State Legislative Blowout
Tim Storey reports at NCSL:
After a day of double-checking partisan composition numbers in the more than 6,000 legislative races this year, the extent of Republican success in legislative and governor’s elections is mostly clear. Suffice it to say, it was a banner election for the GOP.
There are two pieces still undecided. Control of the Colorado House remains up in the air pending tallies in several very close races. The Alaska governor is still undecided and will not be settled until absentee ballots are collected and tabulated. And ,of course, all of the results are preliminary pending certification and recounts. It does appear, though, that all is settled at the state level except for the Colorado House and Alaska governor.
Republicans ran the table, taking the majority in 10 legislative chambers previously held by Democrats. Those chambers were:
Colorado Senate (conceivable that Dems could still hold on after recounts)
- Maine Senate
- Minnesota House
- Nevada Assembly
- Nevada Senate
- New Hampshire House
- New York Senate
- New Mexico House
- Washington Senate
- West Virginia House.
The West Virginia Senate is currently tied at 17 D-17 R.
For governors, Republicans netted three after switching seats in Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. Democrat Tom Wolf won a governorship in Pennsylvania.
Factoring in all of those changes, here are the bottom line numbers (the Nebraska unicameral Legislature is nonpartisan):
- Legislatures: 29 R, 11 D, 8 split and 1 undecided (CO)
- Chambers: 67 R, 29 D, 1 tied and 1 undecided (CO House)
- Governors: 33 R, 26 D and 1 undecided (AK)
- State governments: 23 R, 7 D, 18 divided and 1 undecided (AK)
