Opinion: Democrats have an opportunity to reshape the balance of power in Washington if they focus on more than just beating Trump. By VickyHausman of ForwardMajority .
The democratic presidential primary debate hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register in Des Moines, Iowa.While beating Trump is a major goal, Democrats should also focus on taking back state houses.
That year Democrats collectively sat on our hands while Republicans invested roughly $30 million into down ballot races, won control of two-thirds of state legislatures across the country, and gerrymandered themselves into dozens of congressional seats for the next decade. That's because the data makes clear that putting a relatively small amount of money into a key selection of battleground states could ensure Democrats are not gerrymandered out of power in Congress for decades to come.
For those motivated to support Democratic politicians at the national level, helping Democrats flip these state legislatures is vital to preventing further Republican gerrymandering, which could lock Democrats out of power at the Congressional level for the next decade.that are prime targets across these three states. We estimate that competitive campaigns with a good chance of securing Democratic majorities would cost about $30 million dollars in total.
Defeating Trump is an essential, existential fight; both the stakes and costs are extremely high. But, Trump is a symptom of the rot and corruption in our political system, not the root cause. If Democrats defeat Trump but fail to counter the voter suppression and gerrymandering that tear at the heart of fairness, representation and accountability in our democracy, we will be all the more vulnerable to the next aspirational authoritarian who rises after him.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Democrats pounce as Trump says he would consider cuts to Social Security and MedicarePresident Trump said he was open to look at cutting entitlements, giving Democrats another issue to run on in 2020.
Read more »
Trump impeachment trial live updates: Democrats make case for 'obstruction of Congress'Rep. Jason Crow: 'Regardless of whether the aid was ultimately released, the fact that the hold became public sent a very clear to signal to Russia that our support for Ukraine was wavering. And Russia was watching very closely.' 'The damage was done.'
Read more »
Trump impeachment trial live updates: Democrats to make case for 'obstruction of Congress''Why does Ukraine matter to the United States?' Rep. Adam Schiff asks. 'Countries like Ukraine are fighting our fight against authoritarianism—at least that used to be our fight. And God help us if it's not our fight still.'
Read more »
Democrats say Trump 'worked hard' on Ukraine cover-up, shows no remorseTrump administration hasn't shown that it really 'cares' about corruption in Ukraine, Rep. Jason Crow said at the president's impeachment trial
Read more »
Democrats detail abuse-of-power charge against Trump as Republicans complain of repetitive argumentsTrump’s team will launch its defense of the president on Saturday, with the key question of whether the Senate will call new witnesses or subpoena documents set to be decided around the middle of next week.
Read more »