AG Eric Holder and President Obama (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
Early in 2017, Former Attorney General Eric Holder created the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC). The aim of the NDRC was to erase the gains the Republicans had made in state and congressional seats through gerrymandering. A few days ago, they announced their targets for the 2018 midterms.
Eric Holder was our 82nd Attorney General, and served under President Obama from 2009-2015. Obama has indicated that redistricting is a priority for him, and emerged from his post-presidency period by headlining a fundraiser for the NDRC back in July.
So what is NDRC’s plan for the 2018 midterms?
For starters, they are targeting some states that have Republican trifectas. A trifecta is when one party controls the state government by having the governorship plus majorities in both the state Senate and the state House/Assembly. There are currently 26 states with Republican trifectas. Trifectas make it easy to propose and pass legislation. By breaking trifectas, Democrats can exert more control when it comes to the redistricting that will happen right after the census is taken.
The NDRC is also targeting states with growing populations which means they could gain additional congressional seats after the census. These are states such as Colorado, Florida and Georgia.
And finally, they are looking at electing more governors and state legislators in highly gerrymandered states.
This map that they released gives a good sense of the states they are targeting and what elements of the election they are focused on, as well as some states that are on their “watch list.”
National Democratic Redistricting Committee’s 2018 Electoral Targets
So what does this mean for you? If you live in one of the NDRC’s targeted states, know that they will be putting time and money into helping your state. Help them by getting involved in these races yourself. Get to know the candidates and ballot measures and be active in your local community to affect the greatest change.
Keep up to date with the NDRC’s activities by following their progress at their website and of course, wherever you are, if redistricting is a priority issue for you, consider donating to them.
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