The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association is unique among the various Democratic Party organs that slosh cash around ahead of elections. Recently reconstituted after years of dormancy, the DLGA is one of the few places where the national party builds someone an electoral ladder. Should you be the right candidate, the group will help you assemble a campaign team, raise money and run for the quixotic office of LG. And then, should you make a name for yourself, the DLGA will help you run for something more, shall we say, prestigious. Like governor. Or senator.
So when the DLGA goes looking for the right candidate, its choice could have ramifications that echo into the future. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis is the DLGA’s current vice chair and one of the leaders helping the group prepare for its first candidate recruitment drive. On his short list: people with regular lives.
“We need more candidates for office who have authentic, lived experience,” he told NOTUS. “Quite frankly, we need less lawyers running for office, less millionaires.”