The Constitution is hanging by a thread.
That’s what Rusty Bowers, the outgoing Speaker of the Arizona House and a lifelong Republican, said in this interview earlier this week. Ousted by his own party in the recent primary elections for refusing to ignore the will of Arizona voters to help Trump overturn the 2020 election, he will be replaced by a Trump-endorsed, election-denying extremist.
And he’s not the only one.
Radical rightwing candidates overwhelmingly won their primaries in state legislative races that we know will be key to defending democracy in 2024. This is the climate we face as we hurtle toward the November midterms.
And it’s why our overarching goal in these elections is to give our democracy a fighting chance. Here’s what that looks like:
- In Arizona and Michigan, we’re fighting to end unchecked rightwing control. In what we expect will be a tough year, a tie in one chamber in each of these states would shift the balance of power enough to block radical state lawmakers from ignoring voters and changing election results.
- In Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, lawmakers elected in 2024 will be sworn in before electors are selected to the electoral college. In these states, we must build governing control for pro-democracy lawmakers in at least one chamber by 2024.
- In Nebraska and North Carolina, we will work to prevent rightwing supermajorities and protect the ability to block extreme policies from becoming law.
- In Maine and Nevada, we are defending governing power that improves lives and upholds the will of voters.
- In Minnesota, we must hold the House and shift power in the Senate — our work could make the difference between a new trifecta, and a powerful rightwing majority in the state.
Whether we’re on offense or defense, working to shift power in a chamber or hold ground — our goal in each state is critical to defending our democracy. Join us in this fight.
