Eric Holder to push for Democrats to win state-level races in Nevada

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is joining a national effort to help Democratic candidates in gubernatorial and state legislative races ahead of the 2021 redistricting process that could reshape Congress.

Holder said former President Barack Obama would join the effort targeting 12 states, including Nevada. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval cannot run for re-election due to term limits. Both chambers of the Nevada Legislature are held by Democrats.

Holder, who left open Wednesday whether he would seek the presidency in 2020, said Obama would travel to red and swing states this year to help Democratic candidates.

“He will be focused on the races that will matter for redistricting,” Holder told reporters at breakfast arranged by the Christian Science Monitor. Holder said redistricting and voting rights will be Obama’s “chief political activity in his post presidency.”

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald did not immediately return a request for comment on the Holder effort.

Holder is joining the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group he said will provide grassroots support and help pick candidates to compete in state gubernatorial and state legislative elections.

While its focus is on redistricting, Holder also pointed to laws and tactics that allowed Nevada Republicans who sought recalls of Democrats, not because of any wrongdoing, but only because they could do it, he said.

Legal challenges are going forward in several states over GOP redistricting plans, including Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In addition to Nevada, the NDRC is targeting Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

So far, Holder said the NDRC has raised $16.2 million and expects to have $30 million.

“We’ll have the funds necessary to do the job,” Holder said. More importantly than money, he said, was harnessing the energy that’s out there and picking good candidates.

Holder said “it’s not always about the money.”

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.