700 GOP MAGA candidates are running for state house seats, including 21 Jan. 6 insurrectionists

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday October 06, 2022 · 1:44 PM PDT

2022/10/06 · 13:44

Pro choice supporters gather outside the Michigan State Capitol during a "Restore Roe" rally in Lansing, on September 7, 2022. - Michigan's elections board last Wednesday rejected a voter initiative due to formatting of the petition text for the November ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, a move that sets the stage for a legal showdown at the state Supreme Court. More than 730,000 residents in Michigan signed a petition to get an amendment to enshrine reproductive rights into the Michigan's State Constitution. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images) — Michigan needs our defense against the MAGA Republicans trying to take it.

While MAGA, election-denying Republicans are over-represented in federal and statewide races this November, they’re really proliferating in state legislative races.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) launched its Threats to Democracy project last month, identifying state-by-state the legislative candidates who’ve embraced election denial and extremist MAGA stances. The DLCC has identified more than 700 Republican state legislators and candidates “who pose an existential threat to our democracy.” It just added another several dozen, including three who were in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. DLCC has identified 21 insurrectionist candidates who were at the Capitol that day.

“The evidence is clear—MAGA candidates and election deniers are working to seize power in state legislatures all across the country,” said DLCC President Jessica Post. “These candidates no longer represent the fringe of the Republican Party, but instead represent the GOP’s future. In key swing states like Arizona and Michigan, MAGA militants are moving the insurrection from our nation’s capital to state capitals. While the GOP threat grows, state Democrats and the DLCC are working to stop the MAGA movement in its tracks and ensure that democracy is protected by electing Democrats to state legislatures all across the map this fall.”

Can you give $1 to each of these Daily Kos-endorsed Democrats so that we can win back crucial legislative chambers in two huge swing states?

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Eighteen of the new MAGA candidates they’ve identified are from Michigan, “meaning over 30% or nearly one-third of Michigan’s Republican candidates for state legislature pose an active threat to our democracy and future elections.”

The DLCC has named Michigan “ground zero for the GOP’s continued threat against our democracy.” They’ve identified 47 incumbents or candidates who “attended the insurrection, took active steps to overturn the presidential election results, or spread conspiracy theories undermining confidence in our election system.”

Pennsylvania is “a breeding ground for some of the most anti-democratic MAGA Republicans in this country,” the DLCC says, with “GOP legislative candidates [who] worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election, spread election conspiracies, and laid the groundwork to threaten future elections.”

That’s why Daily Kos has jumped into these state house races with a slate of candidates in each that could help make those flips happen. These are two of the most critical states to provide a backstop against Trump—or his MAGA clone—in 2024. It’s also critical to flip the legislatures of these states to keep abortion legal there.

David Nir explained what’s at stake: “Republicans failed to steal the last election, but 2020 was only a dry run. They’ve been refining their approach and they will steal the next one if we don’t stop them. Winning the state houses in Michigan and Pennsylvania would provide our democracy with a key bulwark against that terrifying prospect.”

He also pointed out that these are among the best races for grassroots donors and volunteers to make the biggest difference—the campaign budgets are a fraction of what is being spent on statewide races, and covering a legislative district with volunteers on the ground is a lot easier. You’ll get the most bang for your buck, and your time, in these races.