A hidden way that Democrats hope to hold the GOP accountable

Democrats tell me they hope to make the dispute over social distancing policies a key issue in those elections — meaning they could provide a way to hold Republican state legislators responsible for pushing for a too-rapid reopening, in keeping with Trump’s demands.
“We are going to hold them accountable in 2020,” Jessica Post, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told me.

Post, who oversees Democratic efforts to win state legislative seats, argued that these GOP state legislators have worked to “reverse many of the public health measures that have been put into place,” a position she labeled “extreme."

These skirmishes are happening everywhere, including in crucial swing states Trump hopes to win this fall. GOP state legislators have clashed with Democratic governors over social distancing measures in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, and in Wisconsin. In those states, Democrats have gone after GOP lawmakers who tried to get those measures rolled back.

Meanwhile, Democrats are hoping to flip the state House in Michigan (which would require winning four seats), the state House and Senate in Pennsylvania (which would require winning nine and four seats, respectively), and three state Senate seats in Wisconsin, among dozens and dozens of others.

That’s part of a $50 million effort that the DLCC launched last year to win state legislative seats across the country. Yet that launch came before anyone even knew the coronavirus would become a major issue of contention among state lawmakers and governors.




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