Why It Matters
Democratic organizers across the United States are constructing state-level legislative networks designed to counter the influence of conservative model-bill operations that have shaped policy in education, labor, and taxation for decades. The effort represents an attempt to compete at the state level—where much of American law originates—with the organizational machinery Republicans have developed over the past 50 years.
What Happened
Gaby Goldstein founded State Futures, a nonprofit organization, last year to coordinate Democratic lawmakers across multiple states. The organization works to develop and advance legislation aligned with Democratic priorities, including recent efforts focused on federal immigration enforcement.
State Futures is not the first such venture. The State Innovation Exchange (SiX), formed in 2014 through a merger of earlier organizations, already coordinates approximately 1,800 state lawmakers across all 50 states. SiX emerged from the merger of the American Legislative and Issue Campaign Exchange (ALICE)—launched in Wisconsin in 2012 in response to Governor Scott Walker’s 2011 legislation eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employees—and other progressive state networks.
These Democratic efforts aim to emulate the model established by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization founded in 1973. ALEC boasts over 2,000 state lawmakers as members, representing nearly a quarter of all state legislators nationwide. The organization has pushed hundreds of pieces of model legislation affecting public education, labor law, and taxation policy.
According to California Democratic Assemblymember Sade Elhawary, the Democratic networks focus on responding to federal policies. State Futures has worked with lawmakers who proposed nearly 250 bills this year seeking to limit federal immigration efforts. More broadly, 112 lawmakers from 35 states coordinate on federal response issues through State Futures, and lawmakers from more than a dozen states gathered in Minnesota in January following federal immigration officer deployment.
Last month, SiX unveiled a national legislative push for laws allowing residents to sue federal immigration officers for alleged constitutional violations, demonstrating the scale at which these networks now operate.
Goldstein acknowledged the asymmetry in Democratic and Republican state-level organization. “We on the left have left a huge amount of power on the table,” she told the Missouri Independent. She also expressed respect for conservative infrastructure: “I admire ALEC very much. I admire a lot about the right.”
By the Numbers
2,000+ — state lawmakers in ALEC membership
Nearly 25% — ALEC members as a share of all U.S. state legislators
1973 — year ALEC was founded
1,800 — state lawmakers coordinated through the State Innovation Exchange
50 — states represented in SiX
250 — bills proposed by State Futures-affiliated lawmakers this year focused on limiting federal immigration efforts
112 — lawmakers from 35 states working on federal response issues with State Futures
Zoom Out
State legislatures have become increasingly influential in determining policy outcomes across the nation. Conservative organizations like ALEC have used model legislation and coordinated strategy to shape state law for over five decades, creating a distributed network that influences education standards, labor regulations, and tax policy.
Democratic organizers now recognize that state-level power requires comparable infrastructure. The creation and expansion of groups like State Futures and SiX reflects a broader realization that electoral success in state races and legislative coordination depend on sustained organization beyond individual campaigns.
What’s Next
Democrats have announced they are aiming to flip hundreds of state legislative seats in the November election. The development of these state-level networks—coordinating messaging, sharing model legislation, and aligning strategy across state lines—will likely play a supporting role in that effort. Whether these newer Democratic networks can match ALEC’s decades-long influence and reach remains an open question as both parties compete for control of statehouses across the nation.