Ahead of President Biden’s speech today promoting democracy and addressing election deniers, the DLCC is highlighting its Threats to Democracy website – a database featuring a list of state legislative candidates and lawmakers who have spread dangerous election conspiracies, attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, or have otherwise threatened our democracy.
“With only six days until Election Day and over 750 threats to our democracy on the ballot, the stakes have never been higher to stop Republicans from laying the groundwork to steal the 2024 presidential election,” said DLCC President Jessica Post. “For every election denier running for federal or statewide office, there are a dozen more running for state legislature. The GOP is loud and clear about their goals: put up barriers to the voting booth and sabotage elections any time the rightful winner isn’t a Republican. The only way to preserve our sacred right to vote and halt election deniers in their tracks is to elect Democrats to statehouses across the country.”
As concern grows over the election deniers running for federal and statewide office, the DLCC is working to extend the same accountability for statehouses across the country. To date, the DLCC has tracked 52 state legislators and candidates who were in DC on January 6th, 25 of whom are on the ballot next week. Alongside these insurrectionists are hundreds of legislators who have already demonstrated their willingness to challenge free and fair elections and many more who have used their platforms online to spread false conspiracies and advance the ongoing attack on democracy.
Here are the topline facts voters need to know from the Threats to Democracy database:
- The 759 candidates on the ballot this November represent over 12% of the more than 6,200 legislative seats up in the 2022 midterm elections and nearly 15% of all GOP candidates running in 2022 according to DLCC’s tracking numbers.
- In key battleground states for the 2024 presidential election, the percentages are even higher. Over 50% of the GOP candidates in Arizona are on the DLCC’s Threats to Democracy list as are 30% in both Michigan and Pennsylvania.
- The DLCC is tracking 25 individuals who were in DC on January 6th that are on the November ballot for state legislative office, several of whom were in elected office at the time.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee was the first and only entity committed to identifying, tracking, and condemning the hundreds of Republican state lawmakers who aided and abetted Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Now, its current Threats to Democracy website is the most comprehensive account of state legislators and state legislative candidates who continue to normalize anti-democratic extremism and are complicit in the ongoing attack on our democracy. With more than 7,300 state legislative seats nationwide, the research for this project is ongoing, and the list continues to grow. The DLCC research team is actively soliciting tips for additional information at [email protected].
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