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ANNAPOLIS The next election is more than a year away, but Marylands Democrats are trying to convert current discontent about the Trump administration into an organization that can reverse Democratic party losses next year.

State party leaders launched what it called The Summer of Resistance and Renewal Saturday with a small rally in Annapolis, shifting ahead by a full year the traditional timeline to organize volunteers for the 2018 election.

Maryland Democrats hold a supermajority in both chambers of the State House, all but one spot in the states 10-member congressional delegation and a 2-to-1 voter registration advantage.

But despite their dominance in statewide politics, Marylands Democrats say they lack the infrastructure and organization to prevent another round of big losses like those in 2014, when Republican Gov. Larry Hogans upset win put him in the governors mansion and GOP politicians made gains in local offices across the state.

Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews said the early organizing effort comes from a place of humility.

The Democrats have learned their lesson from 2014, she said. The Democratic Party was taking its registration advantage for granted and, to be honest, allowed its party apparatus to atrophy.

The party is banking on outrage against President Donald Trump to help Democrats refocus and rebuild.

Trumps first few months in office have sparked increased civic engagement among many in Maryland, which Hillary Clinton won in November by 26 percentage points. Democratic party leaders say the type of energy that prompted the Womens March in Washington and spontaneous protests at airports after Trumps travel ban wont translate into political victories unless they organize now.

We cant take for granted that the so-called Donald Trump effect is going to bring people out, Democrat Rep. John P. Sarbanes told a crowd of about 200 people gathered in front of the State House. We have to make it happen.

Maryland Republican Party Chairman Dirk Haire said the states minority party suffered decades of losses when it relied on angry conservatives. Haire welcomed what he described as Democrats trying the same failed approach.

As weve learned on the Republican side of aisle, anger is not a strategy, Haire said. Its never worked for Republicans. I dont see why it would work for Democrats.

Although Democrats far outnumber the states Republicans, unaffiliated voters make up the fastest-growing group of voters in the state. Haire said Republicans intend to rely on data and focusing on specific races, and he said early Democratic efforts wont affect those plans.

Were going about our business in a smart and strategic way, Haire said. Well leave the screaming to the Democrats.

The GOP wants to make Hogan Marylands first two-term Republican governor in a half-century, as well as end the Democrats supermajority in the legislature. The next governor will oversee how congressional and state legislative districts are redrawn after the 2020 census, so the person at the helm of state government could be able to tip the balance of political power for a decade.

Maryland Democrats are also dealing with the same schism that divided the party nationally after the prolonged primary between Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, activists said. Matthews said the party was also in store for a vigorous primary contest up and down the ballot. At least eight Democrats have expressed interest in challenging Hogan, for example.

The important thing is to stay true to who our real enemy is, Matthews told the crowd. We need to bring progressives into our pary, and have their voices be part of the exuberance.

Already, Matthews has held summits with progressive groups from across the state, urging their leaders to join forces.

On Saturday, Sheila Ruth with Progressive Democrats of Baltimore County joined the rally. She warned the crowd that the if the party did not come together to address the social and economic concerns that prompted people to vote for the president, then Trump will be followed by another Trump.

Joseph Kitchen, president of the Young Democrats of Maryland, said that even though Maryland is widely considered a blue state, rank-and-file Democrats need to realize that theyre losing local races in areas that were once Democratic strongholds. He pointed to the mayoral races in Annapolis and Frederick, and to the county executive race in Howard County all jurisdictions rich with Democrats but led by a Republican.

Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer downplayed the significance of a Democratic rally held right outside the governors home.

We dont pay a lot of attention to partisan politics and politicians, he said. The governor will remain focused on doing whats best for Maryland,

Rep. John Delaney, a Potomac Democrat weighing a bid against Hogan, told the crowd the must do more, and the must do more in local races.

Were not going to take back the country and advance the policies we care about by complaining about Trump, he said.

See more here:
Maryland Democrats organize a year early for 2018 election - Cecil Whig

Some of the Democratic Partys technology and data experts expressed deep frustrations this week after Hillary Clinton appeared to attribute some of her troubles in the 2016 presidential election to the partys own campaign and fundraising team.

Appearing at the Code Conference on Wednesday, Clinton charged that the Democratic National Committee was bankrupt and on the verge of insolvency by the time she won the partys nomination for the White House. Its data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong, Clinton explained. I had to inject money into it.

The sharp rebuke certainly drew jeers from Republicans, including Clintons victorious opponent, President Donald Trump, who tweeted in response that crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate.

But it also left some of the Democratic Partys veteran tech aides scratching their heads.

Josh Hendler, who previously served as the DNCs tech chief, took to Medium on Friday to lament the fact that Democrats are attacking each other a move, he said, thats detracting from other problems the Democratic Party has to confront on the technology and data front over the next few years.

For example, Hendler said that the DNC has not yet figured out how to make the best use of the data-driven groups, apps, tools and other services coming out of Silicon Valley in the wake of Trumps presidential election victory. Nor, he said, has the DNC offered much leadership in fostering uniformity around IT infrastructure, particularly at the state and local levels. That could have major cyber security implications: People say Russian hackers are coming back, but lets be honest they havent left, Hendler wrote.

And Hendler asked the party to take a greater role in working to set the record straight on fake news and combat[ting] troll armies. In that respect, at least, he and Clinton appear to share a common aim: The former secretary of state stressed at the Code Conference that Republicans had far outpaced Democrats in generating political content.

Earlier in the week, other DNC veterans similarly expressed unease with Clintons criticisms. In tweets that he later deleted, Andrew Therriault, who served as Democrats director of data science until 2016, called Clintons comments fucking bullshit. He said the DNCs voter models didnt have Michigan, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania looking even close to safe, even though Clintons team thought they knew better. (Clinton lost all three states.)

In his own series of tweets, John Hagner, who worked on governors races for Democrats in 2016, wrote that the data was never the problem:

I worked with DNC data every day last cycle, on winning Gov races. It was accurate and up-to-date and I'm grateful for their hard work.

Read the original here:
Democrats' tech experts fire back at Clinton's criticism of her own party - Recode

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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Read more:
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.

Go here to read the rest:
State Democrats turn attention to Trump, not Baker, at convention - The Boston Globe