Democratic states-focused organizations are teaming up to deepen the party’s bench by supporting Democrats running for local positions and when they win. NewDeal Leaders, a network of state and local Democrats, is joining forces with the Next 50, which identifies fifty candidates seeking office under the age of fifty and directs campaign resources to them, my colleague Liz Crampton writes in.

“Now more than ever, we need to have more focus, more collaboration, more kind of unification of effort to make sure that we are both building the bench and winning tough elections now,” said Zach Wahls, executive director of The Next 50, who is also an Iowa state senator.

The Next 50, which launched in 2019, says it has raised more than $12 million toward its work trying to elect young Democrats in swing districts. In this last cycle, Next50 moved over $4 million across 50 races and seventy percent of its candidates won. The group will announce its next batch of endorsements in April, with an eye toward the Virginia elections in November.

NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan said she’s looking forward to “being able to elevate the stories and ideas of those next generation leaders who are winning in tough districts as really a roadmap for the future of the party.”