DLCC: North Carolina among the ‘states to watch’ for fall election

PRESS RELEASE from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

DLCC Announces 2014 Races to Watch

Washington (October 8, 2014) – Today, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) announced its 2014 Races to Watch. The 69 state legislative races chosen represent targeted districts critical to Democratic majorities in 24 state legislatures across the United States.

The full list can be found here.

“With great candidate recruitment and a big emphasis on our field efforts, Democrats are in a great position to make strong gains in chambers across the country,” said Michael Sargeant, Executive Director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “As extreme Republican legislatures continue taking aim at women’s health, working families, immigrants, and equal rights, we have real opportunities to win new majorities this election cycle.”

The DLCC’s 2014 Races to Watch spotlights candidates who represent national trends and whose diversity and personal stories embody the promise of the American dream. The selection criteria for individual races are based on different factors such as:

• Potential for Democrats to “flip” statehouse chambers to Democratic majorities;
• Implications for Advantage 2020, a major DLCC initiative that will help Democrats win elections and level the playing field in order to be successful in the next round of redistricting;
• Examples of the power of the Grassroots Victory Program (GVP), the DLCC’s field program that helps ensure that the advantage Democrats enjoy at the national level is replicated at the state level.

In 2012, Democrats won eight new majorities and netted nearly 200 legislative seats nationwide. Building upon this success, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee recently launched Advantage 2020, a $70 million program to target state legislative races across the country over the next four election cycles, based on an analysis of current electoral opportunities as well as demographic shifts over the next decade.

The states included in the 2014 Races to Watch include Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.