Democratic effort led by ex-AG Holder targets swing states

The targeted races are part of a strategy by a new Democratic coalition led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that aims to undo what he denounces as the "rigged political process" that has favored Republicans since congressional and state legislative districts were redrawn after the 2010 Census.

"The will of the people, I think, has ultimately been frustrated — both at the state level and at the federal level," Holder said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Because of the way districts are drawn, Holder says it will be difficult for Democrats to regain control of Congress in the 2018 elections during the middle of Republican President Donald Trump's term.

[...] Republicans have seized even more states, now controlling the governorship and full legislature in 25 states while total Democratic control has diminished to about a half-dozen states.

A similar scenario exists in Michigan, where Republican congressional candidates edged Democrats by a single percentage point in last year's statewide vote yet won 9 of the 14 districts, which were drawn under a GOP legislature and governor.

Democrats are taking a three-pronged approach: considering filing suit against the current districts; backing a ballot initiative to change the future redistricting process; and trying to win the governor's office being vacated by term-limited Republican Rick Snyder.

Governors' races also will be the top targets for Democrats in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two places with Republican state legislatures where GOP congressional candidates' received a mid-50s percent share of the statewide vote yet won around 75 percent of their U.S. House seats.