Piggybacking on historic gains in the 2022 midterm elections and the flipping of a Republican legislature in 2023, the Forward Majority Super PAC is now pouring $25 million into the 2024 election to help Democrats. “Republicans have long understood the power of state legislatures, and where they have strategically invested for more than 40 years. In contrast, Democrats have treated state legislatures as an afterthought,” Forward Majority said in announcing its new effort, the Battleground Voter Project (BVP). The group says that Democratic voters will also “impact elections in 5 critical battleground states in the fight for the presidency, 13 competitive congressional districts in the path to flipping the U.S. House, and 4 U.S. Senate races.” “Winning where it counts requires a new approach. Our 10-year strategy includes three pillars designed to build advantage and Democratic performance in the elusive districts that are the lynchpin of power,” the organization said. Forward Majority has identified more than two million likely Democratic voters who are not traditionally targeted by civic engagement of voter registration efforts. The states to be targeted include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. The U.S. has 99 state legislative chambers, 85 of which are holding elections in 2024. As of October 10, Republicans controlled 55 percent of all state legislatures. Republicans also held a majority in 57 chambers, while Democrats held a majority in only 40 chambers. There are also 22 states where Republicans hold the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature (trifectas), compared to 17 states where Democrats hold trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party holds a trifecta. "American democracy is in a fight for every single inch, with the most important elections decided by razor thin margins," Forward Majority founder and co-CEO Vicky Hausman said in a statement. “Nowhere is that more true than in state legislatures - and Democrats have been leaving votes on the table." The project also seeks to give Democrats a better chance of controlling the redistricting process in states that have historically benefitted Republicans through gerrymandering. “Republican statehouses are laboratories of autocracy, with a recent tsunami of voter suppression laws and documented democratic backsliding,” said Forward Majority. “Democrats have made progress in winning back power, but the threat is real and relentless. BVP is part of Forward Majority’s larger, multi cycle strategic effort and is a new initiative to capture the enormous opportunity and deploy this essential intervention to win state legislative majorities.”A major Democratic Super PAC has announced a multimillion-dollar effort to win back control of state legislatures in key states throughout the U.S.
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