DGA in National Journal: 30 Democratic Governors “Didn’t Happen Overnight”

DGA in National Journal: 30 Democratic Governors "Didn't Happen Overnight"

DGA's historic results took a decade of strategizing and investing where it mattered

Last week, Democrats won a majority of governorships for the first time since 2010, as the country is set to have 30 Democratic governors - the most in 30 years.

The DGA's Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper sat down with National Journal to talk about how the DGA has been building toward this moment and refining our strategy for a decade, saying: "The DGA's work to build democratic governing power in the states over the last decade has been foundational for truly what's a generational shift in power that we achieved this year."

USA Today also highlighted how Democratic governors will have "sweeping power" across the country, with The Long Run writing "The results are a huge victory for the Democratic Governors Association, which came into the cycle with the once-ambitious task of winning an overall majority."

Read more about the DGA's decade-long road to a majority of governors:

National Journal: Q&A with Meghan Meehan-Draper

• Meghan Meehan-Draper: "It is thrilling to have 30 Democratic governors in America. It's surreal, and it didn't happen overnight. The DGA's work to build democratic governing power in the states over the last decade has been foundational for truly what's a generational shift in power that we achieved this year."

• "For the last decade, the DGA has honestly led the charge with super smart strategic investments in red states. There are governors' races every year, so we're forced to learn lessons. We're forced to refine our tactics. We have no off years. We have to keep raising money all the time, and we've been relentlessly focused on having a comeback. When I became executive director in 2023, I said I want my goal to be 26 by 2026. I want the majority of states, and so to not only have hit 26 but exceed it to hit 30 has been incredibly gratifying, but also a long, long, long work in progress."

• "These candidates who flipped these states didn't just win because it was a good year for Democrats. They had great campaigns, flawless campaigns, frankly, and great candidates who were able to seize this moment."

• "Electing Democratic governors also has massive implications for the future of democracy and future of the party. Democratic governors build strong state parties in their states. They do things like overseeing consequential redistricting maps. They do things that people don't think about, like appointing thousands of judicial appointments all over the country, which becomes a pipeline for the federal judiciary."

• "With the right candidate, voters are completely open to supporting a Democrat, even if they are not a Democrat. I think we frankly saw the same thing in a place like Georgia, where voters were very, very open to electing their first Black woman governor because they knew that she was going to deliver for Georgia."

USA Today: Democrats grab sweeping power in governor's offices, state houses

• "We are about to have 30 Democratic governors in this country who will govern 75% of the population," Meghan Meehan-Draper, the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, told USA TODAY.

• "There is sweeping power that governors have that people just don't think about," Meehan-Draper said. She pointed to the power governors wield over redrawing congressional maps, appointing judges to state courts, building up the Democratic bench for higher office and implementing federal policy.

The Long Run: The Promise - and Problem - of Democrats' New Era

• Democrats appear to have flipped six governorships and held all 18 of their own, exceeding even the wildest hopes of party officials a few months ago. The results are a huge victory for the Democratic Governors Association, which came into the cycle with the once-ambitious task of winning an overall majority. And they epitomize the promising, though potentially challenging, position Democrats now find themselves in as America's newly dominant political party.

• "From the DGA perspective, we did not get here overnight," said Sam Newton, communications director for the group. "It took a lot of hard work and focus on these races for governor and state-level races, which often have less attention, less money, and worked really hard every single year to flip states, protect the tough ones, and make gains."

• It's been a long road for the group. After suffering repeated defeats during the Obama midterm cycles, Democratic governors hit rock bottom in early 2017, when newly elected West Virginia governor (and now senator) Jim Justice switched parties. That created a split of 34 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and one Independent, a wider gap than any seen in nearly 100 years.

• Nearly a decade later, the landscape is radically different: three out of every four Americans will live under a Democratic governor next year.

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