WASHINGTON – National Journal spoke with DLCC interim President Heather Williams about the DLCC’s sweeping successes in 2022 and 2023 and harnessing that momentum to win battleground states in 2024. Williams outlined Democrats’ strategy to chip away at Republican power in state legislatures through early investments and prioritizing protections for fundamental freedoms like abortion access.
The DLCC plans to take our winning playbook into 2024, where we have critical opportunities to expand Democratic power. The DLCC is laser-focused on protecting our new Democratic majorities, flipping key chambers, and breaking up Republican supermajorities – making 2024 our most important year yet.
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From National Journal:
- “Deeming 2024 the ‘year of the states,’ Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee interim President Heather Williams told National Journal that the committee sees ample opportunity to continue to expand their power in 2024 following a series of successful cycles. The organization’s goals are backed by what Williams says is the ‘most expansive’ budget yet, set at an initial $60 million. ‘We’re really grounding ourselves in, ‘What have we learned? How do we hone in on the successful strategy that we’ve already established? What do we know that needs to be done?’’ Williams said.”
- “In 2022, the party defied expectations and picked up four legislative chambers […]in a midterm year that historically has meant the party of a first-term president losing state legislative seats. This year, Democrats flipped the Virginia House of Delegates and maintained their majority in the state Senate. Williams said their success in the commonwealth is thanks to their early and sustained investments with messaging focused on issues at the top of voters’ minds—most notably, reproductive rights.”
- “The DLCC highlighted five chambers where they are making a play for the majority in 2024: the Arizona House and Senate, the New Hampshire House and Senate, and the Pennsylvania Senate. Among defensive targets, the organization said they are focused on protecting the chambers they gained in 2022—the Michigan House, the Minnesota House, and Pennsylvania House. The committee is also investing in chipping away at supermajorities in a number of safely held Republican chambers—the Georgia House, Kansas House and Senate, North Carolina House and Senate, and Wisconsin Assembly and Senate.”
- “‘One of the things that we do at the DLCC as the party committee and as the driver of opportunity in the states is that we’re really looking for, ‘Okay, how do we put this puzzle together?’ If there’s a special election, what does it mean in the context of where that legislative chamber is and how we build towards power. States are dynamic,’ Williams continued.”
- “‘We know that as Democrats, we cannot just focus on what is happening in our federal races, we have to care as much about what’s happening in the states. And in order to do so, in 2024, you’ve got to be involved in state legislatures,’ Williams said.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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