It’s worse than Democrats thought and Republicans had hoped.
With each passing day, it seems, the scope and dimensions of Tuesday’s historic midterm election become even more apparent.
Consider this article by Aaron Blake of the Washington Post. According to Mr. Blake:
- Nearly half of Americans will now live in states under total GOP control.
- Republican are basically in control of the state government in 24 (and depending on what happens with the governor’s race in Alaska, 25) states. The Democrats, meanwhile, control just six (and depending on what happens in Vermont, seven) states. That 24-6 split is significantly bigger than it was after 2010, when Republicans emerged from that wave election with complete control of 21 states, to Democrats’ 11–about a two-to-one advantage, versus today’s four-to-one edge.
- According to Mr. Blake’s numbers, across all 50 states, 47.8 percent of Americans will now be led by GOP-controlled governments with little/no ability for Democrats to thwart them. Democrats, meanwhile, will govern unilaterally in states with just 15.6 percent of Americans–less than one-sixth of the country.
“No, state legislatures aren’t the sexiest things in the world,” according to Blake. “But as a means for demonstrating a national wave, they’re about as pure an indicator as you get. That’s because they’re the lowest-profile office (i.e. people vote the party more than anything) that is pretty uniform across the country. And as of today, the GOP is dominating in an unprecedented way.”
The Obama years have been poisonous for the Democratic Party, from state legislatures and governorships to the House and Senate. Mr. Obama likes to think of himself as a world-historical figure. He is, but in all the wrong ways.
