As a progressive super PAC announced its plan to invest $15 million into state legislative races, including $6.2 million into Texas House elections, an impartial organization is tracking money in state politics.
Forward Majority is targeting 18 state House races. With Democrats just nine votes short of obtaining a majority, these races could tip control of the House.
“We have a once in a generation opportunity to establish a Democratic majority ahead of redistricting and cement Texas’ status as the biggest battleground state in the country,” Forward Majority spokesman Ben Wexler-Waite said in a statement.
Transparency USA Executive Director Tracy Marshall
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Transparency USA, which follows the money in state politics, said there is one overwhelming reason for this sizable investment in local races: Redistricting.
Transparency USA Executive Director Tracy Marshall said it’s a huge element in the 2020 election.
“Redistricting is a big deal because it occurs once every 10 years after the census, and redraws the maps for both state legislative and congressional seats,” Marshall told Lone Star Standard. “Forward Majority intends to target the state legislatures in Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona because it believes those state houses can be flipped to Democratic control, including control of the redistricting process. Those states are also a prime target as they are likely to gain congressional seats due to population growth.”
Texas has become a crucial battlefield in this election. The traditionally red state, which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976 when Jimmy Carter narrowly carried the Lone Star State against Gerald Ford, has increasingly appeared purple and up for grabs.
“Before the events of 2020 redirected both state and national attention toward far-reaching issues like the COVID-19 and allegations of systemic racism, much of the focus of the Texas election season was centered on the upcoming redistricting process,” Transparency USA reports. “While it may sound innocuous — even tedious, particularly compared to the other politically charged events of the season — redistricting will have a profound impact on the future of the political landscape in Texas and beyond. It will influence that way Texans’ voices are heard in Austin and in Washington over the next 10 years.”
Transparency USA’s mission is to provide clear, accurate, easy-to-understand information about the money in state politics, she said.
“Our database includes campaign finance data for nine states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin,” Marshall said. “You can search all state-level candidates, political action committees [PACs] that are active in that state, and the donors that support them. Texas is our first state to also include lobbying data.”
Transparency USA tracks contributions to and expenditures by governors, lieutenant governors, state attorneys general and legislators. It plans to add data on federal officials soon.
“You can see big-picture data, like the top 10 donors in your state this election cycle or total contributions and expenditures by party,” the Transparency USA website states. “You can also find detailed transaction history for a single person or organization.”
Transparency USA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization. Followers can support its work by donating through this secure website.
