State Legislative Elections

[ag]

Not sure where to put it, but seems like important changes in a number of states, especially in the Midwest. According to the web site of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the following chambers appear to switch from Republican to Democrat control:

Iowa House and Senate
Minnesota House
Michigan House
New Hampshire House and Senate
Oregon House
Wisconsin Senate
Indiana House

In addition, Pennsylvania House is still too close to call, but Dems seem to be ahead.  No chambers seem to have gone the other way, but Oklahoma Senate is now tied (was a small Dem lead). A number of Western states haven't reported yet, though.

In NY, though, the State Senate stays Republican. There might be one Dem pick-up (in a seat that went to a recount last time, and is very close this time as well), which would make it go from 35:27 to 34:28 Republican.

[ag]

Got a good link?

As usual, http://www.ncsl.org/

BTW, even OK Senate is not quite a GOP pick-up: ties are broken by Lt. Gov, and he's a Dem.

Only Montana left to report now. PA house still too close to call.

[ag]

In CT, it looks like we will get a situation similar to what used to be the norm in MA: a REP governor, but a DEM supermajority in the legislature. At the latest count, it is

House D 97, R 44, Undecided 10
Senate D 25, R 10, Undecided 1

Hartford Courant reports Dems expect their final total to be, at least, 103 seats, a net gain of 4, giving them the supermajority for the first time. In the Senate, where they had a bare supermajority before, they've already gained a seat and still might get another one.

In MA the results imply a one-party rule, now that the governorship is in Dem hands. You'd think Republicans couldn't do any worse, than the last time, but they did:

House D 141 (+4), R 18 (-3), vacant/undecided 1
Senate D 35 (+1), R 5 (-1).

I guess there is a vacancy open for the position of the second major party in MA. The Republicans are increasingly a minor party in the state. Greens? Libertarians? Anyone?

[ag]

An interesting observation. Republicans are still controlling the governoships in 3 New England States (VT, RI, CT), but in 5 out of the 6 legislative chambers in those states Democrats now have veto-proof majorities! The sole exception  is the VT House, but even there Republicans are now reduced to under a third, with independets now making up the balance. Thus, Republicans on their own are unable to block an override of a veto in any New England State they still govern!

We have:

VT
House D 93 (+10), R 49 (-11), Independent/Other 8 (+1)
Senate D 23 (+2), R 7 (-2)

CT
House D 106 (+7),  R 45 (-7)
Senate D 24 (no change), R 12 (no change)

RI
House D 61 (+1), R 14 (-1)
Senate 33 (no change) R 5 (no change)

[ag]

Yep, Chester. Good blog here:

http://chescocount.blogspot.com/

[ag]

Just as Dems have been celebrating in PA House, it seems Reps have smthg to celebrate in MT House. The recount of the tied race there has given it to the Reps by 3 votes. Hence, it is 50R, 49D and 1C, and if the C organizes w/ R they have the control.

[ag]

Looks like the Dems will come a step closer to taking over the NY State Senate without waiting for the next election. Spitzer has just managed to appoint a Republican state senator from Nassau county to deal w/ homeland security issues in his administration, and the NYTimes says the Dems now have higher registration in the senate district (unsurprizing in Nassau these days), so that without the incumbent they should be favored to take the seat. The Republican 34:28 majority is thus reduced to 33:28 and, quite likely, it will be 33:29 after the special election. Slow attrition, but this may very well make all the difference in 2008. 

At this point, NY State Senate is the "northeasternmost" Republican-controlled legislative chamber (and one of only three anywhere in the Northeast, alongside the DE House and PA Senate), and the last major stronghold of state-level Republicans in NY.

[ag]

In the end it's even more interesting than was expected. Perzel got not one, but three Dems to vote for him, but he won't be the Speaker. Dems nominated a Republican member, Dennis O'Brian (R, Philadelphia) nominated (in fact, DeWeese nominated him), and O'Brian got 7 Republican votes (including his own), to make it 105 votes for O'Brian against 97 for Perzel. Quite some fun!