The Obama backed, and Eric Holder chaired, National Democratic Redistricting Committee has raised $10.8 million in six months in their effort to combat Republican election rigging through gerrymandering.
Politico reported:
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, the group backed by former President Barack Obama and chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder to make Democrats competitive in redistricting fights, will finish July reporting $10.8 million, according to its financial filings.
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Democrats are hoping that the group will be able to coordinate efforts between activists and interest groups in prioritized state legislative and governor’s races for the next round of redistricting after the 2020 census, as well as being the home of legal challenges on the state level and at the Supreme Court. That’s an enormous array of ambitious activities, in which they’ll be going up against well-funded interests across the country. In most states, it is expected to be a major uphill battle to change the balance of power that could change the maps.
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It is mindblowing that Democrats didn’t have this sort of coordinated national effort already in place. The group’s goals are ambitious, but the amount of money they have already been able to raise suggests that Democrats understand the importance of redistricting, and how vital it has become to the Republican Party’s strategy for holding on to power.
Democrats have needed for decades to spend more money and organize in state gubernatorial and legislative races, so it is great to see this finally happen
Republicans like Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas are already freaking out and calling Obama and Holder’s efforts a George Soros backed Democratic plot to redraw district maps and take back power. Republicans are terrified because they have never been confronted in an organized fashion on their gerrymandering.
Barack Obama is no longer president, but he is striking at the belly of the Republican beast, and he knows exactly what it will take to end gerrymandering and return fairness back to US elections.
Obama isn’t gone. He has taken up a new and quieter fight.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
