Largest Ever Democratic Electoral Investment In Redistricting to Target CO, FL, ME, MI, NV, OH, PA, WI

Today, the Democratic Governors Association announced a $20 million investment in 2018 redistricting target races through the DGA’s Unrig The Map program. The $20 million marks the largest electoral investment in redistricting states in modern Democratic history.

The DGA also unveiled its initial 8 target states for the Unrig the Map program. The zero-overhead Unrig the Map fund will focus on Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The governors in these 8 states all hold veto power and play a key role in the redistricting process. In these 8 swing states combined, Republicans hold a 26-seat majority in Congress. A video announcing these targets is online HERE.

DGA Chair and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, DGA Unrig the Map Chair and Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy, and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf made the announcement in a press conference at the DGA on Friday.

“As Chair of the Democratic Governors Association and a former member of Congress, I know the role that Democratic Governors can play in ensuring fair maps and Congressional representation,” said DGA Chair and Washington Governor Jay Inslee. “That’s why I’m so proud to announce this unprecedented $20 million investment in our Unrig the Map Program. With fair maps in our eight targeted states, Democrats could net more than 20 Congressional seats, dramatically improving our chances of winning back a lasting Democratic majority in the House”

The DGA’s Unrig the Map project, launched in 2015, is a zero-overhead fund to win targeted gubernatorial races that are key to 2021 redistricting. In 27 of the 36 races in 2018, the governor has veto power and plays a significant role in the redistricting process. Unrig The Map scored a significant victory in November 2017, as Democrats won the battleground of Virginia.

“Electing Democratic governors this year is critical to peeling back the GOP gerrymander of 2011 and winning back a Democratic majority in Congress,” said DGA Unrig the Map Chair and Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy. “We launched Unrig the Map – and made it a priority when I was Chair of the DGA – because we are committed to reversing those maps and making sure that voters are the ones to choose their elected leaders, not the other way around.”

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of new court-drawn maps in Pennsylvania this week that will lead to fairer, more competitive districts. Governor Wolf played an integral role in the process, rejecting an attempt by Republican legislative leaders to gerrymander Pennsylvania again.

“People across the country have had enough of Republicans’ continued unfair attempts to stack the deck to benefit Republican political interests,” said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf . “In Pennsylvania, we’ve been the example of how making fair maps will give a voice back to the people—not the politicians. But we must keep up this fight in states across the country. And that’s exactly what the DGA’s Unrig the Map program and today’s announced investment will do.”