Amanda Litman, a former staffer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, and Ross Morales Rocketto, a longtime progressive political operative, are co-founders of Run for Something, an organization that recruits and supports young progressives running for local offices. The views expressed here are theirs. Read more opinion on CNN.

       (CNN)As of earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidates have raised upward of $500 million (not including the self-funding billionaires) and are likely to spend significantly more to try and beat President Donald Trump. But even if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2020, the party remains at risk of losing any chance at building lasting power.

       Why? Because many Democratic donors are failing to meaningfully invest in state and local elections. To them, defeating Trump is the only point of 2020. That myopic focus on winning the White House is a critical failure of the Democratic party's strategy.

       We've heard this refrain first-hand as co-founders of Run for Something, an organization created to fill a gaping hole in the Democratic ecosystem -- the lack of support for young people considering running for office. "I love what you do," one supporter told us, echoing what we've heard from countless more, "but we have to beat Trump. Everything else is on hold."

       This approach to resource allocation is part of why too many people don't have health care, why abortion rights are on the line, why black and brown voters are kept from the polls in multiple states, and why so many people have a negative perception of the Democratic Party -- even while its positions and policies are more popular and would make many Americans' lives better.

       For decades, Republicans (and especially Republican donors like the Koch brothers) have better understood how political power in a federalist system works. They invested hundreds of millions of dollars in winning state legislative races, and while their local and municipal work is harder to track, they've also focused on elections as local as those for school board. In 2018, according to Jane Mayer, author of "Dark Money," the Koch Brothers spent money in 74 different elections in Texas alone, all the way down to county commissioner.

       In 2020, Democrats can make up for lost time. Turnout this November is expected to skyrocket, giving Democrats a chance to multi-task: By spending more time and money on local elections, our party can win sustainable power while also winning the White House, the Senate and ensuring their hold on the House.

       There is significant value in recalibrating focus to state and local elections. While Democratic presidential nominees are debating endlessly about what they're going to do on health care, abortion, climate change, and more (assuming they have reasonable governing partners in Congress, of course), city and state governments are simply taking action.

       Democratic state legislatures are expanding Medicaid now and literally saving lives. Just ask the nearly 400,000 Virginians who now have access to health insurance thanks to Democratic victories there in 2017. Democratic state legislators in New York and Nevada are passing laws that protect a woman's right to choose, while Republican state legislators in Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and Georgia are actively trying to take that right away.

       Climate change, too, may seem like a federal issue, but across the country, Democratic city councils are switching over to solar and wind energy. Democratic state legislatures like New York and California are competing to see who can pass the most ambitious carbon reduction bills.

       2020 election is a test America can't afford to fail

       Passing progressive policies on the state and local level can help people almost immediately. Just as importantly, passing such policies at the local level proves and normalizes them -- making them easier to eventually pass on a federal level.

       Beyond the policy impact, by focusing locally, Democrats can fix the party's talent pipeline problem and begin to rescue its brand.

       Making our government more reflective of the people starts by building a more diverse pipeline of talent -- including women, people of color, LGBTQ and working-class folks -- who can take their experiences working on city councils and school boards today and apply it when running for national office. The future of the Democratic Party's leadership should look like the officials Run for Something has helped to elect: 55% women, 47% people of color and 18% LGBTQ.

       None of this is to say that winning in the federal government is unimportant. And on that front, local candidates can play a meaningful (and cost-effective) role in helping a Democrat win the presidency.

       Our research has identified that fielding a candidate in a state legislative race in a district that previously went uncontested -- as more than 35% of state legislative races often do -- can increase Democratic turnout by up to one percentage point in that district.

       Why Democrats face an uphill battle against Trump

       For example, according to Run for Something research, running a full slate of Democrats for Pennsylvania state legislature in 2016 would have generated at least an additional 23,000 Democratic votes -- cutting Trump's 44,000 vote margin in half and bringing the state into automatic recount territory, without the Clinton campaign making a single decision differently.

       These races can have the same impact on Senate campaigns, and arguably are even more critical to victory. Democrats can't count on the presidential campaign to be the major organizing force in the states needed to flip the chamber. Senate candidates in states like Maine, Montana, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Alabama and North Carolina are going to need every last vote to win hard races.

       That's why it's important for school board, city council and state legislative candidates in those states to run competitive races and gin up Democratic turnout wherever possible. Even if the local candidate loses, those Democratic votes still count.

       While Democrats will likely hold the House in 2020, if the GOP in state legislatures can redraw the districts in their favor after the census, Republicans could well retake it in 2022 and hold it for the next decade. In other words, Democrats need to win state legislatures now, so they have a seat at the table in the redistricting process after the 2020 census.

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       That work starts way before Election Day. For example, Democrats only need to flip nine seats in the Texas state house to control it -- that's why Run for Something invested more than $120,000 in recruiting candidates in Texas, where more than a quarter of the non-incumbent Democrats running for state house came through our pipeline over the last three years. At least three of those candidates are running in districts Democrats didn't contest last cycle; all are chances to pick up more votes for the Democratic candidate for Senate, the presidential nominee, and to win a seat in the Texas house.

       And if and when Democrats do flip the Texas state house, they can pass legislation to expand access to the polls, making it easier for more people to vote. By investing locally over a sustained period of time, Democrats can flip a red state blue -- and make it last.

       2020 is a chance for Democrats to do what Republicans have done for decades and do it better: It's time to build a party from the ground up, with good candidates running strong campaigns in every corner of every state. Democrats, don't waste this opportunity by only chasing the shiny object at the top of the ticket.

       In 2020, Democrats can make up for lost time. Turnout this November is expected to skyrocket, giving Democrats a chance to multi-task: By spending more time and money on local elections, our party can win sustainable power while also winning the White House, the Senate and ensuring their hold on the House.

       There is significant value in recalibrating focus to state and local elections. While Democratic presidential nominees are debating endlessly about what they're going to do on health care, abortion, climate change, and more (assuming they have reasonable governing partners in Congress, of course), city and state governments are simply taking action.

       Democratic state legislatures are expanding Medicaid now and literally saving lives. Just ask the nearly 400,000 Virginians who now have access to health insurance thanks to Democratic victories there in 2017. Democratic state legislators in New York and Nevada are passing laws that protect a woman's right to choose, while Republican state legislators in Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and Georgia are actively trying to take that right away.

       Climate change, too, may seem like a federal issue, but across the country, Democratic city councils are switching over to solar and wind energy. Democratic state legislatures like New York and California are competing to see who can pass the most ambitious carbon reduction bills.

       Passing progressive policies on the state and local level can help people almost immediately. Just as importantly, passing such policies at the local level proves and normalizes them -- making them easier to eventually pass on a federal level.

       Beyond the policy impact, by focusing locally, Democrats can fix the party's talent pipeline problem and begin to rescue its brand.

       Making our government more reflective of the people starts by building a more diverse pipeline of talent -- including women, people of color, LGBTQ and working-class folks -- who can take their experiences working on city councils and school boards today and apply it when running for national office. The future of the Democratic Party's leadership should look like the officials Run for Something has helped to elect: 55% women, 47% people of color and 18% LGBTQ.

       None of this is to say that winning in the federal government is unimportant. And on that front, local candidates can play a meaningful (and cost-effective) role in helping a Democrat win the presidency.

       Our research has identified that fielding a candidate in a state legislative race in a district that previously went uncontested -- as more than 35% of state legislative races often do -- can increase Democratic turnout by up to one percentage point in that district.

       For example, according to Run for Something research, running a full slate of Democrats for Pennsylvania state legislature in 2016 would have generated at least an additional 23,000 Democratic votes -- cutting Trump's 44,000 vote margin in half and bringing the state into automatic recount territory, without the Clinton campaign making a single decision differently.

       These races can have the same impact on Senate campaigns, and arguably are even more critical to victory. Democrats can't count on the presidential campaign to be the major organizing force in the states needed to flip the chamber. Senate candidates in states like Maine, Montana, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Alabama and North Carolina are going to need every last vote to win hard races.

       That's why it's important for school board, city council and state legislative candidates in those states to run competitive races and gin up Democratic turnout wherever possible. Even if the local candidate loses, those Democratic votes still count.

       While Democrats will likely hold the House in 2020, if the GOP in state legislatures can redraw the districts in their favor after the census, Republicans could well retake it in 2022 and hold it for the next decade. In other words, Democrats need to win state legislatures now, so they have a seat at the table in the redistricting process after the 2020 census.

       That work starts way before Election Day. For example, Democrats only need to flip nine seats in the Texas state house to control it -- that's why Run for Something invested more than $120,000 in recruiting candidates in Texas, where more than a quarter of the non-incumbent Democrats running for state house came through our pipeline over the last three years. At least three of those candidates are running in districts Democrats didn't contest last cycle; all are chances to pick up more votes for the Democratic candidate for Senate, the presidential nominee, and to win a seat in the Texas house.

       And if and when Democrats do flip the Texas state house, they can pass legislation to expand access to the polls, making it easier for more people to vote. By investing locally over a sustained period of time, Democrats can flip a red state blue -- and make it last.

       2020 is a chance for Democrats to do what Republicans have done for decades and do it better: It's time to build a party from the ground up, with good candidates running strong campaigns in every corner of every state. Democrats, don't waste this opportunity by only chasing the shiny object at the top of the ticket.