Democratic governors are fighting Trump’s attacks on democracy in the courts
The American people are again looking for reassurance, leadership, and good governance.
By Meghan Meehan-Draper
Amid the constant chaos coming out of Washington, D.C., every day, who your governor is has never mattered more.
Whether it’s protecting fundamental freedoms, democracy, or fighting back against a damaging and unpopular agenda, Democratic governors are the steady hands behind the wheel, waking up every day ready to fight for the people of their states.
But right now, our rights are under attack by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who are openly undermining the independence of our country’s judicial system and suggesting they might ignore key rulings simply because they don’t like what they hear or the judge who makes the ruling.
In the face of the Trump administration’s attacks on our judicial system, a key—but understated —way Democratic governors are standing up for the rule of law and constitutional rights is by appointing independent judges at the state level.
This is one of the greatest powers that all but two governors across the country hold in some form—the ability to make critical judicial appointments to state courts, including state Supreme Courts.
Democratic governors have made thousands of key appointments in their states, quietly reshaping the judiciary system across the country to protect Americans’ fundamental freedoms, including voting rights and reproductive rights.
Since Trump took office the first time, Democratic governors have made more than 2,000 judicial appointments. That includes more than 1,500 appointments from current sitting Democratic governors during their terms.
Since he was elected, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed 576 judges—more than any other sitting governor of either party.
In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly, who also serves as the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, has made several crucial appointments to bring balance back to the state’s courts, which has led to key rulings to protect voting rights and reproductive rights for Kansans.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz has made 146 appointments to various Minnesota state courts, including five state Supreme Court justices, 11 appellate judges, and 130 other local appointments.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has made several judicial appointments to various courts since taking office in 2023—especially important in Arizona, where MAGA Republicans have a record of trying to undermine free and fair elections. Just recently, an court permanently blocked attempts at enforcing an extreme abortion ban after it was declared unconstitutional by the justices.
In case you thought the stakes weren’t high enough already, of the 38 states with gubernatorial races over the next two years, 37 have the power to make these key judicial appointments.
That includes the key races in Virginia and New Jersey this year, where extreme Republicans have shown no sign of slowing down attacks on freedoms and have promised to bring Trump’s unpopular agenda to their states.
Last year, the DGA launched an initiative to highlight this responsibility, the Power to Appoint Fund, a dedicated, no-overhead fund with a mission to uplift this important power. We’ve been raising awareness and ringing alarm bells about this crucial responsibility, serving as another reminder of just how important electing Democratic governors is.
In the Trump 2.0 era, with this administration slashing jobs and key programs that keep schools funded, threatening cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare (though supposedly not to benefits), and making us less safe, the American people are again looking to Democratic governors for reassurance, leadership, and good governance.
As some of the biggest battles shift to the states, Democratic governors represent a majority of the American people—in red, blue, and purple states across the country—and are using every tool in the toolbox to fight back against attacks on democracy, freedom, and our way of life.
Meghan Meehan-Draper is the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association.
I think Democratic Governors are going to have to do considerably more than appoint progressive judges to state courts (although that is important). We need Democratic Governors to join Governor Pritzker's blue state coalition (or something similar). For the foreseeable future states will be responsible for all the federal services that the Republicans are demolishing. Who is going to create and approve new vaccines? How will we replace FEMA services? Countless other services that won't be available. States will have to work collaboratively in what will be in effect a shadow federal government. I believe blue state governors should get out in front and explain to their constituents the dire circumstances and what will be required to survive until we can (hopefully) re-establish a functional democracy.
Most of us don't know what the governor's job entails, but I learned quite a bit by reading about former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts in her book "Up the Capitol Steps." If the presidency and Congress were held to the same standards, we'd have a balanced budget on time every year. We'd have disaster preparedness and relief as priorities. We'd have mandatory care for our most vulnerable citizens. Let's go, governors!