Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro showed up Tuesday to convey a pressing message at a private dinner for Democrats considering state politics.
He claimed that they were truly powerful. Make use of it.
“The states are no longer just our laboratories for testing policies,” Mr. Shapiro said to the group of Democratic strategists, donors, and state lawmakers who had spent the evening at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia eating beef short ribs, vegan Caesar salads, and pretzel-wrapped mini hot dogs. They are now democracy’s pillars.
He went on to say that the states are the most significant and consequential check on Donald Trump’s lawlessness and overreach.
The governor’s statements were given at the launch of the States Forum, a new program aimed at strengthening and extending Democratic state legislative victories nationwide during a period when the national party, which is currently locked out of power in Washington, is still in a state of flux.
Unreported to date, the States Forum is a combination of a convention meeting, an ideas journal, and a network of state lawmakers and policy thinkers who are interested in state-level initiatives that could be expanded to other states and even the federal level.
The States Project team, a well-funded outside organization that has invested over $130 million in state legislative contests over the last two election cycles, started the project. The States Forum will have a $4 million starting budget and operate as a distinct organization.
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