Democratic group to spend $15 million on key state legislature races
A Democratic organization plans to pour $15 million into key state legislative races across the country, operatives with the group tell CNN, money that will influence races that could tilt the balance in states that will be key to redistricting in the coming years.
The super PAC, Forward Majority, plans to target races in Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona -- four of the states where Republicans are in control of both chambers of the state legislatures. The focus on Sun Belt states highlights a belief among Democrats that the rejection of President Donald Trump by traditional Republicans, especially in the suburbs, could lead the party to wins in what have traditionally been GOP strongholds.
State legislative races are particularly important in 2020 because the candidates elected to the state bodies in November are sure to play roles in redrawing the congressional and legislative maps for the next decade. Because many states rely on the state lawmakers to draw congressional and state legislative maps, the party that controls a state legislature will have more influence and, in some cases, the ability to draw maps that help their party win for the next 10 years.
Forward Majority was launched in 2017 explicitly to take back state legislatures for Democrats ahead of 2021 redistricting.
"Without having a seat at the table next year, we will likely see an unprecedented level of gerrymandering," said Forward Majority co-founder Vicky Hausman, who argued that these four states "represent the most powerful points of leverage in our democracy."
https://www.kten.com/story/42601128/democratic-group-to-spend-15-million-on-key-state-legislature-races
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