Holder to lead Democratic effort to redraw district lines

WASHINGTON – Former Attorney General Eric Holder is formally announcing a new effort aimed at challenging the partisan gerrymandering that’s left Democrats struggling to win local and state offices.

The new organization, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, will pour legal and political resources into redrawing state districting maps – a process that will happen after the 2020 census. His group will have the strong backing of a powerful ally: President Barack Obama.

Over the next several years, Democrats will wage a state-by-state offensive aiming at capturing key offices, waging legal challenges and winning ballot initiatives that affect how the political maps are drawn.

Holder says Democrats have focused too much on presidential elections and “lost sight” of the importance of winning state and local races.