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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

National Democratic Redistricting Committee Launched to Fight GOP Control In States

Elena Schneider reports at Politico that “Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday officially launched the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, billing it in a speech to the Center for American Progress Action Fund as the center of Democratic rebuilding in the era of President-elect Donald Trump and as Democrats’ main hope to roll back Republican gains in state legislatures and prepare for redistricting in 2020.”

The goal of the project is to position Democrats to win “House majorities in Congresses elected after 2020,” which should be doable. It’s a commendable initiative. Clearly, there is not enough being done to challenge Republican gerrymandering, since Republicans now have “trifecta” control — the governorships and majorities in both state senate and house — in 25 states, compared to just 6 for Democrats.

According to the NDRC’s web page:

The NDRC will target races in every election cycle through 2020 – including gubernatorial, state legislative and ballot initiative campaigns where Democrats can produce fairer electoral maps in 2021. Holder highlighted these major focal points in a speech at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, including: 

1. ELECTORAL – The NDRC will coordinate and support the critical state-based electoral work led by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association to identify and invest in key down-ballot races with redistricting implications. 

2. LEGAL – The NDRC ensures that ongoing infrastructure is in place and adequately resourced to guide a proactive legal strategy using data, technical, and map drawing resources.

3. BALLOT INITIATIVE – The NDRC will support state ballot reforms where this is the best strategy to produce fairer maps.

The NDRC will have the active support of President Obama after his term expires. The hope is that his fund-raising cred can be leveraged to help finance promising Democratic candidates, as well as the organization’s projects. Former Presidents Carter and Clinton have done great work as ex-presidents, and President Obama could also make a tremendous difference for the better after his presidency, by empowering the NDRC to achieve its goals.

Schneider explains further,

The top of the NRDC’s priority list, Holder said, is simply winning state legislatures and governorships. Holder noted that three dozen upcoming gubernatorial races in 2017 and 2018 offer a direct path to affecting redistricting in many states. Holder also noted that other, less-noticed statewide officeholders, such as secretaries of state, are positioned to affect the redistricting process in certain states.

“Four of the nine House seats gained by Democrats this year were a result from new maps that came from redistricting cases in Florida and Virginia,” Holder said. “The NDRC is poised to seize on these early gains by advancing a very aggressive legal strategy.”

Over the years, Democrats have beneftted from the leadership development programs of both partisan and nonpartisan organizations like Emily’s List, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Center for American Women in Politics, Emerge America, the Latino Victory Project and the National Democratic Training CommitteeActBlue is helping more than 1800 state and local Democratic candidates and campaigns at the grass roots level. But all of these groups together likely have but a fraction of the economic resources Republican candidates and political groups receive from their corporate and wealthy contributors.

The NDRC will bring long-overdue attention to the urgency of Democrats mobilizing to challenge Republican gerrymandering and provide resources needed to make Democrats more competitive in the states. You can support the project right here.

10 comments on “National Democratic Redistricting Committee Launched to Fight GOP Control In States

  1. harvey weiss on

    I want to send a donation. I do not donate on line or by credit card or through ACT BLUE. I have searched the internet and cannot find a regular mail address for the entity . Send me a contribution form so that I can contribute by mail. Harvey Weiss 9 Rosemont Terr . West Orange N.J. 07052

    Reply
  2. David FROMME on

    When presenting your case to a court it would always help if you can show what the districts would like if constructed impartially. Many years ago I set up new IRS districts using population data that had been gathered by zip code. A similar method would facilitate redistricting where the only consideration is population balancing. Things like natural boundaries and the starting point (seed point) for a district would begin are provided for. It is also possible that political boundaries such as county lines would matter.

    In any case this is not a major undertaking and would definitely enhance any court presentation.

    I would be happy to help draw up the specifications for such an undertaking.

    Reply
  3. Diana Cassel on

    Join Fair Districts PA instead – otherwise the cycle just perpetuates. If gerrymandering is eliminated, votes will actually count and candidates will have to work for their votes. Citizens will feel heard and democracy will be restored.

    Reply
  4. Linda Diamond on

    I am interested in becoming involved with the Committee in Pennsylvania. Please let me know who to contact. Thank you.

    Reply
  5. Al Liner on

    Though I am not a registered Dem. I am very concerned with this issue. I truly believe it is the main reason progressive candidates have lost so many elections. That seems the reason the person with the most votes looses. The concept of one person one vote has gone out the window.
    Though I live in California where this is not so much and issue, I would still like to help on a national level. So how does one get involved with you organization????

    Reply
  6. Maydelin Alfonso on

    I would like to be involved as much as possible. I would love to be a part of this VERY important movement. AND NOT ALLOW WHAT HAPPEN TO GORE AND CLINTON REPEAT AGAIN. Thank You

    Reply
  7. Mary Garman on

    This is a seminal part of rebuilding the Democrat Party. The importance of the takeover of state legislatures and statewide offices cannot be overstated. It is trite to point out that the Koch brothers have been major donors in these efforts for Republicans. It was cheap for them, and look at what they have won over the last 6 years. We Democrats have to take the fight to them in every state. I definitely hope that this is the 50-state strategy I have been waiting for after it was abandoned when Howard Dean left the DNC.

    Reply
    • Jack Olson on

      This effort deserves more publicity, particularly the electoral part of the NDRC strategy. Litigation won’t win elections.

      Reply

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