Brinks joins board of Democratic state legislature campaign arm

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks is joining the board of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which aims to elect Democrats to state legislatures across the country.

Brinks said in a statement that the DLCC’s work was instrumental to Michigan Democrats winning their first legislative trifecta in 40 years during the 2022 midterms.

“As the first Democrat to serve as majority leader in my chamber since the 1980s, I know firsthand what Democratic majorities can achieve here in Michigan and across the country as we continue to advocate on behalf of working families,” Brinks said.

Democrats lost their trifecta when Republicans took back the majority in the Michigan House last November. Brinks has since been in a legal battle with House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richmond Township), who has refused to pass along nine bills passed during the lame duck session but not transmitted to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.

Brinks said electing Democrats to state legislatures is important to stand up to the administration of President Donald Trump, vowing to “maintain a blue firewall in the states that will stand against this extremism.”

Brinks is one of seven Democratic state legislators added to the board Monday. Joining her are California Speaker Robert Rivas, Colorado Senate President James Coleman, Illinois Speaker Pro Tempore Kambium Buckner, Oregon Speaker Julie Fahey, Virginia Speaker Don Scott and Wisconsin Minority Leader Greta Neubauer.

DLCC Chair Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader and president pro tempore of the New York Senate, said in a statement that Brinks “embodies the diverse expertise needed to drive and elevate our strategy to build durable state power through the end of the decade,” calling her “battle-tested.”

“The stakes couldn’t be higher, but we have the team in place to meet this moment,” Stewart-Cousins said.