Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
| Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | 527 group |
| Affiliation: | Democratic |
| Top official: | Heather Williams, President |
| Year founded: | 1994 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is a political organization that is focused on helping to elect Democratic state legislative candidates and winning Democratic majorities in state legislative chambers. According to their website, the DLCC "is the only organization responsible for the full, national landscape of state legislatures, crafting the long-term strategy to elect Democrats across the country."[1]
Background
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) was founded in 1994.[2] According to its website, the organization's mission is "to kick right-wing extremists out of office and elect local Democrats who are committed to advancing policies that improve the lives of the people they serve."[1]
Leadership
As of December 2025, the following were listed as part of the organization's board of directors:[1]
- Andrea Stewart-Cousins, chair
- Joe Fitzgibbon, vice-chair
- Ron Kouchi, treasurer
- Javier I. Martínez, finance chair
- Winnie Brinks
- Kambium Buckner
- James Coleman
- Manka Dhingra
- Julie Fahey
- Louis Greenwald
- Vincent Hughes
- Adrienne Jones
- Jennifer Konfrst
- Monique Limón
- David Linsky
- Cyndi Munson
- Greta Neubauer
- Robert Reives
- Robert Rivas
- Don Scott
- Steve Yeager
Work and activities
Political campaigns
2026
In February 2025, the DLCC announced it would target the Pennsylvania House, Minnesota House and Senate, Michigan House and Senate, Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, and Alaska House and Senate in the 2026 elections.
DLCC president Heather Williams said, "There are five legislative chambers, including the tie in the Minnesota House, that are within one seat of changing control. So a lot of the attention and focus is going to be on ensuring that we return strong majorities in those places."[3]
2025
In February 2025, the DLCC announced it would target the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2025 elections, saying, "Democrats flipped the Virginia House blue in 2023, and the DLCC is determined to hold control of the chamber in 2025."[4] It also announced it would target the state supreme court races in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, saying, "These races will set the stage for the DLCC's effort to flip both chambers of the Wisconsin state legislature and defend the Pennsylvania House, with serious implications for redistricting processes, abortion, voting rights, and more."[5]
2024
In September 2024, the Democratic National Committee contributed $2.5 million to the DLCC, the largest contribution to the DLCC to-date.[6] In a Sept. 2024 press release, the DLCC said it planned to spend $60 million by the end of the year.[7] DLCC president Heather Williams said, "Down-ballot races are often decided by a handful of votes, which is why every dollar invested in this ballot level can go so far in shaping whether core freedoms are advanced by Democrats or rolled back by Republicans."[8] The DLCC previously announced plans to invest in Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.[9] at the time of the 2024 elections, Republicans controlled both chambers in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. Democrats controlled both chambers in Minnesota and Michigan. Pennsylvania had a divided government.[8]
2020
In January 2020, Politico reported that the DLCC was planning to spend $50 million in 2020, ahead of redistricting, and had "quadrupled its staff, partnered with a slew of other large Democratic groups ... and planned to target as many as 14 states." According to Politico, the organization would begin by targeting legislative chambers in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, with potential targets later in the year in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, West Virginia and Wisconsin.[10]
Politico reported, "The DLCC is chiefly targeting states where flipping just a handful of seats will give Democrats a seat at the governing table in 2021. ... And the group is particularly interested in states where state lawmakers have absolute power over the congressional maps and the governor has little influence, like North Carolina."[10]
2018
In July 2018, the DLCC announced 17 seats the organization would target with the goal of flipping eight state legislative chambers in November: state Senates in Colorado, Minnesota, Florida, Arizona, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. The organization said it planned to spend $6 million ahead of the year's elections.[11]
Executive Director Jessica Post stated, "Our success flipping 44 seats from red to blue since Trump was elected demonstrates that all state legislative districts are in play going into the midterms and no Republican is safe. With Democrats only 17 seats away from flipping eight chambers this November, the DLCC is confident that we can win Democratic majorities from coast to coast and enact policies that will help all Americans."[11]
2016
In February 2016, Politico reported that the DLCC would prioritize defending Colorado and Kentucky state Houses, Minnesota and New Mexico state Senates, and Oregon's state House and Senate in the 2016 election cycle. DLCC Executive Director Jessica Post listed 11 offensive targets: state Houses in Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico; state Senates in Colorado, Maine, New York, and West Virginia; and both legislative chambers in New Hampshire and Nevada. Post stated, "We've got terrific candidates. ... Really impressed with the candidates who have come out of the woodwork."[12]
The same month, the DLCC began its state strategies in Indiana, where it focused on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's GLBT civil rights stance and subsequent debates on the issue in the Indiana Congress. Carolyn Fiddler, DLCC spokeswoman, stated that "[b]reaking at least one of the two supermajorities in Indiana is important to the DLCC, and we’re working to target the districts that afford Democrats the best opportunity to do that. Gov. Pence’s unpopularity and John Gregg’s strength at the top of the ticket will help Democrats flip those vulnerable seats this fall."[13]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Affiliations
Advantage 2020 hybrid PAC
- See also: Advantage 2020
Advantage 2020 was a hybrid PAC established in 2015 by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). The aim of the PAC was to target Republican redistricting, take control of districts, and have a Democratic majority in state assemblies by 2020.[14][15]
On June 6, 2016, Advantage 2020 filed termination paperwork with the FEC, thus terminating the group.[16]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee's revenues and expenses from 2008 to 2024. The information comes from ProPublica.
| Year | Raised | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $6.6 million | $9.6 million |
| 2010 | $5.6 million | $7.7 million |
| 2012 | $7.4 million | $8.8 million |
| 2014 | $9.7 million | $9.5 million |
| 2016 | $12.3 million | $11.4 million |
| 2018 | $22.3 million | $22.4 million |
| 2020 | $29.3 million | $30.2 million |
| 2022 | $28.6 million | $32.3 million |
| 2024 | $28.7 million | $29.6 million |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms DLCC. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, "About," accessed December 2, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee," accessed December 2, 2025
- ↑ NBC News, "Democrats unveil state legislative map for the next election cycle, with eyes on opposing Trump's agenda and redistricting," February 11, 2025
- ↑ DLCC, "The DLCC Target Map 2025-2026," accessed February 24, 2025
- ↑ Bluesky, "The Downballot on February 25, 2025," accessed February 27, 2025
- ↑ Politico, "Harris campaign, DNC, announce unprecedented down-ballot spending," accessed September 3, 2024
- ↑ DLCC, "ICYMI: DNC Invests Historic $2.5M in DLCC to Support State Legislative Races," accessed September 3, 2024
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pluribus News, "Dems, GOP pump millions into legislative elections," accessed September 4, 2024
- ↑ DLCC, "Path to the Majority: Expanding the Map," accessed September 4, 2024
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Politico, "Democrats plan $50M campaign to flip state legislatures before redistricting," January 15, 2020
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 DLCC, "State Democrats Announce the 17 seats Needed to Flip 8 Chambers This Fall," July 13, 2018
- ↑ Politico, "South Carolina turnout trending up," February 17, 2016
- ↑ The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, "Parties and pundits picking favorites in Indiana state and national primary races," February 15, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Dems launch super-PAC to gain edge in redistricting," February 19, 2015
- ↑ Advantage 2020, "Home," accessed March 7, 2016]
- ↑ FEC, "FEC Form 3X, Advantage 2020 (Termination)," accessed July 8, 2016
