John Hood, writing in National Review Online, takes a look at how the parties stack up at the state level. I was surprised at how evenly balanced the parties are:
Here’s how the numbers stack up as of this writing. There are 99 legislative chambers (Nebraska as a unicameral and nonpartisan legislature). Of the 98 partisan bodies, Republicans hold 49 and Democrats 47. Two chambers, the Iowa senate and Montana house, are tied. As a whole, Republicans control 20 state legislatures and Democrats 19, with 10 legislatures split between the parties. On the other hand, Democrats enjoy a slight edge in the total number of state lawmakers, at 3,663 to the GOP’s 3,643.
His entry on Indiana reads as follows:
Republicans hold a 33-17 margin in the senate, but only a 52-48 edge in the house. One GOP operative told me that he expects Indiana’s races to be “close and competitive†and that, for the foreseeable future, “they always will be.†Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, former budget director for President Bush, had only a 35 percent approval rating in an April poll. This is one instance where a truly local issue may matter a lot: Daniel’s controversial and successful push to put Indiana on daylight-saving time. No kidding.
After Garton’s fall, the President Pro-Tem of Pennsylvania (R) just fell in a primary. I think the State legislatures could be rocked just as much if not more than the federal chambers.