National Democratic group to channel money into Wisconsin legislative races
MADISON – Wisconsin is one of six "battleground" states the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee will pour money into ahead of the 2024 election, starting with $24,000 to be split between campaigns in the state Senate and Assembly.
Under Wisconsin's campaign finance laws, political action committees may contribute up to $12,000 to a state political party committee in a calendar year.
The investment comes as the state Supreme Court weighs a case that could make it easier to gain a Democratic majority for the first time in over a decade. The state's high court is currently considering a challenge to the state's electoral maps that could give way to new boundaries more favorable to Democratic candidates.
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The DLCC is the Democratic Party's committee dedicated to winning seats in state legislatures. It announced plans on Wednesday to funnel nearly $300,000 into state-level elections in Michigan, Arizona, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
The organization is declaring 2024 "the year of the states."
"As we saw in Virginia and other legislative elections in 2023, early investments are often the deciding factor in who wins and loses state races," DLCC interim President Heather Williams said. "The DLCC is proud to be the first organization on the ground in Wisconsin, investing early in the most important level of the ballot. These early investments are multipliers, building the infrastructure and operations that will win these races in November."
Williams said Wednesday's announcement is the first of "many more to come."
Democrats currently hold 35 of 99 seats in the Assembly and 11 of 33 seats in the Senate.
Attorneys for the voters who filed the state Supreme Court lawsuit are asking justices to declare the state's legislative districts unconstitutional and order new maps drawn based on "traditional redistricting criteria" in addition to what's required under state law by mid-March 2024. The lawsuit was filed in August, immediately after liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in, flipping the court's ideological majority for the first time in years.
Such a ruling would put every member of the Legislature up for reelection next year.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee to spend heavily in Wisconsin
