MEMORANDUM TO DEMOCRATIC LEADERS & ACTIVISTS
FROM: Michael Sargeant, DLCC Executive Director
SUBJECT: Redistricting Now

Overview

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the national party organization that represents state lawmakers from across the country. Our mission is to build and maintain winning, state-of-the-art campaign committees through partnerships with legislative leaders, professional staff, and supporters.

The DLCC has been helping Democrats make gains at the state level since its inception in 1994. In this pre-redistricting year, the DLCC plans to spend $20 million on targeted legislative chambers. The DLCC builds strategic, accountable legislative programs in our targeted states through work with legislative leadership and caucus directors.

Democrats have been winning races consistently at the state legislative level for years. That’s why President Bush’s political gurus are lining up to game the system again. Republican leaders are highlighting the importance of this election and called on the Grand Old Party to use redistricting to reassemble Republican majorities in Congress.

Redistricting Implications

After the 2010 election, lawmakers in a majority of states will meet to draw the lines for both congressional and legislative districts. Having a say in this process is the only way that we can ensure a Democratic agenda gets traction in the future. Of the legislatures with the power to draw congressional maps, 23 chambers in 17 states are within five seats of changing hands. These 17 states will draw 198 Congressional Districts.

The bottom line: The results of the 2010 state legislative elections will define how key reforms and policies are decided for the next decade.

History has taught us that redistricting will have a near instant impact on the makeup of Congress.

In 2002, the first election after the last round of redistricting, 17 congressional seats changed hands—many analysts believe redistricting accounts for 15 of those losses. Because Republicans controlled a majority of the nation’s state houses after the 2000 election, the GOP was able to make substantial gains in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Legislatures in the Crosshairs

Democrats are ready to win in 2010. Already this year, we have gained seats in special elections in Republican-leaning areas, despite shifts in the national political landscape. But the hard work of consolidating the gains our lawmakers have made since 2003 is still ahead of us. Ten chambers where we hold majorities have tight contests this year:

• Alabama Senate (20D, 15R)
• Colorado Senate (21D, 14R)
• Indiana House (52D, 48R)
• Nevada Senate (12D, 9R)
• New Hampshire Senate (14D, 10R)
• New York Senate (32D, 29R, 1 vacancy)
• Ohio House (53D, 46R)
• Pennsylvania House (104D, 98R, 1 vacancy)
• Wisconsin Assembly (52D, 46R, 1I)
• Wisconsin Senate (18D, 15R)

We also have our eye on the Alabama House, Michigan House and the North Carolina Senate and House. Despite comfortable Democratic margins in those chambers, Republicans are taking those states seriously. But the Bush team is on the defensive in 4 states. We have a real shot of gaining majorities in:

• Michigan Senate (16D, 22R)
• Kentucky Senate (17D, 20R, 1I)
• Tennessee House (48D, 50R, 1I)
• Texas House (73D, 77R)

Mobilizing for the Fight

In 2010, the DLCC is running the largest Democratic redistricting mobilization in history to ensure that our state legislative candidates have the resources needed to win against well-heeled Republican special interests. To make this possible, we have established the DLCC’s Redistricting Fund to deploy resources to races that will have the greatest impact on reapportionment.

If and when Democrats are successful in our targeted state legislative races, the Democratic Party will have an impact on the redrawing of enough congressional districts across the country to affect the partisan makeup of Congress for the next decade. Of all the contests on the ballot this fall, state legislative races may be the least conspicuous; they also may be more important to the long-term health of the Democratic Party than all the rest combined.