This diary aims to identify the various brilliant DKE diaries out there on State Legislatures... Mostly concentrating on the current composition of the State Legislature, redistricting impacts, election results and predictions, and how Democratic or Republican various seats are.
This is my attempt I guess to do something similar to the official DKE resources on Congressional redistricting and the various "living" dictionary type diaries that wwmiv, SaoMagnifico and others have.
I notice that Steve Singiser has issued a rallying call to pay attention to State Legislature races.
Please feel free to correct any mistakes, as this is my attempt to sort out the data that is available. I am sure I have made many... But given Steve Singiser's diary I wanted to get this out there right away.
So I guess this is a bit of a Meta diary (I think) as it is about our community resources as opposed to original research.
The aim of this diary is to provide you all with a:
- Ready Reckoner providing quick links to DKE diaries on state legislature.
- Guide on what State Legislatures need a DKE diary...
- A collection of diaries so you can refresh yourself on what makes a great state legislature diary.
- Helpful hint on what your next diary should be !
- Chance for you to help me track down the many diaries I have missed on this topic.
This could also be a useful ongoing forum for DKE members to prompt others on what State Legislature diaries need post election follow ups/updates Eventually!).
I haven't included any fantasy redistricting diaries unless they also gave a review of the legislative maps. I also haven't included any of the Wisconsin special elections diaries (at this stage, I will include these at some stage). This is a review of DKE diaries only... so if it doesn't have the DK Elections tag then it was not included... So let me know about them. If you have any old school Swing State Project diaries that are still useful resources, I would love to link to them.
Legislative Elections Predictions & Results - DKE User Diaries
Okay I scoured the Daily Kos Elections sidebar for the various diaries relating to the State of the States. Basically I am limiting it to the diaries on the various State Legislatures post 2010 Census round of redistricting...
General Summary - What States Have Been Done Well ?
The good new is that there are plenty of states out there that need diaries on the Legislatures...
There could be as many as 32 States still needing a diary... as well as Connecticut and New Hampshire not yet having diaries on their State Houses... I doubt there will be a volunteer for New Hampshire State House anytime soon of course!
I personally would like to see diaries on Florida, Ohio (yep its a brutal gerymander this one apparently), Pennsylvania and Virginia as these State Legislatures are where are efforts should be focused on, if we want to fight for fairer (or better) redistricting. The Alaskan State Senate and Iowa are also of interest to me.
spiderdem recently listed his top 10 legislature targets each for the Dems and GOP. On his list of top 10 prospective Dem takeovers he identifies both the Pennsylvania chambers (It is the 2nd largest State Legislature with 203 House Seats and 50 Senate Seats) with the Dems holding around 46% of each chamber. His top pick is the NY State Senate... then outside the top 3, there is the Iowa State House (where Dems have 47 out of 100) and the New Hampshire State Senate (where Dems hold 11 out of 24) which would appear to be very achievable targets. Obviously given we hold the Iowa State Senate and New Hampshire State House, it would be good to get the others. The rest of his top ten would all appear to be very challenging...
In 2013 for example there are only two State holding legislative elections, New Jersey and Virginia, and Virginia has yet to have a diary on it.
So obviously there are a few local specialists who concentrate on the one State and have produced great diaries... And I hope these DKE'ers keep track of their States, but for those who are looking for a good diary idea, why not look at those States that haven't been done ? You could do a diary on Oregon but given James Allen's work it would seem to be a bit of wasted effort when you could do one on Pennsylvania. Heres hoping Steve Singiser's project also inspires a lot of people to do diaries.
If you don't have the time to do a comprehensive diary on a whole legislature then why bother ? Just do the real competitive takeover targets. I know that for many of us Xenocrypt's diaries on some key Legislative Districts in Arizona was extremely useful.
California
California is one of those states that had a huge array of good diaries, with many of course focused on the congressional races, but a fair few also looked at the legislative races. Darth Jeff, then kurykh and SoCalGal23 did numerous diaries on both houses of the legislature with Xenocrypt and Alibguy also throwing in a diary each. SoCalGal23 later on provided her results to show which of her predictions panned out. Recently DrPhillips gave us tasty numbers for all the districts - what a great resource.
California (2012 Diaries)
Texas
This is the state that will no doubt attract a lot of attention as the lines could well change ... Although Gov. Perry has signed them into law.
Texas (2012 Diaries)
The Blue States & Purple States (& some Red States)
These are the blue states and/or purple states and/or red states (where the Dems are competitive in one or more of the legislatures).
The States Of Key Interest (DKE Diaries)
State |
DK User |
Diary Subject/Name |
Alaska |
? |
? |
Arizona |
Xenocrypt |
Why Arizona Didn't Trend Blue in 2012: Presidential Results by Legislative District. |
Arizona |
Xenocrypt |
How competitive is the AZ legislature post-redistricting? (Note: Numbers might be a little off.) |
Arizona |
CF of Aus |
Racial Profiling & Killer Republicans - (Arizona State House Primary Review) |
Arizona |
CF of Aus |
Phoenix Rising - Taking Arizona Part 2 (Winning the State Senate) |
Arizona |
CF of Aus |
Taking Arizona Part 1 - CDs 1-3 and the State Senate |
Arkansas |
GradyDem |
Arkansas Senate: July Update |
Arkansas |
GradyDem |
Arkansas Primary Preview |
Arkansas |
GradyDem |
Redistricting the Arkansas Senate: Did the Democrats do it? |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Democrats win the Colorado House |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Retaking the Colorado House (September) |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Battle for the Colorado Senate (September) |
Colorado |
? |
? |
Connecticut |
ProudNewEnglander |
Connecticut State Senate Races and Ratings |
Connecticut |
? |
? |
Delaware |
? |
? |
Florida |
? |
? |
Hawaii |
? |
? |
Illinois |
? |
? |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Indiana State House seats Ratings II: The Rest of Indiana |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Indiana State House Races, Part I: Southern/ Western Indiana |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Guide to Election Night in Indiana |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
The Indianapolis Metro Area: Final part of New Indiana State House Districts Analysis |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
New Indiana State House Districts Analysis, Part II: Northwest: The Region to South Bend- Elkhart |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
New Indiana State House Districts Analysis, Part III: Northeast, Cornfields, and Everything Else out |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
New Indiana State House Districts Analysis, Part I: Southern/ Western Indiana |
Iowa |
? |
? |
Kansas |
ptgkc |
Kansas – Home of the new GOP (God’s Old Party) |
Kansas |
ptgkc |
Kansas GOP Primary Scorecard |
Kansas |
KingofSpades |
KS-Redistricting: If you want something done right... |
Kansas |
? |
? |
Kentucky |
SouthernINDem |
Kentucky Primary Preview |
Kentucky |
? |
? |
Maine |
? |
? |
Maryland |
? |
? |
Massachusetts |
? |
? |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Michigan State House Viewing Guide |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Taking Back the MI House Part 3 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Taking Back the MI House Part 2 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Taking Back the MI House Part 1 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Election Postmortem: OGGoldy's report card |
Minnesota |
AndrewMN |
Analysis and Race Ratings: MN State Legislature (with maps!) |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota: Final Predictions, Part II |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota: Final Prediction, Part I |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Primary Post-Mortem: State Legislature |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislature. Wo is running where? Part 2: Metro |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislature. Who is running where? Part 1: Outstate |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislature Part II: Metro |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislative Districts Part I: outstate |
Montana |
? |
? |
Nevada |
atdnext |
#NVLeg: New Nevada Senate Race Ratings |
Nevada |
atdnext |
New Nevada Legislature Race Ratings: Part 2, The Assembly |
Nevada |
atdnext |
New Nevada Legislature Race Ratings: Part 1, The Senate |
Nevada |
atdnext |
Nevada Primary Preview |
Nevada |
SouthernINDem |
New Nevada Assembly Districts |
Nevada |
SouthernINDem |
New Nevada Senate Districts |
New Hampshire |
Alizarin Indigo |
A Democratic/Republican New Hampshire State Senate |
New Hampshire |
? |
? |
New Jersey |
KingofSpades |
2011 NJ State Legislative Races: Maps and Analysis |
New Jersey |
? |
? |
New Mexico |
? |
? |
New York |
? |
? |
North Carolina |
possumtracker |
Analysis of New NC State Senate Districts |
North Carolina |
roguemapper |
roguemapper Comment |
North Carolina |
roguemapper |
The New North Carolina Political Landscape - Updated |
Ohio |
? |
? |
Oregon |
James Allen |
State of Oregon Elections: One Month Out |
Oregon |
James Allen |
State of Oregon's elections, pre-Labor Day Update |
Oregon |
James Allen |
2012 State of Oregon Elections: the Legislature |
Oregon |
James Allen |
Oregon's Next Legislature (Image Heavy) |
Oregon |
James Allen |
Oregon elections liveblog |
Pennsylvania |
? |
? |
Rhode Island |
? |
? |
Vermont |
? |
? |
Virginia |
? |
? |
Washington |
? |
? |
West Virginia |
? |
? |
Wisconsin |
CentralWIGuy |
WI Assembly, Nov. 2012 Election |
Wisconsin |
CentralWIGuy |
WI Assembly Election, 2012 |
Wisconsin |
? |
? |
Red States - Uncompetitive Legislatures
These are the states where the legislatures are no longer competitive for Democrats... And there is generally little interest in diaries... except for fantasy redistricting diaries of course. However if you want to prove me wrong and show how the Mississippi and Louisiana Blue Dogs can still win back their only recently lost houses then please do.
Note: As you all know, Nebraska is a Unicarmel legislature and officially non-partisan.
The South & Great Plain States (2012 Diaries)
State |
DK User |
Diary Subject/Name |
Alabama |
? |
? |
Georgia |
? |
? |
Georgia |
fearlessfred14 |
Georgia Legislative Elections Overview |
Idaho |
? |
? |
Louisiana |
? |
? |
Mississsippi |
? |
? |
Missouri |
? |
? |
Nebraska |
? |
? |
North Dakota |
? |
? |
Oklahoma |
? |
? |
South Carolina |
? |
? |
South Dakota |
? |
? |
Tennessee |
? |
? |
Utah |
? |
? |
Wyoming |
? |
? |
Spotlight on Key State Legislature Seats
In this modern day gerrymandered world sometimes it is a bit of waste writing about the whole legislature... When there are sometimes only a few competitive seats. Here are a collection of the spotlighted races. The Xenocrypt diaries are excellent for understanding Arizona or as a good guide to reviewing a key legislative seat. Sometimes of course there is an especially interesting special election or a recall (eg. the Wisconsin Recalls, or the removal of the especially odious Russell Pearce). But at this stage I haven't bothered too much to find these ones.
Miscellaneous (2012 Diaries)
Good Resources for State Legislature Diaries - DKE User Diaries
Miscellaneous (2012 Diaries)