Some interesting facts from the
DLCC (not to be confused with the DLC). These guys are the
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the folks who help Democrats get elected to state legislatures throughout the country.
Take a look:
• Dems gained 46 legislative seats nationwide in 2004, moving 10 legislatures into Democratic control, while only four became GOP-held.
• Dems gained one seat (or possibly two) in NJ and one seat in VA this year.
• As a result, Dems now have eight more legislative seats nationwide than the Republicans (3,661 vs. 3,653). Not an especially meaningful measure of legislative strength, but at least it's an indicator that Dems haven't fallen behind on the state level, even if they have on Capitol Hill.
• Don't dismiss the importance of state legislatures - they are our political farm system: 57% of congressmen and 44% of governors once served as state legislators.
• This is the big one: Twenty of the 36 states in which state legislatures control redistricting are within just four seats of switching party control. These 20 states represent 195 congressional districts.
I'd love to see a list of the states mentioned in that last point, but unfortunately, the DLCC doesn't seem to name them. I did identify 37 state legislative bodies with eight-seat margins or narrower (ie, a four-seat change would shift control, or at least create a tie). The list is in the extended. Hopefully the DLCC will elaborate soon.
Alaska |
Upper |
Arizona |
Upper |
Colorado |
Lower |
Colorado |
Upper |
Delaware |
Upper |
Illinois |
Upper |
Indiana |
Lower |
Iowa |
Lower |
Iowa |
Upper |
Kentucky |
Upper |
Maine |
Lower |
Maine |
Upper |
Michigan |
Lower |
Michigan |
Upper |
Minnesota |
Lower |
Minnesota |
Upper |
Mississippi |
Upper |
Montana |
Lower |
Montana |
Upper |
Nevada |
Upper |
New Hampshire |
Upper |
New Jersey |
Upper |
New Mexico |
Upper |
New York |
Upper |
North Carolina |
Lower |
North Carolina |
Upper |
Oklahoma |
Upper |
Oregon |
Lower |
Oregon |
Upper |
South Carolina |
Upper |
Tennessee |
Lower |
Tennessee |
Upper |
Texas |
Upper |
Virginia |
Upper |
Washington |
Upper |
West Virginia |
Upper |
Wisconsin |
Upper |