DNC invests heavily in state parties, taking the fight to Trump country

The Democratic National Committee will begin giving more than $1 million a month to state parties in order to bolster local organizing and build out the party infrastructure. 

Under the new strategy, the DNC will increase monthly spending for state parties by $5,000, raising the baseline to $17,500. Republican-controlled states will receive a $10,000 increase, bringing their monthly total up to $22,500. 

“Elections are won in states—and that’s exactly where we will be investing our resources,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a press release. “We have to organize everywhere and compete everywhere if we’re going to win everywhere.”

This comes at a time when the Democratic Party controls just 18 of 50 state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Compare that with the Republican Party, which has power over 28. 

It also arrives before next year’s midterm elections, when Democrats hope to retake the House and make inroads toward reclaiming the Senate. Currently, President Donald Trump has a trifecta, with Republicans wielding power over both houses of Congress as well as the executive branch. Winning back just one chamber will put the brakes on his destructive agenda.

This new investment is a welcome change for the Democratic Party, which long ignored red areas, frequently not even fielding a candidate to challenge Republicans. Ceding some districts to the GOP can wound organizing in those areas, likely hampering turnout, and winning at the margins can flip a state blue. 

“This agreement is how we start turning those beliefs into reality,” Martin added. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is to equip state parties with what they need to reach working families who deserve better, build long-term success all across the ballot, and gain electoral ground for years to come.”

Trump and the GOP have benefited from voter suppression, all while punishing the people who do vote for them. Whether it’s Trump’s terrible tariffs hurting military-related manufacturing or states like West Virginia feeling the brunt of Trump’s freeze on federal funds, many voters in red areas are not getting what they were misled into believing they would get. 

Democrats already maintain popular positions on key issues, and fighting for a better future—fighting everywhere—is the only viable strategy.

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