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Democrats have been clamoring for the party to get better organized and competitive in all 50 states, and it seems that the new DNC leadership has listened.
The DNC has announced a massive organizing effort in all 50 states that see an increase in funding:
Today, DNC Chair Ken Martin and ASDC President Jane Kleeb announced a historic “organize everywhere, win anywhere” strategy – a new four-year agreement to deliver more resources into Democratic state and territory parties than ever before – delivering on Chair Martin’s commitment to turbocharging investments in on-the-ground organizing and party building. Under the new State Partnership Program (SPP) agreement, each state party will receive a baseline of $17,500 a month, a $5,000 per month increase over the last agreement, and Republican-controlled states will receive an additional investment of $5,000 a month through the DNC’s Red State Fund, putting their total at $22,500 every month. The combined investments total a monthly transfer of more than $1 million from the DNC to state parties—the committee’s largest investment in Democratic state parties in history.
Additionally, the DNC makes significant investments into the technology that powers the Democratic Party, including maintaining the national voter file with robust augmentations and giving state parties best-in-class tools for accessing and leveraging that data. Each state party receives six-figures worth of data and tooling annually.
These resources will allow Democratic state parties to invest in critical infrastructure and staffing, strengthen their data and tech operations, build on-the-ground organizing programs, and better prepare for upcoming election cycles – not just in the months ahead, but in the years to come.
What Democrats are doing isn’t only about winning the midterm next year. It is also about building a party infrastructure that can compete in and win any election anywhere in the country.
DNC Chair Ken Martin is known as an effective organizer from his time in Minnesota, where he has built a strong party at both the state and local levels. Democrats have never done themselves any favors by refusing to spend money in places where they didn’t think they could win.
The one area that the new strategy doesn’t directly address is the issue with a lack of funding for many local parties. Too often, state Democratic parties direct their resources either to protecting Democratic held seats or swing areas where they think they can win.
The only way to rebuild Democratic parties at the local level in red areas is to fund them. Funding to state parties is great, but that funding must also make its way to local parties where it is needed most.
This is a huge step in the right direction towards building a national Democratic Party that can compete anywhere in the country.
What do you think about the DNC building state parties? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
