John — Fair maps have a profound impact on our democracy. Need proof? Look no further than Michigan.

This story starts back in 2018. Shortly after the NDRC was founded, we invested heavily in Michigan — in Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign for governor, in Democrats running for the state legislature, and in a proposal to create the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Instead of Republicans being in a position to gerrymander in 2021 (as they had been in 2011), Michigan became one of the first states in the country to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians and give that power to a non-partisan commission.

Fast forward to new maps in 2022 and the NDRC would help Michigan Democrats win a trifecta in the state government — gaining control of the governor’s mansion, the state house, and state senate.

With Democratic control came significant progress for the people of Michigan — expanding voting rights, repealing the state’s antiquated abortion ban, repealing the state’s ‘right-to-work’ law, and more.

So that brings us up to this year — when Democrats were not only trying to defend their trifecta, but were also vying to unseat a state supreme court candidate who perpetuates the “Big Lie” and attended a Michigan “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021.

The NDRC endorsed 19 Democracy Defenders — including Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas for the state supreme court. With your support, we mobilized voters, raised money, and brought increased national attention to critical state-level races in Michigan.

And our work paid off: 8 of our candidates won, including Bolden and Thomas! As Attorney General Eric Holder declared, “Michigan will have independent and fair-minded state supreme court justices who will protect their most cherished freedoms.”

But John, our work is far from over.

Next year, Michigan will hold a special election that will set the balance of power in the state senate, as Democrats currently hold 20 seats and Republicans with 18 seats. If the GOP is able to turn this seat red, it would leave Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist as the tie-breaking vote.

As always, we’ll never stop organizing — and we’ll never stop working for a fairer democracy. Thank you for being a part of this movement.

Thank you,

Team NDRC

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Since 2017, the NDRC has executed a comprehensive redistricting strategy that shifts the redistricting power, creating fair districts where Democrats can compete. Our victories have been made possible by our strong community of grassroots supporters.

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