Democrats strive to tighten hold in several states
INDEPENDENCE, ORE. >> Unfazed by signs banning soliciting and dogs that barked at her in almost every home she visited, a political newbie knocked on doors, handed out campaign fliers and asked voters to elect her to the Oregon Senate.
Deb Patterson, who canvassed in the riverside town of Independence on a recent Saturday, hopes to win the May 15 primary and unseat four-term Republican Sen. Jackie Winters in November. A win could propel Democrats into a “supermajority” in the Legislature, with the ability to increase state revenue without Republican support.
Democrats buoyed by anti-Trump political activism want to wrest control of legislatures from Republicans, but they’re also striving to tighten their hold in states where they have an edge — or where control is split — in order to pass legislation ranging from gun control to health care and from taxation to campaign finance reform.
Republicans also consider these states battlegrounds. In Oregon, a political action committee called No Supermajorities has received a $5,000 contribution from Koch Industries, the Kansasbased energy conglomerate of billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch who advocate for conservative causes.
“If even one Republican loses re-election in November 2018, there is no telling what kind of new taxes Democratic leaders might push through,” the PAC’s website proclaims.
In Oregon, Democrats need just one more seat in the Senate and one in the House to reach a three-fifths supermajority in both chambers. That would give them a better shot at increasing corporate taxes in a state where corporations pay one of the lowest rates in the nation.
“We continue to have a pattern where families pay more into the tax system to support state services than do corporations and businesses,” said Jeanne Atkins, chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “With a supermajority maybe there’s a better chance, but of course the devil is always in the details.”
Atkins called Patterson “a serious candidate” who’s among those who might take seats from Republicans.
Patterson is a pastor at a rural church who has worked as a health care advocate and never held elected office.
But after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 and threatened the Affordable Care Act, Patterson was so upset that she decided to enter politics.
“I’m running for office because the last election took me by surprise, and I realized that people had to get active and get involved,” Patterson said after spending a morning knocking on doors. “We have to stand up at the state level to push back against the changes that are coming at the federal level.”
Heading into the 2018 elections, Republicans control 32 state legislatures, Democrats 13, and four are split between the parties, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Nebraska, unique among U.S. states, is unicameral and officially nonpartisan.
For their part, Republicans hope to snatch seats away from Democrats in November.
“Republicans have proven with the right candidate and right policies they can win in historically adverse areas,” said David James of the Republican State Leadership Committee.