Democrats adding six new states to 2020 target list, including Ohio and Texas

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is expanding its “Battleground Build-Up 2020” program to include six additional states, most notably Ohio, Texas and Georgia.

The party said that it hopes to achieve three main objectives with the expansion: further lay the groundwork for the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, support Democratic candidates at every level of government and make early investments in communities of color around the country.

“The DNC is making historic, early investments to build strong, multiple pathways for our eventual nominee to win in November and support Democrats at every level of the ballot,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said Tuesday in the party’s statement.

The program targets key states with additional investments that will go toward opening additional field offices in the states, doubling the number of organizers and funding additional operations staff.

“By investing in these states now, we’re putting the Trump campaign on defense, helping ensure our eventual nominee will be able grow their general election operation as quickly as possible, and helping make sure that every Democrat running for office has the infrastructure they need to be successful,” Perez continued.

Several of the new states — Georgia, New Hampshire, Texas and Virginia — have Senate races, and at the state level, Democrats in Texas are trying to reclaim the state House to for the first time in nearly two decades.

A Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won Texas or Georgia since 1976 (Carter) and 1992 (Clinton), respectively, but Ohio is one of the states that is considered crucial in the Democrats’ bid to reclaim the White House.

Former President Obama won Ohio in 2008 and 2012, but in 2016 President Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 9 percentage points.

The initial batch of states in the DNC’s Battleground Build-Up 2020 program that rolled out over the weekend included Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania — all states that Trump was able to narrowly flip red in 2016.