Morgan McGarvey (D-KY) On The Importance Of State Legislatures

Just In Time For The Virginia Green Day Contest

A couple of months ago Louisville’s freshman congressman, Morgan McGarvey was sitting in my office talking to me about what he hopes to get accomplished as a member of Congress— aside from being one of just 8 members with a perfect 100% voting record— when he noticed the Green Day platinum award. “Wow,” he said, “I just bought tickets to see them with my son in Louisville.” Morgan’s a music fan— and a musician. I told him about our contest for the progressives running for the Virginia legislature and he offered to help. (Remember, Kentucky was part of Virginia until it was admitted to the Union in 1791, the 15th state.)

McGarvey was born and raised in Louisville and was an Assistant Attorney General under Jack Conway before running for the state Senate in 2012. He quickly rose through the ranks and was elected minority leader in 2018, one of the youngest members of a state legislature to serve in a top leadership position anywhere in the U.S., ever. He loved his job and was named Legislator of the Year by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Most Valuable Policymaker by the nonpartisan Greater Louisville, Inc. As soon as he was elected to Congress he joined the Congressional Progressive Caucus and, with Summer Lee and Delia Ramirez appointed a Special Order Convener. His guest post follows:

The Importance Of State Legislatures

-by Rep. Morgan McGarvey

Before being elected to Congress last November, I spent 10 years doing hand-to-hand combat in the trenches of the Kentucky State Senate. I loved it. State legislatures, for better and worse, are dizzyingly dynamic places where the knots and nuances of policy are debated and passed into law. I would always tell people when talking about my colleagues in Frankfort, “You can call us whatever you want, just don’t call us a do-nothing legislature.”

Not all of what’s happening in state legislatures is positive, but the flow of legislation is constant, carries a significant impact to the people of that state, and often occurs without much public scrutiny or general awareness. I now see it from the other side, where local media will cover most things I do or say as a Member of Congress. What we do in Washington is important-- and having voices in “elevated” positions to advocate for important policies like gun safety reform matters-- but my home state’s legislature just passed an asinine bill making Kentucky a “sanctuary state for guns” with little fanfare. Less than two weeks after the bill became law, Louisville, my hometown, experienced a mass shooting.

The misconception that state general assemblies are not worthy of the same attention given to the personalities and policies in Washington is both unfortunate and all too common. Even my wife would interject whenever someone called me “Senator” and say, “He’s just a state Senator.” It’s true. The Kentucky General Assembly, like its cousins in the other 49 states, lacks the scale, scope, and spotlight of the United States Congress. These conditions create an ideal laboratory for conceiving and testing budgets and policies as diverse as who can play sports to who can fish farm ponds without a license.

Congress moves at a frenetically glacial pace. We move all the time and, when Congress finally acts, it can be massive. State legislatures, especially those like the Kentucky legislature that are limited as to how often they can meet, act every single day they are in session. They have a massive impact on the daily lives of the people they represent and it’s imperative we focus more on getting the right people in those positions.

The good news is YOU can have an impact in these races. A small group of volunteers can knock on the door of every likely voter in a state House race, connecting with voters face-to-face, in a place like Kentucky. A small group of volunteers can make phone calls and talk to voters about issues that matter. Budgets are smaller and grassroots contributions go further to helping a candidate win. A small group of volunteers can flip Republican-led state legislatures, like we saw in last year’s elections. The Republicans are reaping the rewards of focusing on state legislatures a few decades ago. Now we must catch up. We can. And when we do, we’ll see more progressive policies implemented quickly. The results will be immediate.