John, Republicans have a secret...
Republicans have been successfully harnessing the power of state legislatures for decades using strategies including REDMAP and ALEC.
In 2010, the GOP executed a strategy called the "Redistricting Majority Project" (REDMAP). They set out to flip state legislatures red, with the explicit goal of gerrymandering state and congressional district lines in their own favor. It worked. In 2010, Republicans flipped 19 legislative bodies to Republican control—that meant Democrats lost over 800 state legislative seats under President Obama. (Read more about the Republican REDMAP plan and what we can do to fight it!)
And then there's ALEC. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a shadowy organization comprised of conservative state legislators and corporations that produces and disseminates model legislation to conservatives across the country. To be a part of the organization, corporate members must buy in for thousands of dollars. Then, they meet at conferences funded by private sector companies, where they draft bills that are then proposed in state legislatures across the country.
But YOU can make a difference!
In 37 states, the state legislature controls redistricting. This means that who we elect to our state legislatures in 2019 and 2020 will have huge consequences up and down the ballot for the next decade. That’s right - redistricting will not happen again until 2031. If we want Democrats to have a fair shot at winning seats in Congress for the next 10 years, this is our last chance to win state races and make that possible.
This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity. You can bet that Republicans are working hard to win these seats, so there’s no time to rest.
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Now, let's get out there—it's up to us to take our democracy back.
—The Sister District Team
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