Republicans Have More Seats in State Legislatures Than They've Had Since 1928

Jillian Bandes | November 03, 2010 12:11 PM

That factoid comes to you from the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. What does it mean? Along with gubernatorial victories, Republicans are poised to enact sweeping reforms on everything from education reform to redistricting, in big states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. That redistricting takes place only once

every ten years, and has serious implications for 2012.

“The Republican wave in the states is perhaps even stronger than it is at the federal level,” Tim Storey, a senior fellow at NCSL, told Education Week.

This sets the stage for a GOP victory in 2012. Alabama, Maine, North Carolina and Wisconsin House and Senates switched from blue to red, and additional wins were had in Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, and others. In Texas, the GOP wins were so big that Republicans can side-step the Democrats all together and virtually ignore them in the legislative process.

The NCSL brings us even more interesting nuggets:

The North Carolina Senate has not been Republican since 1870. And Republicans have reportedly taken over 100 seats in the New Hampshire House. For the first time in history, the Minnesota Senate will be controlled by the GOP.