Democrats Make a Fresh Push to Win State Legislatures

The Democratic Party is planning an unusually aggressive push to win seats in state legislatures next year, targeting more than 650 seats and aiming to make gains in 42 chambers, according to a strategy memo reviewed by The New York Times.

The effort represents new ambition for the arm of the party that focuses on state legislatures, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which is often overshadowed by its congressional counterparts.

The group has set a hopeful fund-raising goal for 2026: $50 million, a total it has never hit before in one year. In 2024, the D.L.C.C. announced a two-year target of $60 million and raised about $50 million over that period, according to federal tax records.

The effort is the latest sign that Democrats are growing more optimistic about the political environment ahead of the midterm elections. President Trump’s lagging approval ratings and Democratic electoral victories this year, most recently on Tuesday in the Miami mayor’s race, point to those shifting winds.



https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/democrats-state-legislatures.html

AI Models Analyze Trump's Latest Rant

“Remarkably, despite different architectures, training data, and corporate origins, all three systems reached the same diagnosis: This isn’t normal political communication. This is defensive grandiosity written by someone who experiences criticism as existential threat.”

ChatGPT’s verdict: “Classic authoritarian narcissistic rhetoric, except more theatrical and with more references to his own brain.”

Grok: “Classic high-dominance narcissistic personality organization… so classic it should be taught in seminars.”

Claude: “This is someone who experiences any challenge to his self-image as an existential threat.”



https://politicalwire.com/2025/12/10/ai-models-analyze-trumps-latest-rant/

VA-05: Tom Perriello (D) Makes a Comeback

Former Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. John McGuire (R-VA).



https://politicalwire.com/2025/12/10/tom-perriello-makes-a-comeback/

VA-02: Spanberger endorses Elaine Luria in her House comeback bid

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger is endorsing her former House colleague Elaine Luria’s comeback bid in the latest effort by Democrats to clear the primary in a highly targeted purple district.

“I am excited to support Elaine Luria’s campaign for Congress, because Virginians deserve a dedicated public servant who is focused on delivering for the people of Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore,” Spanberger said in a statement.

Both women flipped GOP-held seats in the 2018 midterms and became part of a bloc of incoming House Democrats with national security backgrounds.

“Since our first campaign together when we made history in 2018, Governor-elect Spanberger and I have worked closely together to lower prices, cut health care costs, and invest in Virginia. I look forward to continuing our work together to lower costs for working families and deliver for the people of Hampton Roads,” Luria said.



https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/12/10/congress/spanberger-endorses-luria-00683599

ME-SEN: Poll: Janet Mills favored over Graham Platner in Maine 2026 Democratic US Senate primary

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Gov. Janet Mills is favored by 10 percentage points over Graham Platner among self-described likely Democratic primary voters, according to a new statewide poll released on Wednesday.

But both Mills and Platner are in a dead heat with the incumbent Republican they each hope to face next year, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Among likely Democratic primary voters, Mills leads Platner 47% to 37% with 15% undecided or preferring another candidate, according to the poll conducted by Pan Atlantic Research.

In a hypothetical matchup, Mills and Collins each polled 43% of voters with 15% undecided.



https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/maine-politics/mills-platner-maine-us-senate-race-susan-collins-pan-atlantic-research-poll/97-78602517-3f27-4144-bf7b-894bb2366fc5

Democrats aim to flip control of the AZ legislature in 2026 as Trump approval hits record lows

National Democrats are looking to spend big next year to win legislative seats across the nation, and flipping control of the Arizona Legislature will once again be a top priority, even after record spending in 2024 resulted in Republicans expanding their majorities in both chambers.

A memo from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee outlines plans to flip more than 650 state legislative seats from red to blue, including in battleground states like Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

That is possible, the DLCC believes, because of the historic unpopularity of President Donald Trump in his second term and a resulting hostility among voters toward Republicans up and down the ballot.

“The favorable political environment taking shape for Democrats is on a scale that only comes once in a generation, similar to what Republicans took advantage of in 2010 with Project REDMAP, when they flipped hundreds of seats and fundamentally shifted the country’s political trajectory by cementing GOP control in the states,” the memo says.



https://azmirror.com/2025/12/10/democrats-aim-to-flip-control-of-the-az-legislature-in-2026-as-trump-approval-hits-record-lows/

House Democrats add 5 seats to their 2026 battleground target list

The House Democrats’ campaign arm is adding five seats to its 2026 offensive battleground target list as recent election wins have made the party feel increasingly bullish about next year’s midterms.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is adding California’s 48th Congressional District, Florida’s 15th Congressional District, North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District and 11th Congressional District and Texas’ 35th Congressional District.

Overall, the DCCC has 40 target pickup opportunities the group is eyeing next year.

“The DCCC is confident we can win anywhere, and we are full speed ahead while Republicans are running scared,” DCCC chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement. “House Democrats have the better message, stronger candidates, and as the data shows, the American people are on our side.”



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5641802-dccc-offensive-battleground-2026/

Monica Matteo-Salinas (D) wins runoff for Miami Beach Commission

City Hall aide Monica Matteo-Salinas just won a four-year term on the Miami Beach Commission, outpacing a better-funded but controversy-laden opponent in a runoff for the panel’s Group 1 seat.

With all precincts reporting, a full tally of early votes and a partial count of mail-in ballots, Matteo-Salinas had 71% of the vote to defeat Republican lawyer Monique Pardo Pope.

She’ll succeed fellow Democrat Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who must leave the city’s seven-member governing body after an unsuccessful mayoral run.

Matteo-Salinas said in a statement that she is “deeply grateful” Miami Beach voters trusted her to represent their interests on the City Commission.


https://floridapolitics.com/archives/769070-monica-matteo-salinas-wins-runoff-for-miami-beach-commission/

Democrats/progressives take control of the Albuquerque City Council.

Keller (D) wins Albuquerque mayoral election

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Albuquerque voters have chosen incumbent Mayor Tim Keller to serve a third term as mayor.

Challenger Darren White offered a concession speech Tuesday evening.


https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/keller-wins-albuquerque-mayoral-election/?cb=1765335683711