Why a California lawmaker is fighting to flip statehouses

The ability of Democrats to preserve a path to the presidency and uphold this year's election results could hinge on which party controls state Legislatures in a handful of purple states — at least that's how the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee sees it.

The DLCC, the party’s arm focused on legislative campaigns, is looking to California lawmakers to help build that firewall by supporting Democratic candidates in battleground states. In 2020, allies of then-President Donald Trump unsuccessfully tried to pressure GOP-controlled legislatures in several swing states to endorse slates of fake Electoral College members.

State Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, will be joining the Democratic effort. The DLCC told POLITICO that Limón has been elected to serve on its board of directors, a role in which she will help shape its national strategy, assist with fundraising and serve as a spokesperson.

Limón said she will point to California as a model for policy on issues like reproductive freedom, voting rights and gun safety. Democratic candidates in other states could get an upper hand in tight contests, she said, by drawing a contrast to GOP lawmakers in their states who’ve sought to curb abortion rights, make it harder to vote and fight firearm restrictions.

“We always have to have a focus on states because of their ability to move faster in any direction,” Limón said in an exclusive interview. “Over the last decade, we’ve really seen why it’s so important.”

Limón and the DLCC are especially focused on statehouses in a handful of battlegrounds where Democrats are just a few seats away from taking power: Arizona, New Hampshire and the Pennsylvania Senate. The group is also focused on protecting its House majorities in Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Republicans have long had the upper hand at the state legislative level, due in part to a higher concentration of Democratic voters in states with major urban centers — and the large number of rural states with voters who lean more conservative. Democrats also say their party too often overlooked state legislative campaigns in the past.

The GOP controls 28 state Legislatures (57 percent) while Democrats control 19 statehouses (39 percent), according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Just two states, Pennsylvania and Michigan, have divided legislatures, and Nebraska is an anomaly with a statehouse that is unicameral and officially nonpartisan.

Leslie Martes, vice president of political and strategic initiatives for the DLCC, said Limón was chosen for a top role because she is a rising star in the California Capitol and understands how Democrats from the Golden State can help tip the balance of power elsewhere by helping them raise money and campaigning on their behalf.

“She has a sort of political spark with her,” Martes said. “She gets the big map. Of course, she understands California. But she also understands that Pennsylvania and Arizona are critically important.”

Limón replaces another high-profile lawmaker on the DLCC’s board, California Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, who stepped down last year. (Limón is rumored to be a potential contender to replace Atkins’ successor, incoming Pro Tem Mike McGuire, who’s termed out in 2026.)

The DLCC has relied on California powerbrokers to boost fundraising efforts in races that were critical in flipping chambers blue. Atkins — a Democrat who grew up in a rural, conservative community in Virginia — got involved in raising money for legislative candidates in that state, where Democrats flipped the House in November.

Former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who has been on the DLCC’s board for about four years, said California’s greatest influence is its role as a political ATM for Democrats in smaller states. “California is always a place where people come for money,” he said.

As speaker, Rendon said he helped host a half-dozen fundraisers for DLCC candidates in other states. He said he’s glad to see Limón pick up the baton because the DLCC’s work feels more pressing than ever for the party.

“State legislatures are existential in terms of [the battle over] civil rights, civil liberties,” he said. “All of that stuff is up for grabs.”

Limón is joining the DLCC's board along North Carolina House Democratic Leader Robert Reives and Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst.