Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Democrats Make Big Gains In State Races...
This is a very bright spot from a less-than-stellar 2004 political year for the Democratic Party. Even in some of the reddest of red states, Democrats took control on a statewide level.
Democrats had great success in state legislative races this year, even as they performed poorly in the presidential race and campaigns for Congress. Many Democratic gains came in the heart of Republican territory.
Colorado Democrats took control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1974. Montana Democrats won the state Senate and could control the state House, depending on the outcome of a legislative race that finished in a tie and is the subject of a court battle.
Overall, Democrats took power in seven legislatures and earned a tie in the Iowa Senate. Republicans won control in four chambers and added legislators in southern states that have been shifting to the party for 20 years.
Nationwide, Democrats added more than 60 legislative seats, reversing the 2002 results that gave Republicans more state legislators than Democrats for the first time in a half century.
Democratic state legislators now outnumber Republicans by two: 3,658 to 3,656. A pair of undecided races could leave it tied.
Even here in North Carolina, Democrats took control of the state House and retained control of almost all statewide offices. Gov. Mike Easley made his victory over Patrick Ballantine look very easy.
This is important for many reasons, not the least of which is the growing pool of viable Democratic candidates for higher offices.
In Colorado, a popular Democratic state Attorney General, Ken Salazar, took on Republican Pete Coors (yes, THAT Coors) and won convincingly. I'd love to see someone like North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (also quite popular) take on Elizabeth Dole for her Senate seat in 2008.
Additionally, in the 2008 North Carolina Governor's race, the Democrats will most likely offer up such well-known names as State Treasurer Richard Moore, Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue, and possibly the aforementioned Roy Cooper. The GOP will most likely end up running Ballantine again.
The bottom line is this: Even in red states, the Democratic party is thriving. Sure a Montana Democrat doesn't necessarily hold exactly the same views as a New York Democrat, but the victories that they've enjoyed this year can lay the groundwork for a resurgence in the party across the country.
Not just in the blue states, either...
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