While we're rightfully focused on recapturing the White House and Senate in November 2020, an extremely significant battle has to be waged at the state level, specifically for the control of state legislatures as the 2020 Census looms. The state legislatures have the ability to determine the shape and demographic content of Congressional districts, and have used that power to the disadvantage of Dems for years. As Vox's Elia Nilson writes:
"Historically overlooked by national Democrats, local legislatures have been under Republican control in a majority of states since 2010 (a majority they expanded on in 2014). Republicans now have total control of 30 state legislatures — both the House and Senate — compared to just 18 by Democrats. Just two states, Minnesota and Alaska, have split chambers.The Republican-dominated Supreme Court recently ruled that it would not get involved in gerrymandering fights, opening the door to more Rethuglican manipulation of Congressional districts if they retain control of state legislatures. Over the past 10 years, Dems have been robbed of any number of potential gains in Congress because Rethug state legislatures squeezed Dem voters into the least possible number of redrawn Congressional districts. Fewer votes in Congress means diminished power to stop Rethuglicans from their authoritarian rampage to tear down every Dem accomplishment in the last 75 years. That has to change in 2020.
This has massive consequences for national politics: In many states, state legislatures draw new US congressional maps every 10 years after the Census. The 2010 elections resulted in severely gerrymandered maps in states like North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, where Republicans have hung onto outsized congressional majorities even as their states have gotten more purple." (our emphasis)
