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When Vicky Hausman rolled out her fundraising goal to help Democrats running in statehouse races across the country this cycle, she was eyeballing an ambitious $25 million from her deep-pocketed allies behind Forward Majority, a super PAC. Then the number climbed to $35 million. And once Vice President Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket, Hausman and her pals were able to add another $10 million to their spending plan.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]All told, Hausman now is on pace to spend $45 million to elect lawmakers who, in some cases, draw zero salaries for their service.
It’s the latest proof point that the summer reset of the presidential campaign did not limit itself to the top of the ballot, or even the fight for Congress. Forward Majority is doubling down on suburban races in Pennsylvania and Michigan to hold fresh-but-narrow majorities in those statehouses and eyeing pick-up opportunities in Wisconsin and Arizona. Those states also just happen to be on Harris’ potential route to the White House.
“We essentially had just a surge with the shift at the top of the ticket and the momentum on our side,” Hausman tells TIME. “There’s greater awareness on the part of both voters and funders on the importance of state legislatures, how they impact our democracy, how they impact the policies that affect our daily lives.”
In state legislative races, a buck goes much farther than, say, a White House campaign that has saturated screens in swing states. It’s not just that far less money is usually spent on these races. Presidents get more headlines, but it’s the mostly unknown state lawmakers who control far more of day-to-day ways Americans experience government. School funding, transportation, health programs, even library options all have a major pivot based on what happens in state capitols.
All of which explains why donors have been willing to pony-up cash to cover voters registration and turn-out drives, plus digital and traditional mail pieces, with Forward Majority. Separately, Harris has made a direct transfer of $2.5 million to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the official party arm focused on statehouse contenders as part of a broader $25 million spread-the-wealth effort following her own half-billion-dollar fundraising rocket.
This was not how Hausman thought 2024 would go. As Biden seemed to be politically limping toward a very steep climb to hold the White House, donors were skeptical. Then, a disastrous debate had many donors hit pause, if not close their checkbooks entirely until they were assured things were going in a different direction. Harris’ ascent to the top of the ticket did that.
“The despondency of post-debate Biden World was super depressing for everyone. Folks were thinking about how to play defense until it hurts, right?” Hausman says.
The confluence of events has also helped Forward Majority make a compelling case that they’re shaping the bench. For instance, had Forward Majority not helped Democrats flip the Minnesota legislature in 2022, there is very little chance Harris would have had reason to consider Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. With Democrats in control in Minnesota now, Walz was able to build a credible record of bipartisan success in the lone state with a split-party legislature right now.
“That is what can boost Democrats over the edge, over the line in close elections,” says Forward Majority chief strategist Leslie Martes.
That’s not to say that Forward Majority’s windfall is going to dramatically shift a space that has often seen Republicans in competitive state legislative districts enjoy a 20-to-1 advantage in cash. Still, flipping 10 seats combined in six states could turn those chambers blue. That’s why the Republican State Leadership Committee, the main outside group working in state legislatures, and its think tank partners at the State Government Leadership Foundation have signaled for months that its spending this cycle would approach $50 million. And that’s just one piece of the conservative ecosystem that is years ahead of Democrats’ efforts.
Still, Hausman says she is seeing signs Harris might be changing the down-ballot dynamics for Democrats, who have control of the legislatures of just 19 states, and only about 40% of all chambers. “Those of us who care about democracy need to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Hausman says. “In terms of ROI, we’ve got a toolkit that can deliver in exactly these types of close contests where it’s a dogfight for every single vote.”
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