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For 31-year-old Sierra Parker, who has worked as a janitor for four years, the impending decrease makes her feel as if Missouris lawmakers have robbed workers of their voices. Parker said that when the wage went up to $10, I was feeling like, Oh finally they are concerned about the citizens of Missouri, the hard-working people. Parker, who is also studying business in school, was hoping to transition from janitorial work to the non-profit sector to fight homelessness, having been homeless herself for many years. If they take the $10 minimum wage, Im right back where I started from, she said.

In St. Louis, wages have gone up for white-collar workers even when factoring in rising housing costs. But they have fallen for blue-collar workers, according to one study. The higher minimum wage would have helped to remedy this.

While the battle over health care repeal and tax reform has taken center stage at the federal level, the scourge of Republican-led preemption bills is a reminder that many of the Democratic Partys biggest problems remain local.

Its a good sign, then, that the Democratic National Committee has finally begun to invest in state parties, as they announced earlier this week. Starting in October, the DNC will give state parties $10,000 a month, while also launching a $10 million State Party Innovation Fund. Its a step that may help turn back the well-funded tide of Republican domination over the past decade. A full 32 state governments are now entirely under Republican control. An even more harrowing stat: Over the course of Barack Obamas two terms, Democrats lost 960 seats at the state legislative level.

But many of those seatseven in deep red districtsare starting to look winnable. Just this week, Democrats achieved a surprise victory, flipping two GOP-controlled state legislature seats in special election races in Oklahoma. The emerging sentiment on the left is that Democrats have to show up and compete everywhere. It is no longer feasible to rely on the partys lopsided strength in big cities, and initiatives like Fight for $15 have to be wrapped in a larger, coordinated program to make inroads in rural areas and win back state legislatures.

For people like Rogers, Straughter, and Parker, who are going to feel in the most intimate way the effects of the partys losses in recent years, this has become a necessity, not a choice.

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Republicans Are Coming for Your Minimum Wage Hike - New Republic