Democrats are showering cash on their presidential nominee like confetti.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign raised $204 million in July — more than former President Donald Trump’s $48 million. AnnaAccording to New filings with the Federal Election Commission. That was enough to wipe out the Republican nominee’s previous cash advantage; In early August, Harris was Cash on hand is $220 million, while Trump only has $151 million.
Official information on the August fundraiser has not yet been released. But there’s reason to believe that Harris’ money advantage has grown over the past month, in part because of the Democratic National Convention. According to the Democrats’ campaign, it is raised $540 million In the first six weeks since the nomination of President Joe Biden.
Yet this deluge of campaign cash hasn’t dampened the Democratic ballot: Even as Harris begins to outpace Trump, the Republican committee responsible for financing GOP state legislative candidates has raised far more money than his Democratic counterpart.
From January 2023 through the second quarter of this year, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) — the body tasked with electing Democratic state legislators — raised $35 million, according to the committee. During the same period, its GOP rival, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), was raised $62 million.
These figures do not include fundraising by party-affiliated outside groups that focus on state legislative races. In recent years progressive organizations such as State project And forward majorities have spent big on state-level races. It’s possible that when super PACs are taken into account, the GOP loses its apparent cash advantage. Then again, there are also conservative fringe groups, eg Americans for Prosperity Action, That invests in down-ballot elections. What we know for sure is that, when it comes to parties, Republicans outnumber Democrats in statehouse battles.
That struggle is often overlooked by the national spotlight — but it can have profound implications for the daily lives of Americans.
The Harris campaign seems aware of his party’s down-ballot challenge. This week, it is Transferred $2.5 million From DLCC’s own funds. Yet that largesse hardly compresses RSLC’s cash advantage.
Ultimately, only Democratic donors can ensure that the GOP suffers no ballot edge. Given the current enthusiasm and engagement in blue America, it should be possible — at least, if liberals come to appreciate the high stakes and low cost of winning state legislative races.
Small choices can have big consequences
In our country’s federal system, many policies are set at the state level. It is a state’s governor and legislature — not Congress — that primarily determines its public education spending and housing policy.
As parties have polarized ideologically, so have policy outcomes between states with Democratic and Republican governments. Whether Democrats or Republicans hold power in a given state can determine whether working-class families have access to it. Affordable health insuranceor its parents Get paid leaveOr its trade unions can Stop falling fast.
In view of this, the judgment of the Supreme Court was overturned Roe v. WadeThe stakes in the state assembly elections have become higher. Across much of the country, abortion rights have become contingent on the outcome of down-ballot races.
all 22 states That currently bans abortion — or more tightly restricts access to the procedure Ro Did — have GOP-controlled state legislatures. Meanwhile, All 16 states That has since enacted new abortion protections Ro Governed by Democrats.
Arizona avoided a near-total ban on abortion this year, largely thanks to large Democratic minorities in both the state Senate and House. When the Supreme Court reversed RoThe state’s Abortion Act of 1864 went into effect. Arizona has only five Republican state legislators supported Abolish that ancient law. But it was enough for Democrats to pass a law overturning it to claim 29 of the state’s 60 House seats and 14 of its 30 state senators.
Still, a ban on abortion after 15 weeks remains in effect in the state. A November ballot measure State constitutions can overturn that law by enshrining the right to abortion. If that fails, however, Democrats can flip a small number of state legislative seats to legally expand abortion rights.
State legislative races are a bargain
If states’ legislative push is high, the costs of meaningfully influencing their outcomes may be significantly lower.
In 2022, Democrats won control of the Minnesota state Senate by a single seat — held by Democratic state Sen. Judy Seeberger. Only 321 votes. Seeburger’s Promotional expenses $123,992, while his Republican opponent Raised $137,143. In a race that’s tight and cheap, it’s conceivable that a dozen small-dollar donations could tip the balance in Seeburger’s favor.
Whatever the exact cost of Seeberger’s narrow victory, his donors got a tremendous bang for their buck. With their single-vote Senate majority, Minnesota Democrats pay Family and Medical Leavebarrier Non-competition Clause The labor agreement calls for banning employers from holding mandatory anti-union meetings, strengthening workplace protections for meatpacking and Amazon workers, and creating a statewide board to set minimum labor standards for nursing-home workers. $2.58 billion Improved infrastructure, made School breakfast and lunch are free For all Minnesota K-12 students, recovery suffrage Among ex-offenders, the investment is $1 billion Affordable housingImposing background checks on private gun transfers, is a start Red flag warning system removing firearms from people deemed by the court to be a threat to themselves or others, Legalized recreational marijuanaAnd go to the utility that is mandatory carbon-free By 2040, among other measures.
Without the 321 votes — and, quite plausibly, several thousand dollars in Seeberger’s campaign contributions — few, if any, of these reforms would have passed. What’s more, it’s possible that Seeberger’s victory was also responsible for Gov. Tim Walz’s ascension on the Democratic ticket: thanks to Minnesota’s legislation, Walz became a Nationally famous A progressive darling, that might put him on Harris’ radar.
This November, Democrats have a chance to replicate their 2022 victory in Minnesota. The team has one Outside shot Pennsylvania won a narrow majority in the state senate, giving the party a trifecta in the keystone state and opening all avenues to liberal reform.
The party has a chance to accomplish a similar feat in Wisconsin, where GOP gerrymanders previously guaranteed Republican control of the state legislature. Last year the Supreme Court of the state announced Such gerrymanders are unconstitutional, and force the creation of new electoral maps that feature a roughly even split of Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning districts.
Meanwhile in Michigan and Minnesota, the party is fighting to preserve the existing trifecta and make more policy gains.
The determination of Democratic donors in presidential politics is understandable. The risks of keeping Donald Trump out of power are certainly high. But throwing another $20 (or even $2,000) into Harris’ $540 million pile is far less likely to meaningfully change the lives of Americans than making a similar contribution to a key state legislative campaign. The cost of progress at the national level is prohibitive. In right-down-ballot races, however, it retails at a steep discount.
