How Many More Legislatures Will The Democrats Wrest From GOP Control Because Of Trump's Toxicity?

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that the DLCC will spend $50 million to flip 7 legislatures: Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa. DLCC president, Jessica Post: "We have a generational opportunity to flip state legislatures from red to blue. We’ve seen this gridlock in Washington, that hopefully will not continue, but if it does... we want progress. We’ve got to see it happen in the states."

Since Trump wormed his way into the White House, the Democrats have picked up over 400 seats in state legislatures, winning control of chambers in Virginia (both chambers), Maine, New York, Connecticut, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Washington.

The reason this year is so important is because in 2021 state legislatures will drawn new district lines-- for their own districts and in 31 states, for congressional districts. The 2022 midterms will be fought in the new districts.

There are 21 states with Republican control of both houses of the legislature and of the governor's mansion. Democrats have a reasonable chance to flip one house in 2 of the states, Arizona and Iowa and is aiming for the Texas Housewhich seems nearly impossible. The states in red are hopelessly controlled by the GOP:

• Alabama
• Arizona (House includes 31 Republicans and 29 Democrats)
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa (House includes 53 Republicans and 47 Dems)
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Meanwhile the Democrats have this trifecta status in just 15 states and I've marked the states which are solid enough blue so that the GOP has no shot to break it:

• California
• Colorado (Senate has 19 Dems and 16 Republicans)
• Connecticut
• Delaware (Senate has 12 Dems and 9 Republicans)
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Virginia (Senate has 21 Dems and 19 Republicans)
• Washington

That leaves 14 with split control and opportunities for flips from red to blue and from blue to red:

• Alaska (House is controlled by the Democrats in a narrow coalition)
• Kansas (Democratic governor with massive GOP legislative control)
• Kentucky (Democratic governor with massive GOP legislative control)
• Louisiana (Democratic governor with massive GOP legislative control)
• Maryland (Republican governor with massive Democratic legislative control)
• Massachusetts (Republican governor with massive Democratic legislative control)
• Michigan (Democratic governor with Republican legislative control, although the lower house could be vulnerable-- 58-52)
• Minnesota (Democratic governor and House, weak GOP control of Senate-- 35-32)
• Montana (Democratic governor with massive GOP legislative control)
• New Hampshire (Republican governor with Democratic legislative control, although GOP could take back 14-10 Senate)
• North Carolina (Democratic governor with Republican legislative control)
• Pennsylvania (Democratic governor with Republican legislative control, although Dems could, in a huge wave year, win either or both houses)
• Vermont (Republican governor with massive Democratic legislative control)
• Wisconsin (Democratic governor with mixed Republican legislative control; GOP grip on the Assembly is solid but Dems could win back the 19-14 Senate)

Blue America has just begun endorsing 2020 candidates in state legislative races, primarily to guarantee that progressives win seats instead of Republican-lite neoliberals. The thermometer on the right will show you who we have endorsed so far-- and give you the opportunity to contribute to any candidate you may want to help give a boost. Chris Larson is actually running for Milwaukee County Executive so he would be giving up his state Senate seat if he wins. Do you remember Jovanka Beckles? She was one of Blue America's endorsed state legislative candidates last cycle, when she was opposed for an open seat by a corporate Dem who, basically, bought the election. Today Jovanka is still a member of the Richmond City Council and a member of the Matriarch Advisory Board. In a note to her supporters a few hours ago, she described herself as "a longtime activist who was fed up with the system and ran for office to create direct change. I work for the county as a children’s mental health specialist and I see first hand the challenges families face. In working to increase quality of life for families I work with, I realized that there was something lacking-- and what was lacking was people-focused policies. So, I decided to run for office to make a difference by creating the kinds of policies that would help my family and community."

My campaign was a grassroots effort with very little money but with a true movement. What I didn’t anticipate was how hard it really is to run for higher office-- while working full time. Unlike my opponent who was independently wealthy, it was very difficult for my campaign to take off since I had to keep my job to support my family.

When I joined the Matriarch movement, I thought this was a great idea because as working women-- particularly women of color-- we need the boost and support, and the sisterhood that we are building here is doing just that. It’s exciting to hear: “Finally there’s an organization that’s really there to help us as working women-- and as grassroots candidates.”

What better voices to represent us than the working women-- nurses and teachers and mental health specialists like myself-- who are in the trenches every single day?

Remember where Pramila Jayapal was before Congress-- the Washington state legislature. Ilhan Omar was in the Minnesota state legislature. Rashida Tlaib had served in the Michigan state legislature. Ted Lieu had distinguished himself and learned his chops in the California Assembly and then the California state Senate. That's one reason why supporting state legislative candidates is so important and so worth doing. We need more people in office like Jovanka Beckles-- and fewer like Buffy Wicks.