STATE RACES, RED TO BLUE | Heidi's Picks

Sunday, November 1—As Election Day (Tuesday) approaches, the Battleground States are getting special attention. See two takes on a Biden or Trump victory in these states.  (More recently: CNN's guess on the likely range in the Electoral College vote and the American Prospect's "Unsanitized" roundup.)

The following summary of key down-ballot state races was sent to me by Heidi Fiske, who asked me to post it on her behalf, as I have done before:

Nothing is more important than winning the Presidency and taking back the Senate.

But those races are attracting huge sums of money. Not so the state races, which both require and attract less money. 

We will realize in January just how important these overlooked races are, because that’s when governors, state AGs, state Secretaries of State, state judges and state legislatures will determine the district lines that will hold for a decade, through 2030, based on this year's foreshortened census. 

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), the Democratic body that concerns itself with state races, says that if the 48 state legislative candidates in the links below are elected, they will flip 10 chambers in seven critical states from Red to Blue. Of these seats, 34 are in chambers that will rule on district lines for one-third of all House seats (144 of 435).

• Heidi's Picks incorporates recommendations of the DLCC, Future Now, and some other individuals and groups.
• Arizona, 5 legislative candidates
• Iowa, 4 legislative candidates
• Michigan, 4 legislative candidates
• Minnesota, 2 legislative candidates
• North Carolina, 11 legislative  + Attorney General + Secretary of State + 2 Supreme Court candidates  [NC’s superb governor is not included only because he is well-funded and almost certain to win]
• Pennsylvania, 13 legislative candidates [PA’s outstanding Attorney General is not included only because he is considered sure to win]
• Texas, 9 legislative + 4 Supreme Court