Down & Out: Dem losses at state-level almost unprecedented, could cripple it for a long time

Slate ^ | December 11, 2014 | Jamelle Bouie

[2ndDivisionVet]

The most immediate consequence of the Democrats’ midterm disaster was losing control of the Senate and ceding Congress to the GOP. For the next two years, Democrats will have to deal with conservative legislation, right-wing hijinks, and—in all odds—a vacancy crisis, as Republicans freeze confirmations and refuse to fill spots in the executive branch and on the federal bench.

That is bad for the Democratic Party. What’s on the horizon is worse. As Amy Walter notes for the Cook Political Report, Democrats lost big at all levels of government, including the states. “Today,” she writes, “about 55 percent of all state legislative seats in the country are held by Republicans. That’s the largest share of GOP state legislators since the 1920s.” What’s more, “just 11 states have an all Democratic-controlled legislature,” and Democrats hold single-party control in just seven states. By contrast, “Republicans have a legislative majority in 30 states, including the battleground states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina,” and single-party control in most of the South.

This, Walter says, is a slow-moving disaster for congressional Democrats. She’s right. Absent major gains in 2016, 2018, and 2020, Democrats will be shut out of the next round of redistricting. If, she writes, “Democrats can’t get a seat at the redistricting table in 2020, they may find themselves locked out of a congressional majority for another 10 years.” And even if they do get a seat at the table, argues Greg Sargent for the Washington Post, there’s still the problem of population distribution; even in blue states, most Democratic voters are crammed in a handful of urban areas, which dilutes their strength in House elections.....

[randita]

even in blue states, most Democratic voters are crammed in a handful of urban areas, which dilutes their strength in House elections.....

That's exactly what Democrats wanted! They wanted to be guaranteed that districts with large minority populations would elect a liberal minority member in perpeptuity.

If those heavily Democrat urban areas were to be split up and joined with more conservative suburban districts, those districts become more competitive and cease to be shoo-ins for Democrats. A development like that could result in MORE GOP wins, not less.

[nascarnation]

Indiana House: R71 D29
Indiana Senate: R40 D10