A Democratic group headed by former Attorney General Eric Holder
Eric Himpton HolderBill Maher: Trump’s tombstone will say ‘picked fights with black people’ Uber hires first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer A law enforcement report card for Trump’s first year MORE is focusing on challenging Republicans in various state elections in order to wrest back control of the state redistricting process, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization backed by former President Obama, is targeting several key battleground states ahead of the 2018 elections, funneling cash into races for governorships, legislative seats and other state offices, according to the Times.
Holder told the newspaper the group will hone in on the "trifecta" states where Republicans control both the governorship and entire state legislature. Such a position allows Republicans to redistrict congressional maps without too much Democratic interference.
“From my perspective, success is if you break a trifecta,” Holder told the Times. “I don’t think that in December of 2018, you measure success only by whether you have assumed control of a particular state.”
The Democratic push comes as the battle over gerrymandering heats up across the country.
The Supreme Court denied a request on Monday to stay a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling for state lawmakers to redraw its map due to Republican-led gerrymandering.
And on Tuesday, the court said it would not take up a case from North Carolina where a district court ruled that the state had discriminated against voters who didn't support Republican candidates.
Holder told the Times that he would take a hands-on approach in key races, and that he and Obama would work to mobilize African-American voters in the states.