About
Hi – I’m Mim Kukowski, Founder of Purple Primaries. Like so many Americans, I’ve been losing sleep over the dysfunctional state of our national politics and what it means for our future.
So for the last few years, I’ve been in my default coping mode, researching and analyzing my concerns in depth, and I learned something both surprising and hopeful: there is now a very under-appreciated structural problem in our primary elections at the root of this dysfunction — and it can be fixed simply by better public understanding of the issue.
Purple Primaries is a new public information initiative to raise awareness of this primary problem and spark the participation by moderates needed to dilute the extremes. More representative Congressional primaries would de-polarize Congress and neuter the “primaried out” tactic that crucially endangers the survival of our democracy.
I personally funded the initial stages and set-up of Purple Primaries as a 501c(3) non-profit. We’ll be seeking major donors and grant funding to expand Purple Primaries’ impact beyond our initial focus on a few swing states. We hope to have a nationwide effort in place for the 2028 election cycle and beyond.
My Background
My professional background is not in politics directly but I’ve had a lot of exposure to assessing political matters and strategies.
I spent several decades in New York as an investment banker specializing in the unusually complex and highly regulated cable television industry. Three major pieces of federal legislation were passed covering the sector then, so I spent a lot of time monitoring that and gained a strong sense of Congressional process and politics. I had earlier studied Economics at the University of Chicago with a focus on public policy problems and worked for the late Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.
Board and Advisory Team
The Purple Primaries Board and advisory team are made up of people with a variety of skills to help this effort succeed. Their expertise includes experience in public relations, communications, law, non-profit finance and operational management, political strategy and peace-building tactics. Their political persuasions range across the spectrum. As a group, they prefer to stay private about their involvement, given the potentially fractious nature of anything political these days.
About Us
Hi – I’m Mim Kukowski, Founder & Chair of Purple Primaries. The idea for Purple Primaries came to me after a long period of noodling over why our national politics are so divided now.
Purple Primaries is an information campaign to fix a major cause of our broken politics. Few Americans understand how Congressional primaries now fundamentally create our political dysfunction. Our goal is to raise awareness of this issue to spark broader participation by voters across the political spectrum in Congressional primaries.
We’re using an organized word-of-mouth method designed to spread exponentially, greatly magnifying the impact of every single individual action. We’re partnering with the League of Women Voters to develop and seed this campaign.
My Background
My professional background is not in politics directly but I’ve had a lot of experience assessing political matters and strategies. I was an investment banker specializing in the cable television industry during the time that three major pieces of federal legislation were passed covering the broadband and telecom industries. I spent a great deal of time in those days monitoring those developments in Congress. I studied Economics at the University of Chicago with a focus on public policy problems and worked for Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. I’ve also held local elective office.
In addition, I’m a politics junkie, which I apparently inherited. My Dad was a World War II Greatest Generation veteran who passed his interest in national affairs and deep love of country onto me.
Board and Advisory Team
The Purple Primaries Board and advisory team are made up of people who bring expertise in a variety of ways to help this effort succeed. As a group, they prefer to stay private about their involvement, given the potentially fractious nature of anything political these days. Their expertise includes experience in public relations, communications, law, non-profit finance and operations, political strategy and peace-building tactics. Their political persuasions range across the spectrum.
Funding
I personally funded the initial stages of Purple Primaries. We will be seeking other major donors and grant funding as Purple Primaries rolls out nationally with the unfolding of the 2026 primary calendar across the states.
The End Game
We believe Purple Primaries has the power to shape our collective future much for the better. It can re-invigorate Congress to deal with the difficult challenges of our times. It can neuter the “primaried out” tactic that saps Congress’s ability to act as a check on Executive Branch over-reach. It can counter the division that can only hurt our national prospects.
Please join us.