank all of our supporters and partners for making this work possible. We defeated a President, elected another, took back the House and Senate, and won voting rights cases across the country. Priorities will continue to lead and grow, and I look forward to watching them take on the fight to re-elect President Biden. I’m also looking forward to some new adventures of my own and am more committed than ever to making a difference wherever and however I can,” said Guy Cecil, Chairman and Chief Strategist at Priorities USA.