FIRST ON FOX: The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) has made their ‘top political priority’ fighting Democrat-affiliated groups targeting state legislatures’ GOP majorities.
An RSLC memo exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital revealed the committee is making their ‘top political priority’ for the 2023-2024 election cycle defending ‘our majorities against an overwhelming amount of outside spending from Democrat affiliated groups.’
‘A mere 33 seats are standing in the way of Democrats taking back eight legislative chambers across five states, to take control of a majority of state legislatures in the country,’ the memo reads.
‘National Democrats are targeting all of them and have already asked for an additional $10 million while they continue to rapidly outpace Republicans with financial resources and investment,’ the memo continued.
The memo noted that in 2022, ‘state Republicans defied the odds by facing down an onslaught in national liberal spending and an incredibly challenging political environment to still preserve their hold on an overwhelming majority of state legislatures throughout the country.’
Additionally, the RSLC pointed out the 35 seat net gain in state legislatures and the expansion of GOP power ‘power in numerous states, gaining supermajorities in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, the Iowa Senate, the North Carolina Senate, the Wisconsin Senate, the South Carolina House, and the Montana Senate.’
‘We also broke out of the superminority in both chambers in Oregon as well as making gains in the New York Assembly,’ the memo read. ‘Additionally, we picked up seats in liberal strongholds like Maine, New Mexico, and Hawaii.’
‘In 2023, we have already seen state Democrats switch parties and join Republican-led legislatures in Louisiana and North Carolina, giving Republicans a veto-proof supermajority in the Louisiana House and North Carolina House, bringing our total number of Republican supermajorities up to 25 nationwide,’ it continued.
The RSLC wrote that the 2022 cycle taught them Republicans need ‘an abundance of resources to catch up to the spending levels by Democrats’ and organizations like ‘the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the States Project, and Majority Forward’ that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars.
The RSLC also noted the ‘need to target low propensity voters early and often by implementing an effective absentee ballot/early voting (AB/EV) political program’ and that the maintaining of GOP-controlled legislatures is ‘becoming increasingly harder,’ necessitating the defense of the state chambers outside of election years.
‘While the U.S House, U.S. Senate, and the White House have changed hands a total of seven times since 2010, the one constant for the conservative movement has been state legislative power. We have gotten used to having a strong backstop in the states, but our complacency has us trending in the wrong direction and is putting Republicans at risk of no longer controlling a majority of state legislative chambers for the first time since 2010.’
In 2023, the RSLC will focus on maintaining the Virginia state House majority while trying to flip the state Senate, as well as defend the seats gained in New Jersey in the last election alongside the supermajorities in Louisiana and the Mississippi.
The RSLC is also looking to nab a supermajority in the Mississippi state House.
For 2024, the RSLC has put six states on their list of preliminary defense: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, Texas, and the Pennsylvania Senate.
The RSLC is looking to use increased outreach to low-propensity GOP voters to flip three states’ legislatures, as well, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Additionally, the RSLC has put seven liberal stronghold states in their sights to make meaningful gains in after the party’s performance in the areas in 2022: Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.
‘Heading into a pivotal election cycle with Joe Biden on the top of the ticket, Democrats will be taking nothing for granted up-and-down the ballot,’ the memo reads. ‘This list remains a preliminary target list and is subject to change throughout the course of the election cycle because we are not taking anything for granted as a 50-state organization.’
‘The Democrats have already proven that they’re willing to implement an earlier strategy and invest larger sums of money at the state level than ever before, so we must be prepared to take action anywhere, anytime,’ the memo continues. ‘While Republicans will be focused on retaking control of the White House, it is our duty to stop the Democrats from taking a majority of legislative chambers across the country.’
‘We are the cornerstone of the conservative movement, and with your continued partnership and support we will be able to defend our majorities and expand the map for state Republicans,’ it concludes.
