More good news at the local level, this time from North Dakota:
Stung by the loss of 13 seats in the Legislature, North Dakota Republicans have begun planning for the next election, when Democrats are promising a new push for a Capitol majority [...]
Democrats ousted a dozen Republican House and Senate incumbents, including two of the Legislature's most senior GOP lawmakers, in this month's elections. The results chopped the GOP's Senate majority to 26-21, while House Republicans have a 61-33 edge over Democrats.
Democratic activists say their gains in the Legislature should help in recruiting candidates to run two years from now.
"We are going to be able to tell people, 'You can win,'" said Jim Fuglie, the state Democratic director.
Senate Republicans lost seven of the 16 seats they were defending in this month's elections, while picking up a seat formerly held by Sen. April Fairfield, D-Eldridge, who did not seek another term. House Republicans lost seven of the 35 seats they defended, while all 13 House Democratic incumbents won.
The initial outlook is similar in 2008. Republicans will be defending 16 Senate seats, while Democrats hold seven that will be on the ballot. In the House, Republicans will be defending 33 seats, compared to Democrats' 13.
Neither of North Dakota's Democratic senators, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, are up for re-election in 2008, and Republicans worry the two Democrats will use their own campaign funds and personal PACs to give their party's candidates an added boost.
Conrad's DakPAC and Dorgan's Great Plains Leadership Fund played a major role in backing this year's Democratic candidates.
Kudos to Sens Conrad and Dorgan for helping build their state parties. Many Red-state Democrats stay out of local partisan politics as a way to avoid offending crossover voters. It doesn't look like Conrad or Dorgan play that game.
And kudos to continued efforts to build a 50-state national Democratic Party. I'm sure those 3-4 DNC-funded staffers picking their noses in ND had a role to play in these great victories.
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