The Democrats’ secret weapon to take back statehouses
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is pumping money and infrastructure into an array of legislative races. Special election results suggest it’s paying off.
By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE
02/10/2018 06:50 AM EST
Donald Trump has certainly helped. But Democrats' massive success in flipping statehouse seats in special elections this past year isn't happening by accident.
The party’s dominance — it’s flipped 35 seats, and is hoping to make it 36 next week in a Florida House race — is also the result of old-fashioned political organizing. Nuts and bolts steps like funding year-round staff on the ground in the states, designing digital fundraising platforms, training volunteers, screening résumés for campaigns around the country and, of course, collecting huge checks.
At the center of those efforts is the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, mostly forgotten in the 25 years since it was founded as the D.C. hub for state legislative campaigns, but now working to coordinate efforts and partners, and along the way double its spending for the cycle to $35 million in strategic investments.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/10/democrats-special-elections-organizing-401365
