Recruiting Cosponsors – What Worked and What Didn’t

Statehood advocates with long-time supporter and co-sponsor of numerous statehood bills, John Lewis

DC statehood advocates found three strategies effective for recruiting cosponsors. Simply asking did work with some members of Congress, particularly those in the Congressional Black Caucus. A number of Senators and Representatives responded to persistent and respectful requests from statehood advocates. Other members of Congress wanted to know that the statehood legislation was important to their constituents before they put their names on a bill. Usually it was difficult to determine exactly what motivated a member of Congress to become a cosponsor. Often it was a combination of factors that provided a sufficient impetus, but occasionally, what made the difference was clear. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) staff, for example, informed Josh Burch that the Senator’s decision to become a cosponsor was the result of Josh’s persistence. Josh Burch, the founder and leader of Neighbors’ United for DC Statehood, is a champion of the persistent and respectful request strategy, particularly with Senators and their offices.¹

After contacting Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) office several times in 2013 and 2014, statehood advocates learned that the Senator wanted to know how her constituents felt. In response to a request from the DC Statehood Coalition, the Missouri Federation of Women’s Democratic Clubs passed a resolution supporting DC statehood at the end of June in 2015. A few weeks later in July, several other Missouri Democratic organizations urged the Senator to cosponsor the New Columbia Admission Act. Toward the end of July, Senator McCaskill became a cosponsor. Developing constituent advocacy for DC statehood is the most effective strategy for recruiting cosponsors.

Attending the Democratic National Committee’s Winter Meetings in Washington proved to be an effective way to build Democratic support. Because of efforts at the 2014 Winter Meeting, the DNC’s Black Caucus, Eastern Caucus, Ethnic Coordinating Council, and the LGBT Caucus passed resolutions endorsing DC statehood.²

Statehood advocates initially assumed that cosponsors of statehood legislation would be overwhelmingly, but not exclusively Democratic. They did not consider statehood a partisan issue. In 1971, statehood was introduced in Congress by Fred Schwengel, a Republican Representative from Iowa. In 1987, H.R. 51 had six Republican cosponsors, and in 1993, one of the Congressmen voting for DC Statehood was a Republican. Statehood advocates tried several strategies to get Republican cosponsors on more recent statehood legislation. In 2013, they sent Republican members of Congress combinations of thank you notes for supporting a bipartisan continuing resolution on the budget and a request to cosponsor the House statehood legislation. In 2014, they asked the Republican cosponsors of a bill that included a statehood option for Puerto Rico to become cosponsors of the New Columbia Admission Act. They also entertained the hope of recruiting two moderate Republicans who would agree to become cosponsors of a statehood bill at the same time. Efforts to recruit Republican cosponsors have not yet been successful.

DC’s shadow delegation has also been involved in lobbying as well as a variety of other advocacy projects. The visits of former Shadow Representative Nate Bennett-Fleming and current Shadow Representative Franklin Garcia, to many Congressional offices helped recruit cosponsors for statehood legislation in the House.

¹ Josh Burch, phone interview with Elinor Hart, March 20, 2020.

² Timeline – 220 years of the District of Columbia’s Efforts to Restore Self- Government,”https://dcstatehoodyeswecan.org/j/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98:timeline-dcs-quest-to-regain-its-democratic-rights&catid=46:statehoodT&Itemid=56.