Interactive, editable map via Vox
The midterms aren’t just an opportunity to provide a check on Trump and his administration by flipping the House in Congress, but by flipping houses in state legislatures, too.
As we enter the midterms, Democrats currently have control (that is, a majority in both the House and Senate) of 13 state legislatures while the Republicans have 33. But 2018 gives us an incredible opportunity to not just break up Republican control of several state legislatures by flipping one of the houses, but we stand to see gains all over the country. 2018 is a great year to really build back up the Democratic bench from the bottom up.
Here are the 10 states that are really, really close to seeing a state house flip to the Democrats:
Arizona
Democrats need to flip 3 seats to take the majority in the state Senate. (Republicans have the majority in the state House.)
Colorado
Democrats already have the majority in the state House, but they can become the majority in the Senate with 2 flips.
Florida
Florida is a bit more of a stretch but pundits believe the Democrats have a chance to flip 5 seats to take the state Senate. (Republicans have the state House).
Maine
Democrats can gain the majority in the state Senate with 2 flips. (Democrats have the state House.)
Michigan
The Republicans have both the House and the Senate by a good margin, but Michigan is a purple state, bedeviled by gerrymandering. 2018 is a good year to make big gains. Democrats need to flip 9 seats in both houses to grab the majority.
Minnesota
The state Senate is currently tied, so the Democrats can take the majority with 1 flip. (Republicans hold the House by a big margin.)
New Hampshire
Democrats can take the state Senate with 3 flips. (Republicans have the House.)
New York
Due to caucusing agreements, the Republicans currently have the state Senate, but the Democrats can regain the majority with 2 flips. (Democrats have the state House.)
Texas
Democrats can gain the majority in the state Senate with 6 flips. (Republicans have the House.)
Wisconsin
Republicans have the state House by quite a margin but the Democrats can take the Senate with 2 flips.
There are so many reasons to pay attention to the state legislatures, not the least of which is that most of the political decisions that affect your life are decided in your state. But in less than two weeks, if Democratic turnout is good, we can make huge strides in getting state control again.
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Categories: Explainers
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