Elizabeth Warren Pledges Big Money To 'Turn Up The Heat On Gerrymandering'
WASHINGTON ― Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced Tuesday that she would contribute $175,000 to efforts to Democratic groups trying to win back state legislatures and to fight partisan gerrymandering.
In the last speech of the day at the Center for American Progress’ Ideas Conference, where she was joined by many other rumored presidential contenders, Warren pledged the money as part of a multipronged effort to fix a “crisis in our democracy” that she said has been building since long before President Donald Trump took office.
The senior Massachusetts senator identified control of state governments and the congressional redistricting process as key ways to fight Republican efforts to infringe on voting rights. She called on Democrats to root out key GOP-led threats such as “racist” voter-ID laws, early voting restrictions, disenfranchisement of felons and partisan gerrymandering.
“I’m doubling down on the importance of our voters — state by state — and I want to turn up the heat on gerrymandering,” she said, according to the text of her prepared remarks. “I’m sending $175,000 to organizations on the front lines trying to win back our legislatures and fight for fair redistricting.
“Democrats believe in a fair fight, and making sure that districts aren’t drawn to cut out one party or the other is a critical first step,” she continued.
Warren is splitting the cash among several Democratic campaign committees and groups. She is sending $8,000 each to nine Democratic legislature campaigns in states where Democrats hope to pick up seats: Florida, Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
She is also contributing $30,000 each to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (a national party arm that helps elect Democratic state lawmakers) and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (a group led by former Attorney General Eric Holder that is devoted to fighting GOP-led partisan redistricting). The remainder of the $175,000 will be split among several nonprofit liberal resistance groups, including Forward Majority, a super PAC devoted to electing Democratic state lawmakers.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/elizabeth-warren-state-legislatures-partisan-gerrymandering_us_5afb42dce4b0a59b4dfe6573
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