WASHINGTON — The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the official democratic organization dedicated to electing state legislators, has announced New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins will lead the committee as it heads into the 2019-2020 election cycle.
“Leader Stewart-Cousins has proven to be a trailblazing leader as the first woman to lead a legislative conference in New York and a fierce campaigner by flipping the New York Senate. As the new Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Chair, Stewart-Cousins will help us blaze a new blue trail across the country as Democrats fight to flip state chambers blue,” said DLCC executive director Jessica Post. “With redistricting and the very future of our democracy on the line, the stakes could not be higher — and with Stewart-Cousins as chair, we’ll be ready to meet the challenge.”
In 2018, with support from the DLCC, Stewart-Cousins flipped the New York State Senate from GOP to Democratic control and won the largest Democratic majority in the chamber’s history. In its first session earlier this year, the new Senate Democratic majority was able to achieve one of the most productive and progressive legislative sessions in history and proved how important state government is in the daily lives of millions of Americans.
“State legislatures are the last line of defense for Americans against the Trump Administration. In just the past few months, New York has seen historic progressive change, and that was only possible because we won control of the State Senate and finally turned our state ‘true blue,'” Stewart-Cousins said. “Together, with my colleagues on the DLCC Board of Directors, I look forward to helping more states elect Democratic majorities that will stand up to Donald Trump and protect our rights and values.”
Stewart-Cousins, who has served on the DLCC’s board since 2017, follows outgoing Chair Tina Kotek, speaker of the Oregon House, who presided over two years of committee growth. Kotek led the committee’s board as the organization doubled its fundraising from $17 to $36 million, expanded staff, and flipped 8 state chambers blue.
“It’s been an honor to serve as chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and to help the organization flip 8 state legislative chambers across the country. Those electoral victories have impacted the lives of millions of Americans for the better,” Kotek said. “With Chairwoman Stewart-Cousins and Jessica Post leading the DLCC, Democrats can be sure we’re going to continue flipping state legislatures across the country.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee just reported it’s largest off-year fundraising quarter in the committee’s history and is on track to raise $50 million this election cycle. This November, Democrats are working to flip Virginia’s General Assembly, hold New Jersey’s supermajority, preserve the governor’s veto power in Louisiana and break the Republican supermajority in Mississippi.
“Under Speaker Kotek’s leadership, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has had extraordinary electoral success and built a new foundation upon which we can continue to flip state legislatures blue through 2020 and beyond,” Post said. “We’re thankful for Speaker Kotek’s service to her state and to Democrats across the country.”
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