Eyeing state legislative gains, Democrats are making an early $750,000 push to counter the GOP in key battlegrounds
- The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced 2024 investments of nearly $750,000.
- The funding is being used to set up campaign field operations and boost staff hiring.
As Democrats size up the political landscape heading into the fall, one thing's for certain: the party is eager to make up ground against the GOP in state legislatures across the county.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee on Wednesday announced that it had already made early investments of almost $750,000 for the 2024 election cycle thus far.
It is looking to fortify previous legislative gains while also paring down GOP majorities.
One of the highest-profile targets is Wisconsin, a perennial swing state where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has faced sizable GOP legislative majorities during his tenure despite its closely-contested statewide elections.
So far, the DLCC has invested $24,000 to help the party make up ground in the state Assembly and state Senate, where more politically-competitive legislative maps were recently passed and signed into law.
"The new maps in Wisconsin are still pretty fresh for us, but we see real opportunities," DLCC president Heather Williams told Business Insider in an interview. "We're really looking forward to competing there."
In Arizona, the DLCC has contributed $61,000 to the Democratic caucuses representing the state House of Representatives and state Senate. It wants to flip both legislative chambers in a swing state that has become friendlier to the party in recent years.
Also on the target list are: Pennsylvania ($70,000 invested thus far), Michigan ($48,000), Minnesota ($50,000), North Carolina ($15,000), and New Hampshire ($12,500).
In Pennsylvania, Democrats will be defending a razor-thin state House majority, while Michigan Democrats and the Minnesota DFL Party are also looking to hold both legislative chambers, respectively.
North Carolina represents a major challenge for Democrats, as they're aiming to keep the governorship in the party's hands and erase the GOP legislative supermajority.
The state that had one of the closest margins between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The legislative races will take place as both Biden and Trump are poised to face each other again in a rematch, with the economy and reproductive rights poised to be front and center in races up and down the ballot. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion has taken on even greater resonance in the states and created electoral difficulties for the GOP as voters — especially in urban and suburban areas — have pushed back against the decision.
"We've seen Republicans try to wiggle their way around new language about their perspective around abortion, but voters are not hearing them," Williams told Business Insider.
"Republicans are now being held to their word. Fundamental freedoms are on the line in this election."