WASHINGTON -- The Democratic Governors Association launched a new initiative Tuesday to target states where governors play a role in how congressional districts are drawn.
The association's "Redistricting 2020" fund will ask for millions of dollars in donations to elect Democratic governors in places where they could influence congressional district maps drawn by state legislatures five years from now. Two close allies of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton are chairing the initiative: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock, who oversees the group dedicated to electing pro-choice women to office.
Virginia is one of the states facing the divisiveness of partisan gerrymandering. Though all of the statewide offices are held by Democrats and President Barack Obama carried the state in both 2008 and 2012, Democrats represent just three of the state's 11 congressional districts. The shape of one of those districts is still being fought over.
"I think Democrats are finally coming to the realization that governors are the key tool if we are going to win back the Congress, because the redistricting issues we face, they’re going to have to be approved by a governor," McAuliffe told The Huffington Post. "It’s important to win elections with a zero at the end."
An analysis conducted on behalf of the DGA found that more equitable maps in the 18 states the fund will target would flip more than enough congressional districts for the party to retake the U.S. House of Representatives.
"I want maps that geographically make sense, that make fair and competitive elections ... If you apply fair maps to these 18 states, Democrats would pick up 44 seats. That’s enough to win back Congress," McAuliffe said.
The effort comes as Democrats evaluate how they can leave behind the steep losses they experienced at the state level in 2010 and 2014. In the latter election, which was a particularly bad year for Democratic gubernatorial candidates, the Republican Governors Association spent $170 million to the DGA's $98 million. The new DGA effort offers an opportunity to attract Democratic donor money away from the party committees raising funds for congressional races and toward races that impact state-level policies.
Those policies include the district-drawing process itself. In June, advocates for taking redistricting out of the hands of state legislators breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court upheld Arizona's independent redistricting commission. A decision in favor of the Republican legislators who sued the commission could have invalidated commissions in other states.
McAuliffe told HuffPost that he supports guiding Virginia to an independent redistricting process, despite Republican opposition to such a system, and acknowledged that Democrats have similarly been accused of gerrymandering in states such as Illinois and Maryland.
"If you allow politicians to draw their districts, you know what’s going to happen. You’re going to draw the lines that help you win elections," he said. "That system is flawed."