Taking it to the states

Election '06 | Democrats hold just a 21-seat advantage nationwide in state legislatures—a less glamorous but fertile ground for parties, voters, and local lawmakers seeking to send a message on issues where Congress is gridlocked | Jamie Dean

For Tim Storey, all politics is local. While Karl Rove and other political strategists plot ways to hang onto a GOP majority in Congress, Storey has state legislatures on his mind.

And this year the GOP has a tough historical trend to overcome: The party that controls the White House has lost legislative seats in nearly every mid-term election since 1940. The only exception was the first election after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in 2002, when Republicans gained 177 statehouse seats.

Though state elections may be less glamorous than national contests, the stakes are high in 2006: State legislatures are nearly evenly divided between political parties. Out of 7,382 state legislative seats in the country, Democrats hold a slim 21-seat advantage.