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Key points
- Concerned about the future of the country and determined to wrest political power from the far right, a group of friends in the San Francisco Bay Area have been gathering once a month to talk politics over brunches, happy hours and Zoom meetings.
- The tug of war over the balance of power in Washington soaks up lots of media attention and donor dollars. But issues that touch people’s lives most closely are largely decided in state capitols.
- But in state capitols across the nation, Democrats have a lot of catching up to do. The GOP controls 62% of the legislative chambers in statehouses — even though only 47% of voters nationwide consider themselves Republicans.
- Democratic strategists and party officials are talking to major donors about the need to direct more money to state-level races. A Democratic super PAC is focused on flipping state legislatures in Arizona, Michigan and Minnesota. Groups like the States Project and Sister District are organizing grass-roots campaigns to recruit volunteers and raise small-dollar donations. That means convincing people like the group of friends in the Bay Area that they should care about who’s making state laws in Phoenix, Lansing and St. Paul.
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