Just wanted to make sure folks saw this article in the
NYT story today (links added).
States to watch on Election Day include Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin, where Republicans have narrow majorities in the lower house or senate. Democrats have narrow majorities in Colorado, Maine, and Montana.
What makes the races even more suspenseful is that the parties have not been so even in decades, if ever. Of the 7,382 statehouse legislative seats across the country, Democrats hold 21 more than the Republicans, a margin of less than half a percent.
In 17 of the 46 states that will elect some or all of their state senators, a shift of only three seats would alter party control in the senate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 12 state houses, a shift of five or fewer seats would tip the balance.
The reporter does a good job laying out the four reasons control of state legislatures matters, and why winning at the state legislative level has a long-term effect.
Redistricting
Most significantly, the groundwork for redrawing Congressional districts after the 2010 census will be done under the 50 capitol domes, and the party in power will set the table for those discussions in ways favorable to its interests. Gains made this year, analysts say, will help give incumbents a leg up in the final elections leading up to the redistricting.
A shift of about 50 state legislative seats in the right places (out of over seven thousand nationally) could mean a gain--or a loss--of up to 15 Democratic Congressional seats after the next round of redistricting. After the June U.S. Supreme Court decision, we need to be ready now.
Policy
While the nation's attention has been fixed on the question of which party will control Congress, another campaign season has been unfolding in the shadows -- upstaged and overlooked but more likely to affect the day-to-day life of voters than the big-money Congressional races.
State legislatures pass 75 bills for every one Congress passes, and it often falls to them to make sure important programs, like education and healthcare, are funded. This role is more important than ever, because of how the Republican Congress has been shifting the fiscal burden to the states.
Growing the Farm team
About half of all governors and Members of Congress started in their statehouse, including Barack Obama, Tom Vilsack, Harry Reid and Kathleen Sebelius.
If the Democrats take control of a majority of the legislatures, which polls indicate could happen, women could also attain leadership positions in greater numbers, since Democratic women in state capitals outnumber Republican women by nearly two to one. The next generation of national political leaders, by tradition, is nurtured in the state legislatures.
(There was also great AP story about the record women running for statehouses.)
Women in leadership positions have increased about 25% between 2003 and 2006, far outpacing the modest gains in total representation. There are only two female Senate Presidents in the nation, our Chair, Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, and Maine Senate President Beth Edmonds. It'll be exciting to see what happens after this election.
Showing Democrats can win--anywhere
Democratic state legislators and the DLCC have been making gains in 2003, 2004, 2005, and so far with special elections in 2006. Many wins were in traditionally "red" states. We're showing that standing up for bread and butter Democratic values can win elections in red states, in blue states, in urban, suburban, and rural districts, from the Bible belt to the Breadbasket, and from Presque Isle to Puget Sound.
Join us.
You can also help with our last push in a few targeted states: Iowa, Maine, Montana, and
Oregon, and Ohio.
Time, money, and attention go farthest in these small races, and winning has a long-term impact.