Elections give GOP a solid hold on South - Washington Times
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)
The South, once solidly Democratic, is more solidly Republican than ever after the 2011 elections.
As the last state legislative races were called this week from the Nov. 8 votes in Virginia and Mississippi, the party of Abraham Lincoln now controls both chambers of every state legislature in the 11 former states of the Confederacy, with the sole exception of Arkansas. And Arkansas Republicans need to flip only a handful of seats in 2012 to make the trend unanimous.
None of this comes as welcome news for President Obama’s re-election campaign. In 2008, Mr. Obama was propelled to the White House in large part with breakthrough victories in such states as Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, but all three states now have Republican-led legislatures, with the GOP’s biggest gains in the 2010 elections.
The shift means that in swing states such as Florida, the GOP 2012 nominee will have a home-field advantage given the local balance of power.
The 2010 midterm vote was “a record-breaking year for Republicans in the state legislatures. There were a couple of benchmarks set that made it a banner year, and what the last election showed is that it hasn’t died down,” said Adam Temple, a spokesman for the Republican State Leadership Committee. “It doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Democrats in 2012.”
With the formal call on one key race late Monday, Republicans gained control of the Mississippi House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction, picking up eight seats in the Nov. 8 balloting.
The party increased its majority to 64-58 when one House Democrat switched parties a few days after the election.
In Virginia, Republicans gained two seats in the state Senate, giving them a 20-20 split with Democrats. With the Republican lieutenant governor casting the tiebreaker, the result is that the GOP has effective control of the state Senate to go with its dominance of the state House of Delegates.
Even though the 2011 outcome represents a milestone of sorts for the GOP, the news isn’t grabbing national headlines. That’s probably because the Southern realignment from Democrat to Republican has been a long time in coming, said Karl Kurtz, a political analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
...(read the rest at link):
http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/15/elections-give-gop-a-solid-hold-on-south/
Switch of key states could trouble Obama
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times) The South, once solidly Democratic, is more solidly Republican than ever after the 2011 elections.
As the last state legislative races were called this week from the Nov. 8 votes in Virginia and Mississippi, the party of Abraham Lincoln now controls both chambers of every state legislature in the 11 former states of the Confederacy, with the sole exception of Arkansas. And Arkansas Republicans need to flip only a handful of seats in 2012 to make the trend unanimous.
None of this comes as welcome news for President Obama’s re-election campaign. In 2008, Mr. Obama was propelled to the White House in large part with breakthrough victories in such states as Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, but all three states now have Republican-led legislatures, with the GOP’s biggest gains in the 2010 elections.
The shift means that in swing states such as Florida, the GOP 2012 nominee will have a home-field advantage given the local balance of power.
The 2010 midterm vote was “a record-breaking year for Republicans in the state legislatures. There were a couple of benchmarks set that made it a banner year, and what the last election showed is that it hasn’t died down,” said Adam Temple, a spokesman for the Republican State Leadership Committee. “It doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Democrats in 2012.”
With the formal call on one key race late Monday, Republicans gained control of the Mississippi House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction, picking up eight seats in the Nov. 8 balloting.
The party increased its majority to 64-58 when one House Democrat switched parties a few days after the election.
In Virginia, Republicans gained two seats in the state Senate, giving them a 20-20 split with Democrats. With the Republican lieutenant governor casting the tiebreaker, the result is that the GOP has effective control of the state Senate to go with its dominance of the state House of Delegates.
Even though the 2011 outcome represents a milestone of sorts for the GOP, the news isn’t grabbing national headlines. That’s probably because the Southern realignment from Democrat to Republican has been a long time in coming, said Karl Kurtz, a political analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
...(read the rest at link):
http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/15/elections-give-gop-a-solid-hold-on-south/
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