Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said the party is "planning for everything" ahead of the November midterms, warning that President Donald Trump may try to "suppress the vote" even as polling seems to tilt toward Democrats.
In a Saturday morning interview on MS NOW's "The Weekend," Martin paired that warning with a victory lap on redistricting, citing Tuesday's Virginia referendum and California's November vote as evidence that Democrats are outmaneuvering Republicans in a mid-decade map fight Trump set in motion.
Martin urged viewers to "ignore" favorable polling and prepare for "someone trying to hold on to power at all costs," adding that the DNC's contingency planning is "quite extensive." He did not detail those plans.
The remarks build on a March 10 federal lawsuit in which the DNC sued the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Defense Department over 11 unanswered Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records on any plans to send federal agents or troops to polling places, drop boxes, and election offices.
The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, asks the court to compel the agencies to comply with FOIA. The Justice Department called the suit "frivolous."
Federal law generally bars the deployment of military personnel and federal officers at polling sites.
The lawsuit followed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's comment that she could not "guarantee" Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would not be near polling locations in November, while saying she had not heard the president discuss any formal plan to station them there.
Trump has separately pushed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would tighten voter ID rules and curb mail-in voting, and his Justice Department has sought voter rolls from at least 29 states.
On redistricting, Martin pointed to Tuesday's Virginia referendum, which voters approved 51.5% to 48.6%, authorizing a Democrat-drawn map projected to flip the state's congressional delegation from 6-5 Democrat to as many as 10-1.
In November, California voters approved Proposition 50 with about 64% support, clearing a Democrat map projected to net up to five seats.
Virginia's result remains unsettled: on April 22, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley permanently enjoined certification, ruling the underlying amendment process unconstitutional.
Democrat Attorney General Jay Jones appealed the next day, and the Virginia Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday.
Trump triggered the cycle last year by pressuring Texas Republicans to redraw their map to add up to five additional GOP seats, and North Carolina, Missouri, and other GOP-led states followed suit.
Florida is up next.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special session to begin Tuesday, April 28, after postponing it from last week, to consider a new GOP map.
The Florida fight has turned personal.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday that his "message to Florida Republicans is, 'F— around and find out,'" arguing the GOP risks a "dummymander" that spreads its voters too thin.
DeSantis answered the same day, offering to "pay" for Jeffries to campaign in Florida and predicting voters "will not like what they see."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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