In honor of the four weeks to go before the election,
we thought we'd kick off our first diary entry with the four ways statehouse races matter shaping our nation and planning for long-term Democratic success:
1.) When we flip a statehouse, the conversation in the state changes overnight
2.) When we win at the statehouse level, we're putting Democrats in a strong position for redistricting.
3.) We're showing Democrats can win--anywhere.
4.) We're preparing the future national Democratic leaders.
More below--plus four things you can do to help and four key chambers.
First, when we flip a statehouse, the conversation in the state changes overnight. When Democrats control statehouses, we make decisions about funding education, healthcare programs, and other bread-and-butter Democratic issues. State legislatures make more decisions that affect citizens' everyday life than Congress does. This role is even more important now, since the Republican-led Congress has been shifting more and more fiscal responsibility to the states.
Second, most redistricting is done in the state legislatures. The current Republican-gerrymandered districts have made it so that it has taken staggering failures by national Republicans to put their control of the House in jeopardy. Help us level the playing field. This is a winner-take-all system, and we are on a wire right now. Of the 36 state legislatures that control redistricting, 20 have at least one chamber within 4 seats of changing hands. A flip of about 50 state legislative seats in the right place (out of over seven thousand, nationally) could mean a gain---or a loss---of up to 15 Democratic Congressional seats through redistricting.
Third, the DLCC is showing that Democrats can compete--anywhere. Many of our gains in 2004 were in traditionally "red" states, like Colorado, Montana, and North Carolina. We have proven that Democrats can be successful all across this great country.
Lastly, when Democrats run and win at the state legislative level, we are training our future national leaders. About 50% of governors and Members of Congress got their start in their statehouse. Many Democratic stars, like Barack Obama, start at the state legislative level before their explosion onto the national scene.
And here are four things you can go to make a difference:
1.) Subscribe to the DLCC e-newsletters (www.dlcc.org); we'll keep you up to date on key chambers and issues.
2.) Support candidates in one (or more!) of our four new "chamber flipper" pages:
Chamber Flippers - Montana
Chamber Flipper - Oregon
Chamber Flipper - Maine
Chamber Flippers - Iowa
(That one comes courtesy of Ben, Jonathan, Erin and the folks at ActBlue. )
3.) Get a yard sign from, donate to, or volunteer for your state representative or senator.
4.) Support the DLCC. Your donation helps us defend the gains we made in 2004, take advantage of the Democratic wave this year, and build for long-term Democratic success.
Please stay tuned. More info to come.
Legal stuff: The DLCC is able to accept corporate, treasury, PAC and individual contributions. Contributions will be used at the DLCC's sole discretion to support its nonfederal programs and activities. Contributions or gifts to the DLCC are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.