Thursday, November 4, 2010

Will Redistricting Be a Bloodbath? GOP Sees Historic Victories in State Legislatures

Republicans gained a historic edge over Democrats in state legislature elections that will have national implications for years to come.

State legislatures in 44 states are responsible for one of the most important political processes: drawing district boundaries for the U.S. House of Representatives. In a process that triggers partisan bickering, the reigning party usually has the upper hand, especially if the governor is also Republican and cannot veto the legislature's decisions.

Republicans took control of at least 19 Democratic-controlled state legislatures Tuesday and gained more than 650 seats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The last time Republicans saw such victories was in 1994, when they captured control of 20 state legislatures.

Republicans haven't controlled as many state legislatures since 1928.

Across the country, the map for state legislatures has turned noticeably red as Republicans now control 55 chambers, with Democrats at 38 and the remaining yet to be decided. At the beginning of this week, Democrats controlled 60 of the country's state legislative chambers and Republicans 36.

Tuesday also was a historic day for many state legislatures. In Minnesota, Republicans won the Senate for the first time ever, while in Alabama, they took control for the first time since reconstruction.

The gains were truly of "historic proportions," said Tim Storey, a senior fellow at the National Conference of State Legislatures, pointing out that the last time there was such a wave of state legislature switches was 1966.


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