EXCLUSIVE: Winning for Women Action Fund boasts nearly-perfect primary record in efforts to boost GOP women candidates

One of the largest outside groups dedicated to electing Republican women posted historic results during the 2026 primaries, boasting a near-perfect record in races where it invested significantly.

Winning for Women Action Fund (WFW AF) is done with House and Senate primaries for the year — but as it turns to general elections, it has a lot to celebrate. WFW AF went big for a pair of GOP incumbent lawmakers and for six women running in open seats: Sen. Darline Graham (R., S.C.) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R., Utah), along with Laurie Buckhout, Sydney Gruters, Jenny Costa Honeycutt, Jessica Steinmann, Alex Mealer, and Amanda McKinney.

While Democrats are suggesting that they will spend against Graham, Buckhout, and Honeycutt in particular, most of the women are likely locks to win in November. WFW AF’s investments follow the strategy that its leadership — Danielle Barrow and Meredith Allen Dellinger — outlined in an earlier op-ed in the Washington Reporter. 

WFW AF has already raised over $5 million during the 2026 cycle, which it deployed successfully in eight of nine primaries that it engaged in. “We set out this cycle to identify and invest early in the most qualified conservative with the ability to win, and an eight-for-nine primary record shows that strategy is working,” Barrow explained. “These are exactly the kind of leaders WFW AF was built to support, and now we’re bringing that same focus and firepower to the battlegrounds that will determine control of Congress this November.”

“This is a record we are proud to put our name on,” Dellinger added. “In race after race this cycle, our investments in TV, digital, mail, modeling, and voter contact delivered real results at the ballot box. Now we turn our focus to the fall where WFW AF is preparing significant investments to help our candidates win in November and strengthen our Republican majorities.”

In several of the races that WFW AF engaged in, victory was far from assured. In Honeycutt’s race, for example, WFW AF noted that she “faced a crowded ten-candidate primary field in a district where uncertain redistricting all but guaranteed a runoff” in her campaign to succeed Rep. Nancy Mace (R., S.C.). 

“WFW AF was the first major outside group in the race, deploying messaging research to ensure proper contrast with her opponents, targeted digital and cable advertising to build name ID, and GOTV texting to mobilize supporters through the runoff sprint. In addition to significant hard-dollar support, WFW AF’s primary investment included nearly $500,000 in independent spending on digital, cable, and texting. Honeycutt placed first in the primary and won the runoff with 54%,” it added. “She now faces a well-funded Democratic opponent in a seat Democrats’ House Majority PAC has already reserved $2 million to flip.”

WFW AF’s support for Mealer in Texas’s open 9th District was it go head-to-head against one of the highest-profile members of the Texas legislature, who was endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R., Texas). “Mealer entered a high-profile contest against Texas Freedom Caucus Chairman Briscoe Cain in a newly drawn seat in the eastern Houston suburbs,” WFW AF explained. “WFW AF was among the first outside groups to engage, conducting a December modeling project to ensure advertising reached the right audiences and partnering with allied groups to test and refine Mealer’s message. Despite a nine-candidate field and late outside spending against her, Mealer emerged from the primary in first place and won the subsequent runoff. WFW AF’s total investment included $93,000 in hard dollars raised and nearly $360,000 in independent spending on digital, mail, phones, texting, and modeling.”

In Steinmann’s race, WFW AF’s early support for Steinmann proved critical, and the chips fell in Steinmann’s favor shortly thereafter. “Steinmann maintained a lead on the initial ballot, secured President Trump’s endorsement, saw her main opponent exit the race, and won outright on primary night with 68% — clearing the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff entirely. WFW AF’s investment included over $60,000 in hard dollars raised and over $245,000 in independent spending on digital, mail, and modeling,” it explained. 

In Graham’s race, WFW AF deployed targeted early live calls to help her defeat her primary opponent; for Buckhout, it deployed targeted mail and texting to help Buckhout win her primary; for Gruters, WFW AF deployed a six-figure mail campaign and raised tens of thousands of hard dollars for her; for Maloy, it engaged with a radio campaign in the newly drawn portion of her district; and for McKinney, WFW AF invested nearly $100,000 in modeling and targeted digital advertising to help McKinney secure her spot in the general election.

Over the past several cycles, WFW AF and its affiliated entities have raised and directed over $48 million to support GOP women through its super PAC, 501(c)(4), connected PAC, and hard dollar initiatives.