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A congressional redistricting case could offer Texas Democrats a glimmer of hope for making gains in the Republican-dominated stateif a new map takes effect shortly before the 2018 midterm elections.

Revisedcongressional boundariescould create opportunities for Democrats looking to win back the House but also challengesif they must quickly find formidable candidatesin newly competitive races. And if acourt redraws the states map, the GOP-ledstate governmentwould lose control of a tool that lawmakers in Texasand across the country have relied on to stay inpower.

As usual, its an interesting time in Texas politics where we dont really know whats going to happen, said Colin Strother, a Democratic consultant in the Lone Star State.

A panel of three federal judges in Texas concluded in March that three congressional districts in the 2011 congressional map violated the Voting Rights Actby diluting opportunities for minority communities to select candidates of their choice.

But the 2011 map is no longer in effect, since the state adopted a new map in 2013 amid ongoing litigation.Thenew map is also discriminatory, the plaintiffs allege, since some of the original boundaries from 2011 are still in place. The state government saysthe 2013 map is legal, since it was approved by the courts.

Lawyers in the case facea Tuesday deadline to explainhow a recent Supreme Court ruling would affect their arguments. The high court ruled in May that North Carolina state lawmakers illegally used race to alterthe lines of two congressional districts. Lawyers are also preparing for a July hearing on the current congressionalmap.

With the Texas case moving forward, the boundaries of the congressional districts remain in question with the 2018 elections less than18 months away. The Lone StarStates primary filing deadline is in sixmonths.

So, incumbent lawmakersand potential challengers are watching to see where the districts boundaries will fall, and weighing how that could affect the outcomes in next years midterms.

One of the districts atthe centerof the Texas caseis the23rd District, the largest in the state, spanningmuch of the states border with Mexico. Itshome to one of seven races currently rated Toss-upbyInside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

The seat, represented by GOP Rep. Will Hurd, is a top Democratic target in 2018. Hurd was first elected in 2014 by a 2-point margin. He narrowly won re-election last yearby 1 point while Hillary Clinton was carrying the district by 3 points, according to calculations byDaily Kos Elections.

The federal judgesinvalidated the 2011 lines forthis district,writing in their ruling that itsconfiguration denied Latino voters equal opportunity and had the intent and effect of diluting Latino voter opportunity.

Michael Li, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, expects the district tobe redrawn to include more Latino voters.

That probably is a Latino-controlled seat, which would be a Democratic-controlled seat, Li said.

National Democrats have heardfrom candidates interested in Hurds seat. And while they expect strong challengers to emerge, none haveso far.

Everyones kind of keeping their powder dry until it makes a little more sense to announce, said Strother, the Democratic consultant.

The court also ruled two other districts were unlawful: the 35th District, which stretches from San Antonio to Austin, and is represented by Democrat Lloyd Doggett;and the 27th District along Texas central Gulf Coast, represented by Republican Blake Farenthold.

Li speculated that, if the court rules the current map is also invalid, a new congressional map could lead to two or three more Democratic seats. Republicans currently outnumber Democrats, 25 to 11, in the Texas delegation.

But one GOP consultant focused on Texas did not believe a new map would result in a significant shift against theRepublicans.

Theres just not enough Democrats to roll around the state to really have massive amounts of change, the consultant said. You may lose one seat.

The consultant also said the uncertainty would not have an effect on congressional campaigns for incumbents, since they are accustomedto the constantlegal battles over the congressional lines.

But Strother said Democrats had to be prepared just in case.

The nightmare scenario for Democrats is we dont have people preparing for the emergency that this district or that district suddenly gets great for Democrats and its too late, hesaid.

Strother said he didnt see many Democrats preparing for races just yet, but pointed to Joe Kopser in the 21st District as someone jumping in earlyin arace ratedSolid Republicanby Inside Elections.

Kopser, an Army veteran and technology businessman, recently announced that he would challenge GOP Rep. Lamar Smith in the central Texas district. It is possible a new congressional map could have a ripple effect and alterthe lines of Smiths district.

While the district is not onthe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees list of 2018 targets, the committee is waiting to see how the redistricting case pans out.

As campaigns watch the courtroom, the legal battle in this six-year case moves forward, with animpending Tuesdaydeadline for the lawyers todescribe how the North Carolina case affects their arguments.

Nina Perales, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said it is not unusual for the judges to make that request following a high courtruling.

I dont think that you can read any special significance into the fact that the court has asked us to talk about the Supreme Court, said Perales, who is with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Perales said it was not clear how the ruling would affect the Texas case. In North Carolina, the case centered on packing claims, where African-American voters were packed into a few congressional districts to dilute their influence in other districts.

Shenoted that the claims in the Lone Star Statemainly centered on allegations that the districts weredrawn on the basis of race. The Texas case includes cracking claims, meaning minority communities were fractured among districts so there were not enough minority voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

But Li, ofthe Brennan Center, said the North Carolina ruling could affectthe Texas case since the Supreme Court advocated a holistic approach to examining racial gerrymandering. That means expanding evidence beyond empirical data and looking at the broader environment surrounding the states redistricting process.

Li also said the high courtruling could cut into the defenses argument that the congressional boundaries are only based on partisanship,since the court noted that using race for political gain is not permissible.

The state government wrotein a May court filing thatit does not plan to hold a special session to preemptively redraw the map, since it believes the current map is legal. If the state legislature declines to draw the map itself, the court could develop new lines.

That possibility is causing some consternation among Texas Republicans. The Texas Tribune reported that some GOP members of the congressional delegation are urging the governor to call a special session, overconcerns that a court-drawn map would be less beneficial for Republicans.

Li noted that the parties involved have indicated that with the 2018 elections looming, questions on the current maps need to be resolved by early fall.

But, even if the current map is addressed, legal challenges could continue.

Ive been going through redistricting, it seems like all of my political life, said Democratic Rep.Eddie Bernice Johnsonof the Dallas-based 30th District. It never seems to end.

One outstanding question is whether Texas should be placed back under the Voting Rights Acts preclearance procedure. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the VRA provision that required certain states with a history of discrimination to havetheir voting laws preapproved before takingeffect.

Without preclearance the burden is on the plaintiffs to rush into court and prove their case in order to get a map blocked, Li said. With preclearance, the burden is on the state to prove that a map is not discriminatory.

So the plaintiffs have asked that the court place Texas back under the VRAs preclearance procedure, which Perales said could pre-empt legal challenges in the future. The court has yet to rule on that question.

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Democrats See New Opportunities in Texas Redistricting Case - Roll Call

Democrats are counting on the GOPs anti-Obamacare push to wound Republicans heading into the 2018 elections, hoping to rescue themselves for what should otherwise be a very bad year at the polls for Senate Democrats.

Already in the minority, Democrats must defend 25 Senate seats in next years cycle compared to just nine for the GOP and many of those defenses come in states that President Trump easily won last year, such as Indiana, Montana, Missouri, North Dakota and West Virginia.

House Republicans are eyeing runs at several of those states, but Democrats say voters wont take kindly to those GOP lawmakers support for the House Obamacare repeal bill, which would scrap the 2010 health law but result in an estimated 23 million fewer Americans holding insurance a decade from now.

Members of the House who have announced or are eyeing Senate bids all voted for the plan and are uniquely vulnerable, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a recent strategy memo.

The DSCC has also been running ads against potential challengers since early May, saying their support for the House plan will force constituents to pay thousands more for drug treatment and maternity care.

Democrats highlighted nine House Republicans who could enter Senate races in several red states and Pennsylvania, a swing state where Democratic Sen. Bob Casey faces reelection.

Democrats also say Rep. Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, will face special liabilities for his role in nudging the House bill over the finish line with $8 billion to subsidize sicker Americans who could face higher costs, should he challenge Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Republicans, though, say they hope voters will reward their candidates for living up to their campaign promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

I think a lot of people in these states, ones that went hard for Trump, are tired of the fact that no matter who you vote for, nothing gets done, GOP strategist Ford OConnell said. They were trying to show backbone and move the ball forward, so I dont see how they wont get rewarded.

The House approved its health plan, 217-213, brushing aside taunts from Democrats on the House floor. Some Democrats even waved goodbye to their GOP colleagues, predicting massive losses.

Its the reverse of what happened in 2010, when voters punished House Democrats for passing Obamacare and several other unpopular pieces of legislation, delivering control of the chamber to the GOP.

Recent polling suggests Obamacare is now popular, though, and only 8 percent of the public wants Congress to give final approval to the House bill as-is, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Even before the House vote, Democrats used web ads to target Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita of Indiana for voicing support for the emerging repeal plan, as they plot Senate bids against Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.

Rokita spokesman Tim Edson said the congressman would be happy to make the Senate race a referendum on health care, should he mount a challenge.

Have the delusional liberals at the DSCC set foot outside their elite D.C. bubble in the past eight years? Mr. Edson said. ObamaCare has nearly destroyed the Democratic Party from the federal to the local level.

The DSCC also recently targeted Rep. Evan Jenkins a West Virginia Republican who last month launched a bid to topple Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III with an ad saying the House GOP bill will make substance abuse treatment less affordable.

The ad also targeted Rep. Alex Mooney, another Republican thought to be mulling a challenge to Mr. Manchin, as West Virginia reels from the heroin and prescription painkiller epidemic.

But Mooney spokesman Ted Dacey said Democrats are wasting time attacking someone who isnt running for U.S. Senate in 2018.

Similar ads take aim at Reps. Ann Wagner and Vicki Hartzler, Missouri Republicans who could take on Sen. Claire McCaskill; Rep. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Republican eyeing a challenge against Sen. Heidi Heitkamp; and Reps. Mike Kelly and Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania, who could vie with Mr. Casey.

A spokesman for Mr. Barletta said he remains committed to replacing Obamacare with a better plan, while an aide for Mr. Kelly said he would have no problem running on keeping his promise to replace a failed law that is hurting Pennsylvanians.

Republicans also say Democrats are getting ahead of themselves. The midterms are roughly 18 months away, and the GOP-led Congress is still trying to put a repeal bill Mr. Trumps desk.

Democrats would love to use the health care vote as a blunt object, Mr. OConnell said, but its very hard to do it when you dont have a health care bill.

Read more from the original source:
Democrats depending on 'repeal, replace' plan to harm GOP in 2018 races - Washington Times

John Ryan attended the Massachusetts Democratic Convention, along with more than 3,000 delegates, Saturday.

WORCESTER Massachusetts Democrats, who met here Saturday for their annual convention, are so sore over losing their last campaign, they are barely even talking about the next one.

President Trump came in for a beating from the elected Democrats who took the stage at the DCU Center. Governor Charlie Baker, whom some Democrats hope to unseat next year, was hardly mentioned: None of the six statewide elected officials who addressed the convention targeted the governor.

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The partys delegates, who generally skew left of the partys mainstream, approved what state Senate President Stanley Rosenberg lauded as the most progressive Democratic Party platform in the country.

Delegates heard from the three candidates hoping to unseat Baker next year. Each of them former governor Deval Patricks administration budget chief Jay Gonzalez, environmental activist and entrepreneur Robert K. Massie, and Newton Mayor Setti Warren swiped at the governor.

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But much of the day was spent bashing Trump,a reliable applause line.

To eject Baker, the party will have to channel fury from a new wave of party activists.

Donald Trump is uniting the Democratic Party in a way it has not been united in a generation, said US Senator Edward J. Markey.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, noting that anti-Trump activists had turned out in droves for marches and demonstrations since his election, said, I know its been a long, tough year for Massachusetts Democrats, and for Democrats all across the country. I know many people are tired. I know many people are angry. Youve probably spent more money on posterboard in the past four months than the rest of your life combined.

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US Representative James McGovern, welcoming the more than 3,000 delegates to his hometown, ripped Trump as self-obsessed and an embarrassment. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said Trumps budget hurts the elderly, the disabled, and the working poor.

Insiders acknowledge their party is at a crossroads, lacking a clear leader at the state level and largely at a loss for how to decisively confront Baker, routinely ranked in polls as the nations most popular governor.

The lack of attention paid the governor, echoing last years convention, underscores the challenge facing a party that has control of most of the states other levers of political authority. Democrats have grown frustrated with their elected officials, many of whom shy from criticizing Baker. Neither Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh nor House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who have frequently praised the governor, addressed the convention. Walsh addressed a delegate breakfast before the convention gaveled to order Saturday.

Markey, Warren, Secretary of State William F. Galvin, Attorney General Maura Healey, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, and Auditor Suzanne Bump all refrained from taking on the governor. Later pressed by reporters about Bakers job performance, Warren pivoted to criticizing national Republicans.

But party officials said they were encouraged by an influx of new delegates more than 1,500 many of them energized by opposition to Trump.

State party chairman Gus Bickford appeared eager to go on the attack, ripping Baker as an absentee governor.

Someday, I expect to find Governor Bakers face on the side of a milk carton, said Bickford.

Hes scared, Bickford said of Baker. Hes afraid to face his constituents and answer for his failures and unwillingness to confront the worst president in our nations history.

Bickford also credited Democrats for Bakers decision to sign onto a policy position that counters Trumps withdrawal from the Paris global climate-change accord.

Still licking its wounds from the national partys defeat at the hands of Trump last November and the state-level loss to Baker two years before that, the party is also dealing with internal fissures. Vestiges of US Senator Bernie Sanderss organization against Hillary Clinton in last years Democratic presidential primary pushed unsuccessfully Saturday to make changes to internal party rules.

Party officials said that more than 30 percent of the convention delegates were new, reflecting an uptick in grass-roots energy. In a non-election year, the issues convention did not give delegates a chance to vote on their three gubernatorial candidates.

Many party delegates appeared underwhelmed with their current options. But the candidates set about the task of differentiating themselves.

Gonzalez took the most direct aim at Baker, peppering him with criticism of the state budget, transportation system, opioid crisis, and patronage.

It is easy to be popular when you dont do anything, when you never take a stand, Gonzalez said.

Massie, in a colorful speech that spoke of the legitimate rage of working and middle-class families, won chunks of the crowd over with a call-and-response cadence. He ran through a host of progressive goals he said would not be accomplished under Baker.

We can move into a bold and progressive future, but not with Charlie Baker, Massie said.

Warren, the Newton mayor, vowed the biggest grass-roots campaign in Massachusetts history.

Im challenging Charlie Baker, but Im also here to challenge my own party, he said.

Each of you and our elected officials, dont accept Charlie Bakers idea that just getting to next years budget is the best we can do. Dont hesitate to say clearly, We need new revenue.

In response to Democrats criticism, state GOP spokesman Terry MacCormack said in an e-mail, Their hyperpartisan rhetoric and calls for irresponsible immigration policies that make us less safe stand in stark contrast to Governor Bakers record of bipartisan success.

Much of the action came at the end of the more than six-hour convention. A controversial effort to amend the party platform with language about peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, saying that Israels settlements in the occupied territories are obstacles to peace, was ruled out of order because it addressed foreign policy. Many delegates loudly objected.

Efforts, backed by some of the Sanders forces, to expand the number of committee seats and lower the threshold for amending the party charter both failed.

Richard Hughes, a first-time Somerville delegate who spoke in favor of adding delegates, declined to say which Democrat he backed last year, and hoped the proposal would pick up grass-roots momentum in coming years.

We felt it was important to bring it up for a vote, Hughes said.

Delegates added planks to their platform arguing against for-profit prisons and candidates accepting political contributions from fossil-fuel companies, and in favor of making Election Day a state holiday and creating an independent redistricting commission.

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State Democrats turn attention to Trump, not Baker, at convention - The Boston Globe

Paul Diaz Truman of the Seminole County Democratic Party was surprised when nearly 50 people turned out for the organizations monthly meeting in December.

In a county long dominated by Republicans, the gatherings typically drew about a dozen or so residents. But after Donald Trump pulled off a stunning win to become president, a growing number of people 150 on average have been showing up and asking how to volunteer, he said.

Obviously, its related to Trump, the 31-year-old Oviedo tutor said. On almost every major issue the environment, education, health care Trump has hit a nerve.

Likewise in Lake County, where Republicans have long held every major office, a growing number of Democrats are attending party meetings and inquiring about volunteering, party officials said. Elsewhere in Central Florida, Democrats hold sway in Osceola and Orange, although Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs is a Republican.

Democrats have made inroads in recent years in Seminole but face a stiff challenge to translate a passion for politics stoked by Trump at the ballot box. Republicans have long held nearly every elected seat from city commission to the Legislature for decades.

Since 2004, the number of registered Democrats in Seminole has risen by 24 percent to 96,457, while the number of registered Republicans has risen by just over 1 percent to 109,314. But another 79,952 28 percent are in the growing no-party-affiliation category.

Hoping to build on that momentum, Seminole Democrats have started looking ahead to the November 2018 elections by recruiting volunteers, signing up precinct captains, registering people to vote and encouraging residents to run for office.

The election is still 17 months away, Truman said, but its not too early to build the partys infrastructure and prepare for the partys campaign to re-elect U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Winter Park, along with gaining two county commission seats and several state legislative contests. Murphy ousted longtime incumbent Republican congressman John Mica in November.

On Saturday, scores of Seminole Democrats also known as Sem Dems plan to knock on 10,000 doors throughout Sanford to sign up volunteers and recruit precinct committee members. Volunteers also will ask residents to sign petitions, including one for a proposed constitutional ballot amendment to restore voting rights to non-violent ex-felons.

In the coming months, Sem Dems plan to hold similar events in other Seminole neighborhoods.

The Democratic Partys efforts are not lost on Seminole Republicans.

We have taken notice of their initiatives, said Kathryn Townsend, chair of the Seminole County GOP. And we have our own initiatives, and we will be registering more Republicans. Were very strong in Seminole. But we certainly dont want to take any of that for granted. Were really counting on registering new voters.

Seminole GOP volunteers plan to attend community events through next year. The organization is also looking to recruit students from the University of Central Florida to register young voters as Republicans.

As in Seminole, Republicans hold nearly every political seat in Lake. And when longtime Democratic supervisor of elections Emogene Stegall retired last year, she was replaced by former state Sen. Alan Hays, a Republican.

Since 2008, the number of registered Democrats in Lake has risen by 5.4 percent, from 67,528 to 71,175, while the number of registered Republicans has risen by nearly 17 percent from 85,568 to 100,104. Voters registered with no party affiliation also make up a quarter of the electorate, 56,560.

But Lake Democrats vow a concerted effort to bolster their fortunes. Democratic chairwoman Nancy Hurlbert said the party has seen a consistent increase in interest since Trumps election.

Democrats held a knocking on doors event last month to encourage residents to run for local offices, including for city and county races, she said.

I think people are becoming energized by what they see happening across the country, such as the possible rollbacks of civil rights, the rolling back of a lot of emission standards, Hurlbert said. People are coming to us and say: What in the world are we going to do?

In Seminole, party leaders are encouraged by the recent burst of enthusiasm. The Lake Mary Community Center, where meetings are held, is getting cramped, and the party is looking for a larger venue.

By knocking on doors were hoping to build a big umbrella, Truman said. We dont have the money that the Republican side has, but we can win by having the power of the people on our side.

mcomas@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5718

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Confident Democrats plan large push within Seminole - Orlando Sentinel

HELENA It felt like a fog lowered on the Democratic Party's election-night watch party Nov. 8 in the ballroom of a Helena hotel as attendees kept consulting their phones for updated results.

A couple of large televisions along the south wall showed what many thought was impossible: Donald J. Trump winning the presidential election. Statewide, things werent looking much better. An early tally of votes posted on the Secretary of States website just after 8 p.m. showed many Republican candidates ahead in federal and statewide races, and the leads for all but the governorship just kept growing as the night went on.

On the morning after, the damage was more clear. Democrats went from holding all but one statewide elected office to clinging to a lone seat, the governors. They also lost the race for Montanas only U.S. House seat. While that wasnt unexpected, the 18-point defeat was steeper than projected.

Many were left asking what happened and, perhaps more importantly, what did having so many candidates previously thought of as popular summarily defeated mean for the Montana Democratic Party going forward?

The question of who was left on the partys bench to run for office was asked much earlier than anyone expected, starting Dec. 13 when then-Rep. Ryan Zinke was named as Trump's pick to be Secretary of the Interior.

Creston musician Rob Quist won an eight-way primary in March, beating out the more politically experienced state Representatives Kelly McCarthy of Billings and Amanda Curtis of Butte. Democrats veered toward Quist for a handful of reasons, party insiders said. His name recognition was hard to deny after touring the state for years with the popular Mission Mountain Wood Band. He had rural roots. And he was hand-picked by the man who perhaps holds the most sway in the state Democratic Party former Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Quist ended up losing by 6 percentage points to wealthy Bozeman businessman Republican Greg Gianforte, whom many also called a flawed candidate even before he allegedly assaulted a report on the eve of the election.

Contacted last week, Schweitzer said he still stands by Quist as a solid choice for candidate, though after his delinquent taxes and other financial issues were reported, some questioned if someone who had already been vetted via previous elections would have been a better pick.

He is and was a good pick for the House seat, Schweitzer said. You choose an ordinary Montanan and then having $7 to $8 million of out of state money come crashing down on your head, that would end anyone.

Quist said Friday that after the election he rested for a few days, but then I woke up on Tuesday morning with a new sense of resolve and purpose.

While he said its too soon to say what his plans are for future elections, Quist said the House race felt more like the first quarter in the game for me.

Hes traveling to Chicago next week to speak at The People's Summit, a gathering of progressives where Bernie Sanders is headlining this year.

I have definitely turned a corner in terms of wanting to expose more about and really gain more knowledge and try to speak more about what is really going on in our government, Quist said. When I started all this, my staff said everything else kind of shrinks by comparison, and I see what they mean now. Its such an important thing we do.

If anyones wondering, Schweitzer said he's out of politics.

"Im an old guy and Im a business man," the 61-year-old said. "I was in business when I ran for governor, I served two terms and I walked away. Ithink that I believe that is what our founding fathers thought the government would be."

The Montana Democratic Party is launchingan effort to cultivatea new class of candidates, called the Blue Bench Project.

Party executive director Nancy Keenan said Democrats last January began discussing how to capitalize onmomentum around the state spurred by a backlash to Trumps election. An estimated 10,000 turned out for the Womens March in Helena, organized in opposition to much of the rhetoric of Trumps campaign. Since last fall six Democratic county central committees Mineral, Madison, Glacier, Sweet Grass, Valley and Roosevelt have reactivated and seven more have expressed interest.

Turning that energy into candidates will be a main focus of Blue Bench. Going people to show up for a rally is one thing, but running for public office is an entirely different beast.

This is where you have to connect that elections matter, Keenan said. You take people in the state that actually want to run for office themselves to actually change policies to what they want to see.

Democrats are on a tight timeline for municipal elections. The deadline to file for these offices is June 19, but even after getting sidetracked by the special election the party has a pool of candidates.

All over the state weve gotten folks that have called that said I want to run for my school board, I want to run for my city commission or county commission. Its been organic that way, Keenan said.

In years past, the party had focused recruitment efforts through its Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a wing of the party that helps Democrats running for the Legislature.

Before the party was focusing primarily on legislative races. Then you realize when you recruit for the legislature you need people who have served in local offices, Keenan said. When you think about building a bench you build it from the ground up and you build it from those municipal and local offices around the state.

While the party works to build for the future, more immediate races are on the mind of party leaders. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is gearing up to fiercely defend his seat next fall, but its unclear at this point who will run for statewide offices in 2020.

The conversation would be different if last fall's candidates like Jesse Laslovich, Melissa Romano and Monica Lindeen had won their respective races for state auditor, superintendent of public instruction and secretary of state. Laslovich had been the top attorney in the auditor's office under two-term auditor Lindeen. Romano was a school teacher with no political experience, though she is now considering a bid for the Legislature, party insiders said.

Jeremy Johnson, a political professor at Carroll College, said that losing a race like Laslovich or Romano did doesnt necessarily hurt a candidates future chances, and in some ways might help by increasing their name recognition.

Of the Republicans who won statewide offices last fall, Secretary of State Corey Stapleton lost primary bids for Montana's U.S. House seat and governor. Auditor Matt Roseldale also lost a primary bid for the House seat. Attorney General Tim Fox, who won re-election, had a previous failed bid for the job.

While most party insiders say building a list of names for the 2020 elections isnt a valuable exercise at this point, one thing many agree on is the party needs a renewed focus on rural areas.

The advice I would give to the Democrats is that I would really like to see them spend more time out across Montana, Lindeen said. They need to visit Eastern Montana and rural areas, and not just talk to folks about what they believe in but listen to and talk about what their concerns are.

McCarthy, a state representative from Billings who lost out to Quist in the U.S. House nominating convention, is a potential candidate who talks about his rural roots with ease. His grandfather ranched near Acton in northwestern Yellowstone County and years ago donated the land for the post office and bar.

Wed go in to get the mail and grandpa would get a shot and Id get a Pepsi, he said.

McCarthys grandparents and their neighbors were all Farmers Union stock who voted Democratic, but somehow in a generation we lost them, he said.

He believes its not so important for the party to find candidates who are from rural areas, but to focus on playing up why its platforms benefit farmers and ranchers.

I think we just have to get out there and start having those conversations and say What are we missing? Its hard to be from Montana or have any roots in this state and not have a farm or ranch somewhere in your past. Maybe were not just touting our rural bona fides enough.

McCarthy last week said he isnt sure what his plans are for the future. If you could say where Id be in a year, youd know more than me.

The same group of people who got him to jump into the U.S. House race want to see him run against Gianforte in 2018, he said. That team did some legwork earlier this year and determined he had a shot at the seat.

Were having the conversation right now and they would like me to run against Gianforte in 2018, but I have not yet made that decision McCarthy said.

His wife is an Australian citizen, and that presents some logistical challenges.

Ive got to decide whether Im going to put the state of Montana or my family first. I am one of those people who really likes their wife and wants to live with them. Thats where my happiness lies. If it wasnt for that Id be like Shoot, lets do this thing. I think we can win it.

That atmosphere has Lindeen frustrated with the state of politics as well. She is doing consulting work now and unsure if she'll run for office again.

Its so nasty. Im frustrated with this culture that seems to be pervasive where if you are a Republican or a Democrat somehow you look at the other side as being terrible or evil somehow. We all have points of view and we need to come back to this more civilized culture of listening to different points of view.

Statewide candidates have to strike a balance between listening to all and defending the national party, though.

You cant just run away from your party, Johnson said. Jon Tester has actually been very skillful at that. Republicans, like any good political party, will try to hone in on the weakest parts of opponents. They will do everything they can do identify Montana Democratic politicians with Nancy Pelosi or other national Democrats. No matter what the Montana state Democratic Party does, it cannot escape being associated with the national party.

Though the model seems to be skewing toward candidates with little or no political experience think Gianforte, Quist and Trump, who rose to the presidency without ever holding so much as a school board seat Democrats still put stock in developing a farm team. Johnson said that approach could make sense.

In the U.S. and also Montana we tend to elect a candidate and then theres a reaction to those types of candidates. And there could be Trump fatigue. Candidates who are not like Trump at all could do better in subsequent elections.

Excerpt from:
After defeats, Montana Democrats seek to deepen pool of candidates - The Missoulian