As I write this post, the United States is less than five months away from the 2020 election, which takes place on Tuesday, November 3rd. But there’s a set of less visible elections that are also critical for Democrats to win.
Obviously, most of the 2020 election news is focused on the Presidential election. Electing the head of the executive branch is incredibly important, particularly when the choice is as stark as Joe Biden versus Donald Trump. But electing Joe Biden won’t really matter, unless we also elect a Democratic Senate.
The US Senate is uniquely important because it’s the only legislative branch that influences the judicial branch of the government. Only the US Senate confirms US Supreme Court Justices as well as the 850+ other Federal Judges at the District Court and Appeals Court levels.
Donald Trump’s Appeals Court Judges alone will be devastating to the United States for the next 30-40 years (because they’re lifetime appointments). Trump has named more than 25% of all Appeals Court Judges nationwide because the US Senate (under Republican control) has rubber-stamped them all.
The Nightmare Scenario
Even if Joe Biden wins the Presidency in 2020 none of Biden’s priorities will progress and virtually none of his judicial appointments to correct the Trump era will be confirmed – unless Democrats also take control of the Senate. How do I know? Because of history, and because Mitch McConnell is an evil SOB.
For six of Obama’s eight years in office, Democrats controlled the Senate. Even with control of the Senate it was difficult to get judges approved, until Harry Reid changed the Senate rules so a simple majority vote was sufficient for judicial appointments. What happened in those final two years — when the GOP was in control of the US Senate?
- a US Supreme Court seat opened – and the Senate didn’t even hold a hearing about the President’s nominee
- only 22 of Obama’s judicial nominations were confirmed – the lowest since 1952. (compare that to the last two years of the George W Bush administration, when the Democrats confirmed 68 GOP-nominated judges.)
This also applies to any legislation that Biden will try to pass. If the GOP controls the US Senate, they don’t even have to vote on any Democratic legislation — the Senate could be the graveyard of best intentions.
It doesn’t have to be this way, and YOU can make a difference
The GOP controls the US Senate by a margin of 53 – 47. To win control of the Senate, the Democrats need to win a net of four seats from current Republicans in the 2020 election. And here’s the good news – with one exception, all of the Democratic seats are fairly or very safe for Democrats, and there are eight GOP-held seats that are competitive. Democrats CAN take back the Senate in 2020.
In donating to this campaign, your money will go to the nine most important Senate races for Democrats to win in 2020.
To Defend:
- Doug Jones (Alabama)
To Win:
- Colorado
- Arizona
- Maine
- Iowa
- Montana
- North Carolina
- Georgia – regular Senate seat
- Georgia – Senate special election seat
I want to also make a note about the importance of setting up recurring donations. Recurring donations are MUCH more valuable to each of these campaigns. When you set up a monthly donation, that campaign can build their plans knowing their future income, which allows them to be more aggressive early. Even a small amount donated regularly can be hugely impactful to a campaign.
To sum up
This country needs a reset – it needs Democrats in charge of the US Senate. A Biden presidency and a Democratic-controlled Senate will need years to correct what was broken under the Trump administration, and that needs to start in 2020.
Jed Christiansen 