Thanks to the new presidential election by legislative district data calculated by the team at Daily Kos Elections, this week I've been able to create interactive maps for Florida and Utah. Each legislative chamber is mapped out and color-coded according to the presidential winner and party that holds each district, along with some info on each legislator. You can find links to all the previously released maps here, which you may want to bookmark.
Districts in solid blue were carried by Obama and are represented by a Democrat, while those in solid red were won by Mitt Romney and are held by a Republican. Lighter red districts voted for Obama and a Republican legislator, while those in lighter blue went for Romney and a Democratic legislator. Note that the map displays use only the two-party vote to give you a more equivalent comparison between presidential and legislative results, but this post and Daily Kos Elections numbers include totals for third-party candidates, though the differences are minor.
Florida State Senate
The Republicans took control of the state Senate after the 1994 election and maintain a 26-to-14 majority there. Republicans exercised total control over the redistricting process in Florida and were thus able to craft maps to lock in their majorities. Obama won 18 Senate districts while Romney carried 22, but four Republicans sit in Obama seats. The median seat voted for Romney by an average of 52 to 47, placing it five points to the right of the state.
Fortunately for Democrats, there are currently lawsuits in progress over the district lines under the state's newly enacted Fair Districts Amendment, which have good odds of success at redrawing some of the more flagrantly gerrymandered Senate districts, though it is unclear whether or not these changes would take place in time for the 2014 elections.
Florida State House of Representatives
The state's lower house has a similar partisan lean where Obama carried 55 seats while Romney won 65. Two Democrats and 12 Republicans hold districts carried by the other party's presidential ticket, giving Republicans a 75-to-45 seat majority. The median seat went for Romney by 51-to-48 margin, four points more Republican than statewide.
Please head below the fold to see Utah.
Utah State Senate
As with Florida, Republicans wielded total control over redistricting, but that was entirely unnecessary in Romney's best state. In total, he won 27 senate districts while Obama carried just two. Democrats hold both Obama seats in addition to three that voted for Romney, but that gives Republicans a veto-proof majority of 24 to five. The median district went for Romney 77 to 21, nine points to the right of his statewide performance.
Utah State House of Representatives
The state House of Representatives is similar, with Romney taking 68 of the 75 House seats. In addition to the seats carried by the president, Democrats hold another seven Romney districts, but Republicans still have a veto-proof majority of 61 to 14. The median seat voted for Romney 76 to 22, which was 6 percent more Republican than the state. Unsurprisingly, Utah's lower house is home to Romney's single best legislative district in the entire country, with HD-27 in northern Utah County going for Romney by 92 to six.