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On a Democrat House caucus conference call Thursday, a lawmaker cried as Democrats dissected their unexpected setbacks from the Tuesday night election results. Democrats have sustained “historic” losses at all levels of government, conflicting with their post-election public narrative of a likely Joe Biden presidential win and potential Senate control amid contested vote counts and fraud allegations.“It’s clear that [President Donald] Trump isn’t an anchor for the Republican legislative candidates. He’s a buoy,” a Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee spokeswoman told Politico Wednesday. “He overperformed media expectations, Democratic and Republican expectations, and lifted legislative candidates with him.”The state-level outcome of...

The last time Republicans controlled a statehouse chamber in Alabama, Ulysses S. Grant was president and Thomas Edison still hadn’t perfected electric lighting.But if the GOP’s gains are as big as many predict this election, Alabama could be one of many states that will see one or both statehouse chambers go from Democratic blue to Republican red. Democrats currently enjoy a 5-seat advantage in the Alabama Senate and a 15-seat advantage in the Alabama House. However, Tim Storey, an elections expert at the National Conference of State Legislatures, says that hold may not last. “If Alabama were to move to...

The Republican brand is badly damaged and won't be in the majority anytime soon. But independent campaign analysts say the GOP will likely make gubernatorial and House gains anyway in the 2009-10 election cycle. The reasons have more to do with political geography and math than with any forecasts about what the economic climate will look like this year and next when the off-year and midterm elections will be influenced by the by whether the nation's economy responds to President Obama's stimulus programs. Republicans will just have more opportunities than the Democrats next time around in the congressional and gubernatorial...

Tom Ravenel 57%; Grady Patterson 41%

SAN FRANCISCO The Sierra Club plans to shift millions in campaign cash from Congressional races to state and local campaigns this fall, a sign from the nation's oldest and largest environmental group that Washington is becoming less relevant to its cause. In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said his group is dedicating about a third of its anticipated $5 million to $10 million campaign fund to competitive state races this year. In past years, it has invested only 5 percent of its political money in state legislative campaigns. "We are putting 10...

SACRAMENTO — Republican hopes that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity would help the party win more seats in the Legislature have faded in the final days before Tuesday's election as Democrats enjoyed a boost from the presidential campaign. Just weeks ago, Republican officials spoke optimistically about the potential impact of hearty campaigns by Schwarzenegger in behalf of Assembly and Senate candidates. Now, however, even some sources close to the governor concede that the outlook has darkened for Republican candidates and that Democrats could gain a seat. --snip-- Months ago, GOP strategists had said they looked forward to vigorous support from Schwarzenegger...

Florida, NH, 10 other states to hold primaries Tuesday Reno wants to govern Sunshine State; senator challenged in GOP race 09/08/2002 Associated Press The primary season draws to a climax Tuesday with voting in 12 states, highlighted by Florida, where former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno faces a tough Democratic challenge in her bid for governor, and New Hampshire, where Republican Sen. Bob Smith is in danger of being ousted by his own party. The balloting comes just a day before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It's also less than two months before the midterm elections,...