Retaking Legislative Majorities

ILLINOIS SENATE

2002 was generally viewed as a challenging year for Democratic candidates. In Illinois, however, The Strategy Group was able to use targeted direct mail to frame the dialogue in a series of State Senate races. The end result was that the Illinois State Senate became the country’s only legislative chamber to switch from Republican to Democratic control. Applying the same techniques over the next two election cycles led to further pickups; by 2006, the Illinois Senate Democrats had a veto-proof majority.

MICHIGAN HOUSE

Like many legislative chambers, Michigan House Districts were designed by the majority party – in this case, Republicans – to preserve their legislative majority. In 2004, the Michigan House Democrats faced a 16-seat deficit (47 D, 63 R) and no obvious path to reclaim a majority. Indeed, Michigan House Democrats hadn’t picked up a seat in eight years. Starting in 2004, The Strategy Group used a series of targeted mail pieces in key races to frame both our candidates and our opponents. House Democrats picked up five seats in 2004, and another six in 2006 to retake the majority. In 2008 they picked up nine more seats and now hold a 24-seat majority — all on Republican-drawn maps.

NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE

By 2002, the North Carolina House of Representatives had slipped out of Democratic control. In 2004, The Strategy Group was part of a team that clawed back to a slim Democratic majority. By using effective targeting, the caucus was able to reclaim its majority even as George W. Bush was carrying the state by a healthy margin. In 2006 and 2008 the mission was to defend Democratic representatives serving in challenging districts, and expand the majority by picking up Republican-leaning seats. By effectively integrating mail and television, the caucus was able to fend off difficult challenges, while picking up seats that normally voted Republican.

COLORADO SENATE

Colorado has lately come to be regarded as a purple state. However, in 2004, Colorado remained firmly red at the legislative level. When Colorado Senate Democrats made a run for majority status in 2004, they therefore had no choice but to compete on unfriendly territory. The Strategy Group helped Colorado Senate Democrats take control of their chamber by building tailored direct mail programs for five districts falling below 50% Democratic performance — a program the Denver Post called a “brilliant strategy.” Since retaking the majority in 2004, The Strategy Group has used targeting to keep Republican candidates on the defensive and preserve the Senate Democrats’ hard-won majority.