Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee blogs

Statement from DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant on Michigan Legislature Passing Anti-Worker Legislation

Dan Roth — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:59:51 -0600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2012

CONTACT:
Dan Roth
roth@dlcc.org
202-449-6754

Statement from DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant on Michigan Legislature Passing Anti-Worker Legislation

Washington, DC – Michael Sargeant, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, released the following statement today on the Michigan Legislature’s final approval of so-called “Right to Work” legislation.

“The Republicans in the Michigan legislature represent the worst of legislative politics. Instead of working to bring people together to grow the Michigan economy, attract well-paying jobs for Michigan’s working families, and investing in the state’s education and infrastructure to ensure a strong future for the state, Republicans have decided to ram through highly controversial legislation in the lame duck session and after the election that is designed to attack working people.

“Again, Michigan’s legislative Republicans have shown by their actions that they are more concerned with rubber-stamping the wishes of their out-of-state billionaire donors than ensuring that the thousands of voices of Michiganders are heard before pushing through this divisive legislation that is only pitting people against each other.

“Because of their actions today, Republicans in Michigan have rolled back wages for hard working families, ensured that Michigan workers will have weaker health and safety workplace standards, and Michigan workers’ safety will be put at risk because workplace fatalities are highest in states that have passed identical legislation.”

New Jersey Democratic legislators unveil jobs agenda

Nathan Thomas — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:50:22 -0600

Via PolitickerNJ, Democratic state legislators in New Jersey have unveiled a package of 20 pro-growth bills designed to jumpstart job creation in the state:

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver held a Tuesday news conference along with other top Assembly Democratic leaders to announce plans to introduce more than 20 bills focusing on job creation and economic development initiatives for the state.

“As we conducted our tour last week (of areas struck by Sandy), … one thing has remained constant for us in New Jersey and that is that our unemployment rate continues to hover at 10 percent,” Oliver said during the news conference. (…)

The top Assembly lawmaker said Democrats are “throwing out a hand of bipartisan participation and cooperation” with the administration to “sit down with the General Assembly and let us revisit many of those bills that we know will lead to growing and expanding and creating jobs immediately in this state.”

“Misery and starvation will run rampant…” or why 7 new Montana House Democrats are so important

Nathan Thomas — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:32:32 -0600

Republican state Rep. Krayton Kerns, Montana’s incoming House Judiciary Committee Chair, has a message for Americans who voted for Democrats this fall: you may have won this time, but the Tea Party will have the last laugh… once America is reduced to post-apocalyptic rubble:

Progressives are strangling our great republic. Election results on November 6th show just how deeply their Marxist philosophy has infected the American soul. Like all Marxist states, ours too will collapse once the ruling class exhausts the freebies produced from a government controlled economy. Misery and starvation will run rampant for those indoctrinated to live on food stamps, but out in the hinterlands will be small bands of God fearing families who can fend for themselves—the self-reliant ones who can raise food and use a cook stove. These groups will give birth to a new America; re- founded on the self-evident truth our Creator endowed us with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Reread our founding documents and teach your descendants what it once meant to call yourself an American patriot.

Democrats picked up seven state House seats in Montana this November, denying House Republicans the supermajority they’d enjoyed there since the 2010 election.

From now on, Tea Party legislators in the Montana House will be unable to override any gubernatorial veto they’d like, which means Montana residents have gained an important buffer against the right-wing views of Republicans like Kerns.

Florida and Virginia Democrats seek expanded early voting

Nathan Thomas — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:48:38 -0600

Election Day in both Florida and Virginia was badly snarled this year. Some voters had to wait more than four or five hours to cast ballots, and Florida in particular saw some of the highest-profile cases of absentee or provisional ballots being improperly rejected.

(Case in point: actor Christian Slater was forced to wait five hours to vote in Florida and had his ballot improperly rejected.)

Democratic state legislators in Florida and Virginia have seen enough, and they’ve announced new legislation to expand early voting in order to give voters more opportunities to have their votes count:

Sen. Janet Howell is offering a bill in the 2013 General Assembly session to create near-universal early voting in Virginia.

And after Tuesday's election, she'll come armed with anecdotes of interminably long lines at polling places in her home base of Fairfax County, similar to those seen in South Hampton Roads, to make the case for her legislation. (…)

"Waiting in line for four hours is outrageous and punitive, really," Howell, a Democrat, said Thursday. "I would just hope the delegates and senators would listen to their constituents, because they're really angry." [The Virginian-Pilot]

…

Democrats in the [Florida] state Senate on Thursday filed the first legislation arising out of concerns over voting difficulties, seeking to expand early voting times and the places where early voting can occur.

The measures would also eliminate a requirement that people who have moved into a community from outside the county vote a provisional ballot on Election Day if they hadn't earlier changed their legal address.

The bills (SB 80, SB 82) were filed by Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, and Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Miami. [News Service of Florida]

Late wins boost California Democrats’ Assembly, Senate majorities

Nathan Thomas — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:33:24 -0600

Counting California’s approximately 13 million votes, many of which are paper absentee ballots, takes time. But when the final ballots came in from two key races, Democrats reversed their narrow Election Night deficits and won upset victories, boosting their majorities to 29 seats in the state Senate and 55 in the Assembly.

Congratulations to state Senator Cathleen Galgiani and state Assemblyman Steve Fox:

Democratic Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani has won an open seat in the state Senate, expanding the Democrats' supermajority, while election officials announced that a special election runoff will be needed for another Senate seat. (…)

Galgiani's victory pads the Democrats' supermajority in the Senate, giving them 29 seats, two more than the two-thirds threshold needed to pass tax increases and override vetoes. That will help Democrats maintain their supermajority even as two of their members—Sens. Juan Vargas of San Diego and Gloria Negrete McLeod of Chino—move to Congress and leave their seats open temporarily. (…)

Galgiani had trailed in ballot counting since Election Day. Her campaign cast her as an independently minded Democrat who supported funding for California's high-speed rail system and helped develop the University of California, Merced. She also promoted her support for water rights for farmers and mental health services for youth. [San Jose Mercury News]

...

The final vote update from Los Angeles County has given Democrat Steve Fox a slight lead over the presumed Republican victor in the 36th Assembly District, putting the seat in Democrats' column by a margin of just 145 votes.

Fox trailed Republican Ron Smith by about 2,000 votes the day after the Nov. 6 election, according to local reports, but the gap has narrowed in recent weeks as remaining absentee and provisional ballots were counted. The final count by Los Angeles County, which is one of three counties in the district, put Fox ahead with just over 50 percent of the vote.

A win in the 36th Assembly District gives Democrats control of 55 seats in the lower house -- one above the supermajority Assembly Speaker John A. Perez secured with another Election Day upset. [Sacramento Bee]

Meet the New Leaders

Nathan Thomas — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:37:04 -0600

Democrats won new majorities in eight legislative chambers this November, but those eight aren't the only chambers that will feature new Democratic leadership this coming session. Many Democratic-majority states have yet to hold their leadership elections, but among those that already have, we'd like to introduce you to the Democrats who have been chosen to become the new leaders of their chambers in 2013:

Mark Ferrandino Speaker of the House Colorado House of Representatives	John Morse Senate President Colorado State Senate
J. Brendan Sharkey Speaker of the House Connecticut House of Representatives	Peter Schwartzkopf Speaker of the House Delaware House of Representatives
Patricia Blevins Senate President Pro Tem Delaware State Senate	Mark Eves Speaker of the House Maine House of Representatives
Justin Alfond Senate President Maine State Senate	Paul Thissen Speaker of the House Minnesota House of Representatives
Tom Bakk Senate Majority Leader Minnesota State Senate	Terie Norelli Speaker of the House New Hampshire House of Representatives
Marilyn Kirkpatrick Assembly Speaker Nevada State Assembly	Mo Denis Senate Majority Leader Nevada State Senate
Tina Kotek Speaker of the House Oregon House of Representatives	Ed Murray Senate Majority Leader Washington State Senate

Move over, Birthers: Some GOP legislators still trying to elect Romney

Nathan Thomas — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:31:19 -0600

Republican state legislators were called “Birthers” when they refused to admit that President Obama was born in the United States, and they were called “Deathers” when they refused to believe that the Obama Administration had killed Osama bin Laden.

So what will we call members of the newest Republican fantasy-club – state legislators who insist that President Obama didn’t really win re-election a few weeks ago and that even if he did, there’s still time to install President Romney instead?

We have until January to pick a name, because this newest GOP fantasy is for real:

[Idaho] Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, sent an article out on Twitter headed, “A ‘last chance’ to have Mitt Romney as President in January (it’s still not too late).”

Constitutional scholar David Adler, director of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State University, said the plan is not “totally constitutional,” as touted in the article, but is instead “a radical, revolutionary proposal that has no basis in federal law or the architecture of the Constitution.”

Adler called it “really a strange and bizarre fantasy.”

Nuxoll said, “Well, I guess that’s one lawyer.”

Nuxoll’s quickly (and easily) discredited theory states that Electoral College needs a quorum to select a winner, so the abstention of enough Romney electors would allow the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to install President Romney. Unfortunately for the Tea Party, the Electoral College never physically “meets” in a way that would require a quorum; no such quorum is called for in the Constitution; and Nuxoll’s plan amounts to nothing less than a coup d’etat against our elected leadership.

Facts, however, never get in the way of a good right-wing conspiracy theory. And what, exactly, prompted Sen. Nuxoll to latch onto the Tea Party’s latest fantasy?

Nuxoll describes herself as still “very, very sad” about the 2012 Election results and the re-election of President Obama, who’s supposedly “depriving us of our freedoms by all the agencies,” according to Nuxoll.

But apparently Nuxoll and other Tea Partiers could care less about one freedom in particular: the freedom to elect America’s Presidents.

Democrats Gain 170 Seats in Legislative Elections

Dan Roth — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:30:52 -0600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2012

CONTACT:
Dan Roth
roth@dlcc.org
202-449-6754

Democrats Gain 170 Seats in Legislative Elections

WASHINGTON—The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced today that an analysis of state legislative elections resulted in Democrats netting a total gain of 170 seats in legislative chambers across the country.

“From Maine to Hawaii, Democratic candidates simply did a better job talking to voters and addressing issues that are important to working families,” said Michael Sargeant, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “The voters have spoken, and they have decided that they prefer Democrats’ approach of solving problems versus the Republican approach of attacking middle class families.”

Just weeks before the election, national Republicans expressed confidence in winning multiple chambers and even expressed certainty that some heavily-contested chambers would remain under Republican control. Instead, Democrats won new majorities in the Colorado House, Maine House, Maine Senate, Minnesota House, Minnesota Senate, New Hampshire House, New York Senate and Oregon House; gained super-majorities in the California Assembly, California Senate, Illinois House and Illinois Senate; and gained seats in 40 chambers that were up for election on Tuesday.

“These numbers reflect an amazing effort of candidates talking to voters, volunteers giving countless hours talking to their neighbors, and people coming together to improve their communities, invest in education, and grow quality jobs in their states,” Sargeant concluded.

DLCC 2012 POST-ELECTION CHAMBERS IN FOCUS UPDATE

Dan Roth — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:10:26 -0600

DEMOCRATIC TAKE BACKS - SWITCHED FROM REPUBLICAN TO DEMOCRATIC CONTROL:
Colorado House
Maine House
Maine Senate
Minnesota House
Minnesota Senate
New Hampshire House
New York Senate
Oregon House
DEMOCRATIC DEFENDS - REMAINED IN DEMOCRATIC CONTROL:
Colorado Senate
Iowa Senate
Kentucky House
Nevada Senate
New Mexico House
New Mexico Senate
Oregon Senate
Washington House
Washington Senate
DEMOCRATS BUILD ON MAJORITIES:
Hawaii House
Vermont House
DEMOCRATS GAIN SUPER-MAJORITIES:
California Assembly and Senate
Illinois House and Senate
DEMOCRATS MAKE GAINS:
Arizona House
Arizona Senate
Iowa House
Michigan House
Montana House
Pennsylvania House
Pennsylvania Senate
SWITCHED FROM DEMOCRATIC TO REPUBLICAN CONTROL:
Arkansas Senate
Wisconsin Senate
FROM TIE TO REPUBLICAN CONTROL:
Alaska Senate
TOO CLOSE TO CALL:
Arkansas House
New Hampshire Senate

Democrats Make Significant Gains in State Legislatures

Dan Roth — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:14:41 -0600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2012
CONTACT:
Dan Roth
roth@dlcc.org
202-449-6754

Democrats Make Significant Gains in State Legislatures

WASHINGTON— With polls now closed across the United States and votes being tabulated, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced that Democrats have made important and historic gains in statehouses across the country.

“From Maine to Oregon, Democratic candidates and volunteers spent countless hours talking to their neighbors about their ideas to improve their communities, attract quality jobs, fund education, and build vital infrastructure,” said Michael Sargeant, executive director of the DLCC. “And their hard work paid off as Democrats made significant gains across the country and will take the majority in several legislative chambers.”

Democrats gained majorities in the Colorado House, Maine House and Senate, Minnesota House and Senate, New York Senate, and Oregon House. Democrats made historic gains in the Pennsylvania Senate, New Hampshire Senate, and New Hampshire House.

Despite significant spending to defeat them, Democrats held majorities in the Iowa Senate, Kentucky House, Nevada Senate, New Mexico House and Senate, Oregon Senate, Colorado Senate, and the Washington House and Senate.

“The voters have spoken, and they want their elected leaders to focus less on ideology and more on providing practical solutions to improving their communities. Over the upcoming weeks and months the real work of governing begins, and these Democratic members of state legislatures will wake up every day committed to fighting for working families, advancing equal rights for all citizens, and making sure all taxpayers are treated fairly,” Sargeant concluded.