Washington, DC – As Republicans engage in an unprecedented effort to undermine free and fair elections, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is launching an additional and extensive electoral program to defend the state and relevant local level offices critical to safeguarding our democracy. Just as the NDRC continues to lift up the state-level offices critical in the fight for fair maps, this list of 2022 targets elevates the elections that serve as key firewalls against Republican anti-democracy agendas in the states.  

Building on its success in stopping Republicans from building political power through the redistricting process, the NDRC will make significant investments in support of pro-democracy candidates up and down the ballot in 17 key states, including gubernatorial, secretary of state,  state legislative and relevant local level candidates. The NDRC will also fight Republican efforts to make state courts less independent and more partisan. While the NDRC has long invested in state-level offices critical for redistricting, this is the first time the NDRC has expanded its targets beyond just those who are involved in redistricting, including pledging to invest in multiple secretaries of state races. 

“After the attempted coup on January 6, we hoped the Republican Party would free itself from the corruption of the Trump years. Unfortunately, since that day the Republican Party has continued to demonstrate that it is a political party comfortable bending – or even breaking – the structures of our democracy simply to maintain power. From supporting candidates for secretary of state who perpetuate the Big Lie, to nominating gubernatorial candidates who participated in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, to putting political operatives on the bench or threatening to impeach state justices because they disagree with their decisions, Republicans are clearly willing to do anything to get their way – the will of the people and letter of the law be damned. Democrats must fight back against these existential threats to our democracy,” said Eric Holder, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chair of the NDRC. “The extreme actions employed by Republicans throughout the redistricting cycle underscore the need to stand against their continuing un-democratic and un-American goals. This is a moment of critical importance, and we must not sit on the sidelines this year as we fight to protect our representative democracy. The NDRC has long been focused on the importance of the states in the fight for fair maps, and now we are expanding that scope to help ensure the frontlines of our democracy are protected, with neutral arbiters on the bench, secretaries of state who conduct free and fair elections, and governors, state legislators and local officials who serve as a critical firewall against Republican efforts to weaken our democracy.”

The NDRC will – at a minimum – invest its resources in the following state elections to protect democracy: 

1. Arizona: Governor, Secretary of State, State Senate, State House
2. Colorado: State Senate
3. Florida: Governor
4. Georgia: Governor, Secretary of State, State House
5. Kansas: Governor, State Senate, State House
6. Maine: Governor, State Senate, State House
7. Michigan: Governor, Secretary of State, State Supreme Court, State Senate, State House
8. Minnesota: Governor, State Senate, State House
9. Nebraska: Nebraska Legislature
10. Nevada: Governor, Secretary of State, State Senate, State House
11. New Hampshire: State Senate, State House
12. New Mexico: Governor
13. North Carolina: State Supreme Court, State Senate, State House
14. Ohio: Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, State Supreme Court, State Senate, State House
15. Pennsylvania: Governor, State Senate, State House
16. Texas: Governor, State House
17. Wisconsin: Governor, State Senate, State Assembly

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