WASHINGTON – Democratic governors and officials in progressive states are preparing a coordinated response to counter the potential impacts of a second Trump administration, unveiling a series of policy measures aimed at safeguarding civil liberties, environmental protections, and public health in blue states like New York and New Jersey.
It is being advertised as Practical strategies, tactics, and tips for how everyday Americans can fight back against Trump 2.0..
- Puncture Trump’s aura of omnipotence. A big, resounding backlash to Trump 2.0 will dispel the (misguided) notion that he is all-powerful or has the consent of the governing public for his actions.
- Create federal checks on MAGA’s power. This will also be our chance to flip the House (and, less likely but not impossible, the Senate), blocking further legislation and giving us crucial oversight powers.
- Protect the democratic transfer of power in 2028. The winners of the 2026 swing state elections will administer the presidential election in 2028. If they are MAGA election deniers, we’re in very big trouble.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans for a special legislative session to advance protections for reproductive rights, climate policies, and public safety in anticipation of federal rollbacks under a second Trump presidency. “This session will enable California to fortify its policies against potential federal overreach,” Newsom said.
Get Dems To Play Hardball In Local, City, And State Offices
We often hear from people in blue states lamenting how their elections are safely blue, and they don’t know how to make a difference. We have good news and bad news about that.
Elsewhere, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Colorado Governor Jared Polis launched the “Governors Safeguarding Democracy” coalition. The bipartisan effort focuses on defending state-level autonomy in areas such as political investigations, immigration enforcement, and diversity programs in public universities.
- Block, delay, or distract the Trump administration. Trump’s people have the same number of hours in the day as the rest of us. Widespread efforts to throw sand in the gears of their attacks — from lawsuits to legislation to strategic acts of defiance — will make it harder for them to roll out their full agenda.
- Protect people, policies, and progress. From inter-state compacts to maintain policy standards to actions by governors to protect immigrant families from deportation, energized, visionary governance can do a massive amount of real good.
- Mitigate harm for red staters. Whether they voted with us or not, people who live in red states deserve better than what they’re getting. Policies that help them — and highlight the gap between red and blue states — are good substantively and politically.
- Present an alternate story of life under Democratic governance. Making people’s lives in blue states better — more affordable, safer, and fairer — is good on the merits and part of how we strengthen the Democratic brand for the future.
In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James pledged to expand protections for LGBTQ+ residents, immigrants, and access to reproductive healthcare. These measures align with broader efforts by Democratic-led states to serve as “defensive bulwarks” against conservative policy changes expected under Trump.
The strategy emphasizes the importance of state power in countering federal policies, highlighting how Democratic states can act as a counterweight to anticipated rollbacks on voting rights, abortion access, and environmental regulations.
Blue state leaders are using their authority to ensure state policies remain aligned with progressive values, signaling readiness to resist federal encroachments.
The group hopes to reverse its past mistakes saying:
- Our work mattered, but it wasn’t enough.
We lost all seven presidential swing states. Our campaign and ground game in battleground states significantly closed the gap and was enough to win other races in the House, Senate and state elections, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the nationwide swing. - A rejection of the status quo, not an embrace of fascism. The result was part of a global backlash in western democracies in the post-covid/inflation era. Voters rejected incumbents globally this year, but that doesn’t mean the electorate embraced Project 2025 or facism. That matters, because it means there will be major potential backlash to Trump 2.0.
- A coalition built on dissatisfaction with the status quo is not a durable coalition. The sadists, grifters, and extremists who lead MAGA will soon become a governing party with an unpopular agenda. If we organize to push back on them, we can fracture their coalition and build our own.