DLCC Vice-Chair Steven Horsford, who also serves as Nevada’s state Senate Majority Leader, has been named to the 2011 edition of The Root 100, “a list of the most influential African Americans between the ages of 25 and 45.” The list is compiled each year by The Root, a publication founded by Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Senator Horsford, the first African American ever to serve as Nevada Senate Majority leader, shares this year’s stage with other Democratic rising stars like U.S. Rep André Carson and Newark mayor Cory Booker, as well as a host of other prominent voices in news media, art, and entertainment. But editors were clearly impressed with Senator Horsford’s leadership this session:

Democratic state Sen. Steven Horsford. Need we say more? Nevada's cutting-edge Senate majority leader has been making a name for himself since his election in 2004, battling Republicans to protect dollars for education, health care services and job creation. He was co-chair of President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in Nevada. Word is that he is considering a run for a House seat. He's always looking for the next challenge.

That last part, by the way, is no longer rumor, and at least one local opinion leader is so impressed with Horsford’s performance in Nevada that he wishes the Senator didn’t have to go:

Horsford is bright, hardworking and capable, with a remarkable personal story.

His father was murdered, and he was forced to leave UNR after his first semester to care for younger siblings while his mother struggled with addiction. He is the head of the Culinary Training Academy, the management-labor partnership that prepares workers for their jobs on the Las Vegas Strip. He has deep legislative experience and is known as collegial but tough.

In short, he’ll make probably make a fine congressman, which is why I wish he wouldn’t run. The real work must be done here, not in Washington.

We wish to congratulate Senator Horsford for this recognition, as it is extremely well deserved.

At its most recent meeting, the DLCC Board of Directors voted to formally welcome Arizona House Minority Leader Chad Campbell as its newest member.

Leader Campbell adds a strongly progressive voice to the national political scene. At a time when Republicans have launched unprecedented attacks against public education across the country, Leader Campbell has remained a tireless advocate for children and educational issues through his ongoing work with Communities in Schools of Arizona and the Center for Progressive Leadership, as well as his former work with Children's Action Alliance, the state's leading non-profit organization fighting for children and families.

As a legislator and a caucus leader, Campbell has earned frequent honors for his effectiveness on behalf of early literacy, environmental protection, and the working families of Arizona.

And best of all, Leader Campbell knows that deepening GOP radicalism must be confronted repeatedly and tirelessly, and he’s willing to bypass the traditional media filter to do it. We were particular fans of his 2010 Huffington Post column, “A Top 10 List of the Absurd Republican Legislative Ideas in Arizona.” (Sadly, some of the most extreme ideas on that list were actually passed by the GOP-controlled legislature.)

Leader Campbell represents Legislative District 14, based in Phoenix, Arizona.

The DLCC hosted an important panel at last week's Netroots Nation conference in Minneapolis. “Where Crazy Comes From: Reckless Republicans in State Legislatures” drew a full house as statehouse experts discussed the extreme right-wing agendas sweeping through state legislatures, as well as how to organize, highlight the extremism, and fight back.

The DLCC's Carolyn Fiddler moderated the panel that included DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant, Texas Progress Executive Director Matt Glazer, Minnesota Independent Senior Reporter Andy Birkey, and Minnesota state Rep. Paul Thissen.

All participants brought unique perspectives to the epidemic of anti-equality, anti-middle class, anti-common sense policies working their way through statehouses across the country. Sargeant presented a broad, national-level analysis and concrete examples of the growing backlash, including recent special election wins in unfavorable territory. He also emphasized that Republican extremism is more than a talking point or even a cause to rally against; these destructive policies affect real people in tangible ways. Glazer provided an effective discussion of translating news and knowledge of the Republican agenda into action – namely, organizing and energizing progressive voters online and off. Birkey highlighted the American Independent's role in providing in-depth reporting on state legislative politics from a progressive viewpoint. Rep. Thissen provided a valuable "in the trenches" perspective on right-wing antics in GOP legislatures around the country, including his own chamber. He described how the GOP wins in 2010 have had a destructive influence on sound policy making, and he provided a broad roadmap for how legislative leaders and grassroots activists can work together to shine a light on the very worst of GOP extremism.

The full panel video is posted below, and it’s also available at netrootsnation.org (introductions begin at the 52 second mark).

Thank you to all of our panelists, and to the approximately 200 people who attended the session.

Not long ago, the DLCC released our first television ad in Wisconsin, urging residents to demand that Republican state Senator Luther Olsen stop his support of Gov. Scott Walker’s radical, anti-worker agenda.

Today, our ad is catching fire all over the country.

The ad itself – and Sen. Olsen’s betrayal of working families – has been showcased on MSNBC’s Last Word, with Lawrence O’Donnell:

The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent and Chris Cillizza both featured the new DLCC ad, as well.

Sargent, who’s been all over the Wisconsin budget story from the beginning, wanted to know why the ad uses Luther Olsen in District 14 (rather than, say, Dan Kapanke or Randy Hopper) to make our point:

The DLCC specifically chose Olsen because he had previously criticized Walker's proposal before voting for it.

Meanwhile, both Talking Points Memo’s Eric Kleefeld and Huffington Post’s Sam Stein sought to read the tea leaves of what our ad could mean for the future.

All this attention sure feels great, but that’s not why we’re running ads like this.

We’re doing it because Wisconsin residents need to be reminded of the important issues at stake. And while progressives may have the energy advantage, and the public opinion advantage, and the advantage of just being right – Republicans are pouring everything they have into opposing us.

Politico reports that GOP attack ads are going to start targeting members of the Wisconsin 14 – starting with Sen. Jim Holperin (D).

And Karl Rove’s shady American Crossroads GPS – which raised and spent more than $70 million in secret donations in 2010 – is launching a national ad campaign attacking teachers and President Obama. And the centerpiece of Rove’s ad? He’s peddling the outrageous lie that teachers don’t care at all about their students.

That’s the classic Karl Rove playbook. People liked and respected John Kerry’s military service in 2004 – so out came the swift-boat smears. Right now, people like and respect teachers – so Rove is doing everything he can to tear them down.

That’s the sort of dishonesty our ad is up against – and we haven’t even mentioned a certain billionaire you might remember from a recent prank call.

But we’re not backing down.

So please click here to donate $14 to help keep our ad and others like it on the air for as long as possible.

And once again, here’s the new DLCC ad that’s kicking up such a storm:

We're all angry about the Wisconsin GOP's perversion of the democratic process to ram through their assault on working families. And we should be.

But the absolute worst thing any of us can do right now is to just get angry. This is a time to organize, to speak out, and to fight back with everything we have.

Wisconsin legislators who support Gov. Walker's union-busting and right-wing budget must be reminded that their policies are hurting working families. Every. Single. Day.

So please consider this new television ad a down payment on the DLCC's commitment to the fight for workers’ rights in America.

The new ad urges Wisconsinites to demand that Republican state Senator Luther Olsen stop his support of Gov. Scott Walker’s radical, anti-worker agenda:

How long ads like this one stay on the air - and how many times we can afford to run them - depends on you. Please consider donating $14 to help us keep this ad and others like it running.

Luther Olson, referenced in our ad, is a Republican state Senator from Ripon, Wisconsin, representing District 14 near the center of the state. We believe our ad will be successful in urging residents there to demand that Olsen back down from his betrayal of working families.

Wisconsinites in Greater Green Bay are already reading in their local newspapers about the outrageous assault on working families across the country; they’re already hearing about it on their doorsteps from friends and neighbors.

Now, thanks to ads like this one, they’ll see it on their TV screens every night, with a call to let Olsen know they want him to change his position.

How many weeks it runs – and how many other ads like this one we can run elsewhere – depends heavily on you.

If you like what we’re doing with this ad and want to see more efforts like this, please contribute $14 or more to help us do it.

Iowa Tea Party extremists have a new top target for 2012: DLCC Chairman and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. Ever since November, Gronstal has been using his office to keep the state’s focus on jobs and economic growth, which hasn’t left much room for the GOP’s attacks on the judiciary, its plans to dismantle public education, or for the GOP’s divisive social agenda that should rightly take a back seat to getting the economy back on track.

In response, the Tea Party and its GOP legislative allies have pledged to turn Pottawattamie County, home to Senator Gronstal’s Council Bluffs-based district, “into ground zero in 2012.”

Mike Gronstal, take notice: The Iowa Tea Party is out to get you.

Gronstal, a Council Bluffs Democrat who is the majority leader in the Iowa Senate, was targeted during a "Stop the Stalemate" rally Saturday. (…)

"We're looking to put Mike Gronstal out to pasture," said Jeff Jorgensen, chairman of the Pottawattamie County Republican Party. "I'm here to tell you money is not going to save him in this election. Pottawattamie County is going to be ground zero in 2012 because of Mike Gronstal."

Their “ground zero” metaphor may be in poor taste, but it very aptly describes the priorities of Iowa’s Tea Party Republicans, who clearly don’t care about what’s best for struggling families in Iowa and are instead pouring all their energy into satisfying political vendettas.

Meanwhile, Senator Gronstal and his Democratic Senate colleagues will continue focusing on what their constituents really want: more jobs, better schools for their kids and grandkids, and real plans to make Iowa a destination for innovation and new industries.

The Republican agenda is to dismantle all such efforts, and that’s what’s made Senator Gronstal such a thorn in the Tea Party’s side. But so long as leaders like Senator Gronstal are willing to stand up against extreme special interests, well-financed smear campaigns are the inevitable response.

And we’ll be ready for those attacks.

In Iowa, the governor's legislative will can be overridden; Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal's cannot.

And that means if Iowa Republicans expect any of their agenda to be enacted over the next two years, they’ll first need permission from the famously thoughtful and pragmatic Gronstal:

His position as majority leader gives him sole authority to decide what bills the Senate will debate. Republicans will take control of the governor's office and Iowa House next month, but Gronstal will control the fate of their agenda for state government.

Everyone who knows him well, Republican or Democrat, describes him as a brilliant strategist. Although his wit and genial disposition usually mask his competitive side, he can be a bare-knuckled brawler.

At stake for Iowans will be action or stalemate on bills to ban same-sex marriage, restrict abortion, cut taxes and make the regulatory climate more business-friendly.

In sessions past, Senator Gronstal has had good working relationships with colleagues of all political stripes, no matter which party held the majority. But he knows that this year, it could be more difficult than ever to convince GOP legislators to behave reasonably.

Senator Gronstal earned national prominence for his promise to uphold the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that established Iowa as a marriage equality state – a promise he’s kept, repeatedly, using the full authority of the Majority Leader’s office. That, in turn, means Senator Gronstal will probably be the #2 target of national conservative groups in 2012, second only to President Obama.

But Senator Gronstal has built a long record as a thoughtful pragmatist and a brilliant legislator, able to tackle complex issues and build support for legislation across the political spectrum. And the former shipping clerk’s notorious frugality means he’ll always be in touch with the day-to-day struggles of working families in western Iowa:

For Gronstal, repairing a vacuum cleaner has a quick and satisfying finish, unlike crafting legislation, where the end game often isn't clear. A determined Mr. Fix-it, he once jacked up his house and built a new foundation entirely on his own. (He was the only guy in his neighborhood with a 30-ton hydraulic jack. He had his own dump truck, too, purchased for $400 with a blown engine that he replaced himself.)

Gronstal is one of five children of the vice president of Council Bluffs Savings Bank - a bank he and relatives still own - and he was taught to live beneath his means. When his two daughters were little, if a balloon popped, they'd say: "Save the pieces. Daddy will fix it."

Life in the Gronstal household has long meant used clothing, well-worn furniture, infrequent vacations, no credit card debt, and no-frills cars.

Since Senator Gronstal became the Chairman of our DLCC Board of Directors, he’s brought that same combination of earnestness, brilliance, and frugality to our organization. And as any of our visitors will attest, we have the well-worn furniture to prove it.

PBS NewsHour 10/20/10: Cartographic Clout: GOP, Democrats Vie for Redistricting Dominance.

The release of new Census estimates has re-ignited the sense of urgency surrounding key campaigns for state legislatures around the country. The data reveal that some states could gain or lose more congressional representation than previously thought, adding another layer of importance to this fall’s state legislative elections.

Politico’s Richard E. Cohen explains the changes:

A new estimate of House reapportionment gains and losses resulting from this year’s Census reveals a larger-than-expected impact on Florida and New York. According to Washington-based Election Data Services, which reviewed new Census data from a private-sector demographic firm, Florida would gain two House seats and New York would lose two seats.

They would join two other states that already were projected to have multiple-seat changes. Based on the tentative Census data, Texas is expected to gain four House seats and Ohio likely will lose two seats.

According to the EDS estimate, six other states each would gain one seat: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington. Eight states would each lose one seat: Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

In addition to the Florida and New York changes, the other major switch in the projected reapportionment is that Missouri will lose a House seat instead of Minnesota, according to EDS President Kimball Brace. He released the study for a redistricting seminar of the National Conference of State Legislature in Providence, Rhode Island, this weekend.

Final numbers will not be known until the Census Bureau releases its data early next year.

Because many of the states with changing Census estimates also have closely-divided legislatures, both parties have been focusing on them during the 2010 campaign. Indeed, ten of the states mentioned above by Cohen are represented on the DLCC’s Essential Races list (a number which could grow as more and more grassroots nominations roll in for the final wave – click here to nominate your own essential race).

And make no mistake: the campaigns in these states are truly essential for the Democratic Party, especially in closely-divided Midwestern battlegrounds. As Mother Jones’ Nick Baumann explains, what’s at stake is nothing less than control of Congress for an entire decade:

Republicans have a real shot of controlling the entire redistricting process in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. If the GOP can sweep those contests, Republicans can cut the heart out of any potential Democratic House majority going forward. Republicans either hold the governorship or lead in the polls in the gubernatorial races in all five states. And while Democrats hold at least one legislative chamber in each of the five states, the party's hold on these majorities is tenuous.

Between the current GOP-drawn maps in Michigan and Pennsylvania, the Tom Delay-led Texas gerrymander of 2004, and other supposedly unfair maps around the country, the strategists at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee—which helps Dems in state legislative battles—figure that the national House map is already tilted towards the Republicans by some 25 seats. Republicans have estimated that they could turn 25 more their way via redistricting.

If the Republicans fall just short of a majority in 2010, they could use redistricting to ensure they gain back the House in 2012. Or, if they make huge gains, they can use redistricting to lock them in. "If you care about a progressive future for the next decade, you can't allow Republicans to control this process," says Michael Sargeant, the executive director of the DLCC.

We certainly can’t – and that’s a big reason why state legislatures are now the firewall of the Democratic Party.

Let's try something different: Which legislative races do you care about?

Out of over 6,000 state legislative districts up for grabs this year, we've chosen 40 key races to highlight on our 2010 "Essential Races" list. These are 40 critical races that we anticipate will show which way the political tide is turning this fall.

But we recognize our own limitations. There are plenty of other key races all across the country -- so we're asking for your help in identifying them.

For the next few weeks, we'll be accepting nominations from the public for 10 additional state legislative races to be added to our 2010 "Essential Races" list.

Anyone can nominate an Essential Race, and any campaign for state legislature in 2010 is eligible.

It only takes a few clicks, and it could potentially make a huge difference.

Click here to nominate an Essential Race today!

Back in 2008, the Essential Races chosen through public nominations included a lot of campaigns in battleground states, but they also included a few campaigns in states that weren't top targets, but where something about the district or the Democratic nominee made the race unique and deserving of special attention.

We might have overlooked some of those key races without your help, and we'd be foolish not to ask for it again this year.

So who should we add to the list, and why?

Please visit www.dlcc.org/2010Races to nominate an Essential Race today!

Sincerely,

Michael Sargeant
Executive Director
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee