WI Judge Orders Scott Walker to Call Special Elections

A Wisconsin Judge on Thursday ordered Gov. Scott Walker (R) to call the Special Elections for Two Legislative Seats that he has refused to call since December 2017. Democrats Sued Walker over his Refusal and said he wouldn’t do so because he was afraid of Losing the Contests to Democrats.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Josann Reynolds, a Walker Appointee, Ordered the Governor to Call the Elections within a Week. An Appeal of that Order is expected. Amy Hasenberg, a Walker Spokeswoman, said that the Governor was consulting with the State’s Attorneys to “determine the next steps in this case.”

The dispute involves Seats, one in the Wisconsin State Assembly and one in the Wisconsin Senate, that became Vacant in December 2017 when the Republican Incumbents Resigned to take Jobs in Walker’s Administration. Walker said he wouldn’t hold a Special Election for the Open Seats, but would instead allow them to be filled by the regularly scheduled Elections in November 2018. The Winners of those Elections wouldn’t be Seated until January 2019.

Walker insisted that he had No Legal Obligation to call the Special Election sooner and that he was saving the State Money by not doing so. But Democrats argued that his Decision was motivated by the fact that Republicans Lost a Special Election this January in a Wisconsin District that President Trump had carried by more than 20 points in 2016. Walker labeled that Election a “wake-up call.”

Wisconsin Law says that a Special Election must be held as Promptly as possible for any Vacancy in the State Legislature that occurs before the Second Tuesday in May in a regularly scheduled Election year. Walker’s Team contended that he was not obligated to call a Special Election because the Vacancies occurred in 2017, not the regularly scheduled Election year of 2018.

In a Bench Ruling Thursday, Reynolds accused State Attorney General Brad Schimel’s Office of Reading the Law in an absurd way and not following “basic rules of grammar.” She also accused his Office of being Hypocritical in advocating generally for a Strict Reading of Laws while interpreting the relevant Statute in this Case in a way that undermined “the most basic constitutional guarantee.”

The Judge alluded to the fact that Walker’s Decision had left 175,000 People without a Voice in the State Legislature. While Reynolds’ Order came as that Legislature ended its Regular Session, she noted that it was likely to be called back for a Special Session, in which Voters in the Two Districts deserved to have their full Voice.

The Lawsuit challenging the Governor’s Lack of Action was brought by the National Redistricting Foundation, an Affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that is focused on State Races this year. “This is an important victory for the impacted citizens of Wisconsin who have gone without representation because of Governor Walker’s refusal to call special elections,” Holder said in a Statement after the Judge made her Order. “One of our most basic rights as American citizens is that we get to vote and have representation in our legislatures. Governor Walker’s actions have undermined that right and it never should have taken legal action to force him to do his job.”










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Democrats Launch super PAC to Win Back Statehouses

Democrats have been throttled by Republicans in the all-important Battle for State Legislative Chambers the past Decade. Now they're trying to turn the tide with the launch of a new super PAC.

Aiming to play a similar role as Senate Majority PAC does for Senate Races and House Majority PAC does for House Races, Forward Majority is launching this week as a vehicle for Winning Back State Legislatures ahead of the next round of Redistricting in 2021.

CLICK HERE for Forward Majority's website.

Led by a group of Obama Campaign Alums and Veterans of Democratic Politics and the Business World, the Organization is kicking off with a $1 Million prototype effort to play in Races for Virginia’s House of Delegates this year. It's aiming to raise up to $100 Million to win back Legislative bodies in 12 States over the next Four years.

Democrats have Lost roughly 1,000 Legislative Seats and 27 Chambers since 2008.

Forward Majority’s model includes Targeting more Races than most Local Parties or State Caucuses are likely to touch. The Goal is to Flip Chambers from GOP hands to Democratic Control by using the kinds of Expensive Campaign Tactics seldom used in such Local Races, including Polling and Message Testing.

The Group was founded by Executive Director David Cohen, a Top Obama 2008 Official who Managed the then-Candidate’s National Mail Program after Leading his Primary Campaigns in multiple States, and Chief Operating Officer Vicky Hausman, a longtime Strategist at Dalberg. Its debut comes as Democrats Struggle to Chart a path forward from the Down-Ballot Destruction of the past Decade.

National Republicans have poured Money into State Legislative Races for years. But Democrats have only recently put National Political muscle behind such an effort, with Obama endorsing the New National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) led by former Attorney General Eric Holder.



CLICK HERE for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC)'s website.

Forward Majority’s Leaders are in touch with the NDRC, which they view as a Central Clearinghouse for the Party’s Strategy before the looming Redistricting round that could Reshape Congressional Districts in their Targeted States.

Forward Majority’s Campaigns Director is Ethan Roeder, Obama’s 2008 and 2012 Data Director, and its Polling and Analytics Director is longtime Political and Corporate Operative Saul Shemesh. It is Launching with Support from a trio of Honorary Co-Chairs: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Massachusetts Reps. Joe Kennedy III and Seth Moulton.

“There’s a big gap in Democratic infrastructure — a big, gaping hole that is really at the heart of so many of the failures that we’ve seen, because state legislatures that don’t always get so much press are, in fact, the foundational layer of so much of the party’s infrastructure,” said Cohen, who has been working to Build the Group since December. “It’s where we build our bench, it’s the laboratory for policies, it underpins so much of what we as a party need to do.”

Warning that Democrats risk Falling into a massive Electoral Hole until at least the post-2030 Redistricting round if they don’t act now to take Legislatures, the Group intends to focus on States that are the most Gerrymandered. It will Target its Investments to where Winning Chambers would be most Efficient and where Controlling them could have the biggest effect on gaining Seats in the U.S. House.

In Virginia, Forward Majority plans to Roll Out a Get-Out-the-Vote Program in 15 Local Races, and a more comprehensive effort to Win Voters in three Contests, beyond those that the State Caucus is Targeting. The Goal is to Flip the Body’s Party Control instead of just securing Incremental Gains for Democrats.

There, the Group expects to Target Districts that look like ones it'll need to Win in the Rest of the Country. It wants to then apply the lessons of 2017 as it aims to Flip between Six and Eight chambers in both 2018 and 2020, an effort that the Leaders estimate will involve touching around 130 State House Races and 60 State Senate Races.
On the ground, they will support Candidates with Digital, Social, Short Message Service (SMS), and Mail Messaging as well as Canvassing and Polling, said Hausman. “The starting point is to do what we know works at the national level,” explained Cohen. “What often would be considered Campaign 101 for a congressional campaign doesn’t make its way down to a state legislative race.”

In addition to the Full-Time Staff, the Organizers expect to rely on a wide range of Advisors, including Susan McCue, the former Chief of Staff to Harry Reid who helped found the Senate Majority PAC; former John Kerry Campaign Manager Jim Jordan; former Bernie Sanders Deputy Campaign Manager Rich Pelletier; and former Hillary Clinton Deputy Communications Director Christina Reynolds.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

National Democratic Redistricting Committee

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is a 527 organization that focuses on Redistricting Reform and is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

The Management of the umbrella organization will be:

Chair - Former Attorney General Eric Holder

President - Elizabeth Pearson, Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Executive Director

Vice-President - Alixandria "Ali" Lapp, House Majority PAC Executive Director

President Obama will be working to support the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which will pursue Redistricting efforts to boost Democratic candidates across the Country.

The organization will coordinate Campaign Strategy, Direct Fundraising, Organize Ballot Initiatives, and put together Legal Challenges to state Redistricting Maps.

“American voters deserve fair maps that represent our diverse communities — and we need a coordinated strategy to make that happen,” Holder said. “This unprecedented new effort will ensure Democrats have a seat at the table to create fairer maps after 2020."

“Where he will be most politically engaged will be at the state legislative level, with an eye on redistricting after 2020,” said White House Political Director David Simas, who’s been briefing Obama on the Group’s progress since it started coming together at the beginning of the summer.

The group is planning to hire staff starting by December, though it will still rely on Groups like the DGA and House Majority PAC for some of the legwork.

“We’re developing a comprehensive, unified plan that represents tactically the way we increase Democratic power in the next redistricting that’s state specific,” said Mark Schauer, a former Michigan Congressman and failed 2014 candidate for Governor who’s serving as a Senior Adviser to the Group. “By 2017, we’ll speak with one voice under the auspices of the NDRC to big donors around the country, pointing them to the best ways to impact redistricting.”











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker