Power in America starts and ends in the states. Yet Democrats suffer under the delusion that they can solve all their problems by winning at …
Power in America starts and ends in the states. Yet Democrats suffer under the delusion that they can solve all their problems by winning at the federal level. As we at Forward Majority write in our new analysis, a rosy narrative has taken hold projecting a Democratic landslide up and down the ballot in November. But the data tell a much more urgent story for Democrats: Less than three months before Election Day, Republicans are still poised to retain complete control of the most strategically important state legislatures in the country. Which raises the question: As they celebrate at their convention this week, will Democrats ignore their strategic failures? The stakes of continued Republican monopolies on power in states like Florida and Texas could not be higher ahead of redistricting in 2021. After the Supreme Court effectively signed-off on extreme partisan gerrymandering last year, these GOP majorities could use their power to redraw congressional and state maps, take the gavel back from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022, and lock in control of Congress until 2032. Democrats can still take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to win majorities in crucial state legislative chambers. The underlying electoral fundamentals are still strong. There’s just one crucial element missing in the most strategically important legislative races: money. In the Texas State House, for example, Democrats seeking to flip the most pivotal districts have only raised 64% of what Republican incumbents have raised, and their cash-on-hand is only 30% of their Republican opponents.
