With all eyes on Washington, there's a quiet crisis going on in the states. Republicans have taken control of a large number of state legislatures in recent years. In 2010, the GOP took more than 700 seats (>10%) in a Tea Party takeover. Shortly after this, a wave of ALEC model bills (Right to Work, Voter ID, etc) appeared on state legislative agendas. It's almost certain that more of the same is on the way, if Republicans could take more state legislatures.
The Republican landslide in 2010 and the subsequent redistricting process in 2012 gave the GOP control of a nearly unprecedented number of legislative chambers. Today, the party controls 59 of the 98 partisan chambers in 49 states, while Democrats control only 39 chambers (One legislature, Nebraska’s is officially nonpartisan)...
“Whichever state legislative chambers Republicans fail to pick up this Election Day are likely out of the GOP’s reach for a decade,” said Carolyn Fiddler, a Democratic strategist who focuses on legislative seats at The Atlas Project. “Republicans will make their hay while the sun shines this year, but it could be their last chance to do so for quite some time.”
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