LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Let's hear more from a Democrat who led her party's effort to gain power in state legislatures. Heather Williams is president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Good morning, and welcome to the program.
HEATHER WILLIAMS: Good morning. I'm happy to be here.
FADEL: So the National Conference of State Legislatures calls this the biggest change in partisan power in state government since 2010. What were the biggest factors that made that happen?
WILLIAMS: We understood what the stakes were and what we needed to learn from the 2024 election. We started 2025 winning special elections. We flipped 31 seats before we even got to the midterm experience, right? - over the summer. And we set ourselves up for success. And now, like our gubernatorial friends, we will hold a majority of partisan state legislatures across the country.
FADEL: What opportunity does that offer for Democrats' agenda?
WILLIAMS: When we think about what's possible in the states, we think about the responsibility. So we have these new governors. These new governors are coming in with an agenda and a legislature underneath them to support them. In at least six states, we have built new trifectas. We have built 12 new majorities, and all of our governors come in with meaningful power, whether that's the legislature underneath them to pass that agenda, or it's the power of the veto pen and the ability to make appointments where there is a Republican legislature standing with them.
FADEL: Now, exit polling showed a lot of voters were motivated by the price of gas, which was driven up by the war with Iran. The state of democracy, also another issue, government corruption. But on the state level, voters have their own local concerns. What do legislators have to do to keep this support? I mean, there's a lot of pressure for change right now.
WILLIAMS: That's right. And as we heard future speaker Neubauer from Wisconsin say in the lead-up here, that responsibility is real. We - one, we ran the table on our target map. We delivered results in this election, and now these leaders need to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
And what's at stake is education funding. It's healthcare access and funding. It's ensuring that our kids have a bright future and childcare. It is ensuring that the middle class and workers are supported and that we've got great economic opportunities in our states. There's so much to do, and this administration - this federal administration continues to punt the responsibility and the work into states. And now we have leaders who are in office not to line their pockets, but to work on behalf of the people.
FADEL: Now, state legislatures also draw congressional maps. And before these midterms, there was a redistricting war started by Republicans, but Democrats also did it. I mean, does that end now these partisan maps?
WILLIAMS: We look at each election with the responsibility of potential redistricting. But what we know is that we delivered more of the power of the pen in redistricting for Democrats in this election, and we expect them to think about that responsibility with integrity and to navigate it as we move forward.
FADEL: I guess what I'm asking is, you know, Democrats criticized Republicans for trying at the last minute to change the maps in their favor. If that was wrong of the Republicans to do, do you want Democrats to act in the same manner?
WILLIAMS: I think when we approached this, right? - like, we didn't ask for midcycle redistricting to happen.
FADEL: Right.
WILLIAMS: It was the call of the president, and Democrats needed to respond. We can't play by a different set of rules. One of the responses that we have had to midcycle redistricting is this focus on campaigning and great candidates and actually delivering. We don't need to change the rules to win. We just showed everyone that we've got a message, that we've got the skills and the tactics and the strategy to win. And when we think about redistricting and we think about the role and responsibility, we think about voters and constituents being at the anchor of it. We don't need to gerrymander to win. We just proved that we could.
FADEL: Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Thank you so much.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SABRINA CARPENTER'S "ESPRESSO (ON VACATION VERSION)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
