Home National Politics DLCC Launches $70 Million-Plus “Advantage 2020” Effort Starting with 2014 Cycle

DLCC Launches $70 Million-Plus “Advantage 2020” Effort Starting with 2014 Cycle

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I sure hope this works, but no matter what, it's great to see Democrats FINALLY focusing on the crucial state legislative races that really determine who controls Congress (and the country).

DLCC LAUNCHES ADVANTAGE 2020 AS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN THE NEXT ROUND OF REDISTRICTING

— $70 Million-Plus Effort Starting with the 2014 Cycle –

Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2014) – Together with a roster of Democratic state legislative leaders from across the U.S., the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) launched today in Minneapolis, MNAdvantage 2020, a major effort by the DLCC to help Democrats win elections and level the playing field in order to be successful in the next round of redistricting.

Advantage 2020 is the result of the DLCC’s analysis of the electoral opportunities that exist in all 50 states in 2014, as well as an examination of the electoral and demographic changes that are expected this decade.  In this assessment conducted jointly with Clarity Campaigns, the DLCC determined that Advantage 2020 will require an investment of a minimum of $70 million over the next four cycles.  This investment has begun in 2014, and the DLCC expects to increase the level of investment significantly in each cycle thereafter.

Much is at stake in the next round of redistricting. Partisan control of Congress hangs in the balance, as do policy outcomes in every state capitol.  During the past two redistricting cycles, Republicans have cashed in their legislative power to draw maps to favor their own special interests.  As a result, we have seen ultra-conservative measures passed at the state level and a Tea-Party Congress that is no longer held accountable. Our politics are broken and blocking Republicans from blatant gerrymandering is a critical step in fixing our system.

Fundamental to the DLCC’s 2014 activity to move Advantage 2020 forward is the organization’s investment in 33 states.  This funding is supporting efforts to:

  • Build a solid political infrastructure in more states than ever before, including 19 states where Republicans currently enjoy control of both state house chambers and the Governorship;
  • Implement the Grassroots Victory Program (GVP), the DLCC’s program that helps ensure that the advantage Democrats enjoy at the national level is replicated at the state level;
  • Position Democrats to take back majorities in WI, PA and MI, three states where Republicans are currently in complete control, as well as to hold key chambers in MN, CO and NV, among others; and,
  • Target gains in other states such as NC, FL, and GA.

 

Michigan Senate Democratic Caucus Campaign Chair Rebekah Warren said, “In 2010, Michigan voters tried an experiment in which they gave Republicans control of not only both statehouse chambers, but also the Governor’s mansion and the state Supreme Court.  What Republicans have done with this power has resonated negatively in districts across the state: unfair tax policies, disinvestment in education and attacks on women’s healthcare.  The result is that voters realize that they need a new alternative to this Republican extremism.   Through the DLCC’s Advantage 2020, my Democratic colleagues and I can level the playing field in way that enables voters to elect legislators who are committed to passing policies that matter most to Michigan citizens.”

Minnesota Speaker of the House Paul Thissen said, “If there is anything that Democrats can learn from Minnesota, it is that elections matter.  Because Democrats successfully seized control from Republicans in both legislative houses, Minnesotans now benefit from new investments in education, equal pay for women, an increase in the minimum wage, tax fairness, expanded healthcare with the nation’s lowest insurance rates, marriage equality and the first balanced budget in a decade.  We support the DLCC’s Advantage 2020 because we believe that it is important for voters in other states to have the opportunity to benefit the type of public policy agenda that Minnesotans enjoy today.”

North Carolina House Democratic Leader Larry Hall said, “As a direct result of 2010 redistricting, the North Carolina legislature became among the nation’s most aggressive bastions of radical Republican policies.  As North Carolina’s Republican supermajority gave tax breaks to the wealthy, it was working families, teachers and students who picked up the tab.  In addition, redistricting is what allowed Republicans to roll back the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters across the state.  The voters of North Carolina deserve a choice, and the DLCC’s Advantage 2020 gives Democrats a way of reversing Republicans’ unfairly gerrymandered maps.”

DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant said, “DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant said, “To position Democratic success in 2021, Advantage 2020 requires an ‘all hands on deck’ approach.  The range of variables included in a 4-cycle, 50-state strategy is vast, and the DLCC will work closely with state legislative leaders, Clarity Campaign Labs, and other partners to assess the electoral opportunities in each state and direct resources accordingly.  Our resources alone will not ensure Democrats’ success, so we will pull together all interested parties to ensure a coordinated effort.  Advantage 2020 is no doubt a large undertaking, but it is commensurate with the high stakes of future election cycles and the challenges ahead.”

Clarity Campaign Labs’ co-founder and partner Tom Bonier said, “Clarity Campaign Labs is proud to help give Democrats running for office at every level access to the same powerful targeting and modeling that are being used by national organizations.  Because much of our work has been on the state legislative level where crucial decisions about redistricting are made, we are excited to partner with the DLCC to put Democrats in the driver’s seat.”

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Guided by its mission to produce winning Democratic majorities in state legislatures, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) builds and maintains the progressive infrastructure that enables Democrats to protect and pick up legislative chambers and seats across the country.  Since 1994, the DLCC has followed a 50-state strategy that allows Democrats to go on the offense in state capitols.  Most recently in 2012, Democrats won eight new majorities and netted nearly 200 legislative seats nationwide.

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