As noted in my previous post, democracy won in 2022 in places where it counted. Democrats defending democracy won with a unified message that pushed back against Republicans' assaults on both democracy and fundamental freedoms that Americans have taken for granted. Furthermore, Democratic successes in repelling this extremist tide resulted from collaboration across the country, especially in the battleground states where the victories mattered most.
Election denialism and voter suppression, as well as pledges to overturn election outcomes, undermine democratic institutions. But that was only the half of it: Republicans also stood for the Dobbs decision, anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ legislation, and a host of other extreme policies. While the January 6 Committee hearings and other recent Supreme Court rulings reinforced this messaging, Democrats across the country working in concert achieved these victories.
Nicolle Wallace asked Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson about this teamwork. Her response:
Yes. We are collaborating, particularly in the six battleground states – Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. We’ve been talking regularly throughout the cycle. But we recognize how powerful that coordinated message was. That unified message: to say to every voter, not just our democracy, but your rights, your fundamental freedoms are on the line — and they continue to be on the line.
So one of the strengths actually coming out of the 2020 election cycle was all of us in these six states in particular looking around and saying, ‘We’re battling the same thing. Let’s work together in our response.’ And I think you saw that play out in a coordinated effort in ’22 and we’re just going to get stronger now because we’ve got more players, more folks on the field. It’s Cisco Aguilar in Nevada and other states. So we’ve now expanded our coalition that is coordinating for ’24. And it makes me encouraged, but you know, again, we need the voters to continue to prioritize democracy in order for our strength to really be realized.
As Benson notes, this expanding coalition will be critical in 2024.