It’s Super Tuesday, and most eyes are on the presidential election. But voters in Super Tuesday states aren’t just voting on the presidential nominee – they’re also casting their ballots for some of the most critical state legislative seats at play in 2020.
Sister District plans to make candidate endorsements in four Super Tuesday states later this spring, so we will be closely watching the outcomes of downballot races tonight. Here’s a quick guide to why it is so critical to elect Democrats in Texas and North Carolina this year:
Texas
Democrats need 9 seats in the Texas House to gain the majority. That might seem like a lot, but it’s not – there are 150 seats in the chamber. And, there are 9 House seats currently held by a Republican in districts that Beto O’Rourke won in 2018. Even if Democrats just won those, we would flip the chamber. That flip would break the Republican trifecta in Texas, and provide Democrats with a critical seat at the table for redistricting, to finally put a stop to the GOP’s outrageous run of gerrymandering in the state.
North Carolina
We need to win 5 Senate seats and 6 House seats to flip both chambers in North Carolina. Momentum is on our side: in 2018, Democrats broke Republican supermajorities in both chambers. A number of NC districts have recently been redrawn, after courts held they were illegally gerrymandered in favor of Republicans. The new maps are not a slam-dunk for Democrats, but they do provide some great new opportunities for crucial flips.
No matter who the presidential nominee is, we know there are critical state legislative races in 2020 where just a few dollars and a few hours can make a difference. Our work to get voters to the polls in November will help every Democrat on the ballot – from the bottom to the top.
