BECERRA DELIVERS FOR DEMOCRATS: In response to President Trump’s State of the Union speech, DAGA Executive Committee member and California AG Xavier Becerra was tapped by party leadership to give the Democrats’ Spanish-language response.

ICYMI: watch the full video of AG Becerra’s response from the Sacramento Bee here.

BREAKING THE BACKLOG: This week, North Carolina AG Josh Stein called for state funding to address North Carolina’s backlog of untested rape kits. “Each one of these kits represents a tragedy in someone’s life,” AG Stein said in a statement to The Daily Tar Heel. “Each victim deserves to have law enforcement to do our best to solve their case.” Click here to read the full statement and article.

(POD)CASTING CALL: Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro joined David Axelrod on the “The Axe Files” podcast this week to talk about how Democratic AGs put people before powerful institutions. Catch the full episode here.

DEMOCRATIC AGS TACKLE THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC: Democratic AGs are continuing to lead the fight in the states to combat the devastating opioid crisis. Here are two key stories from this week:

• ​Kentucky AG Andy Beshear announced this week that his office would be transferring settlement funds to a support drug prevention and treatment program called “Operation UNITE.”AG Beshear noted the operation “shares the mission of my office and of so many others to find workable solutions to the challenge of our times – Kentucky’s opioid epidemic.”
• Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul thanked US attorneys for warning over 180 medical professionals that they may be prescribing opioids at too high of levels. “While the medical community has played an important role in addressing the opioid epidemic, we need to ensure that all medical professionals are prescribing responsibly,” said AG Kaul in a statement.

SURVIVOR’S COUNCIL: On Wednesday, Kentucky AG Andy Beshear announced the 20 members of his office’s Survivors Council, all of whom are survivors of homicide, incest, human trafficking and sexual assault, and who will advocate for victims rights over the next two years. In a statement, AG Beshear noted that his goal for the council is to ensure that “what we do helps and uplifts those who have experienced trauma in Kentucky.” See this WBKO article to learn more about the Council.

SPOTLIGHT: BLACK HISTORY MONTH

This month we celebrate the power of diverse leadership in the fight to bring about change and equality. At the beginning of the 2018 Election Cycle, there was one African American Democratic AG. Today, there are five.