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State elections reveal a deeply divided America

by Reid Wilson - 11/07/18 12:53 PM ET

America is more polarized than ever. Just look at the states.

The number of state legislatures where both Democrats and Republicans control one chamber is at an all-time low, after a deeply polarizing election made red states redder and blue states bluer.

Only one state — Minnesota — has a bicameral legislature in which Democrats and Republicans each control one chamber.

{mosads}That’s the lowest number of states divided between the two parties since 1914, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

“We’re red states and blue states. We’re polarized,” said Tim Storey, the NCSL’s top elections analyst.

Tuesday’s election saw Democrats gain more than 330 Republican-held state legislative seats across the country, a big win but hardly a wave election by historical standards.

Instead, the two parties appeared to consolidate their power in states that were already leaning left or right.

“Democrats can certainly claim victory. They certainly won the game, but it wasn’t a banner year for Democrats. It was a modest success,” Storey said.

Democrats won control of the Republican-held state Senate in Colorado, where Gov.-elect Jared Polis (D) will have the chance to work with an all-Democratic legislature.

In Maine, Gov.-elect Janet Mills (D) will also have an all-Democratic legislature to work with when she replaces term-limited Gov. Paul LePage (R).

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) finally gets an all-Democratic legislature to advance his agenda after Democrats won functional control of the state Senate.

And in New Hampshire, Democrats reclaimed control of both the state House and Senate.

Earlier this year, Democrats won control of the Washington Senate, handing the party total control of state government there.

In Connecticut, Democrats made gains in the state Senate, which had been evenly divided between the two parties.

Perhaps Democrats’ biggest win of the night came in Minnesota, where the party won 17 seats held by Republicans and with it control of the state House. Republicans control the state Senate by just a single seat. Rep. Tim Walz (D) won the governor’s mansion on Tuesday.

Democrats had been at or near a nadir in state governments in recent years after dramatic wave elections gave Republicans control of two-thirds of the nation’s governorships and two-thirds of state legislative chambers.

But Tuesday’s results — on both a legislative and a gubernatorial level — helped Democrats claw back control of states where the party had recently been ascendant.

Democrats will now control all levers of state government, both the governorship and both legislative chambers, in 14 states, up from seven states before the midterm elections.

Republicans hold complete control of state government in 21 states, a number that will grow to 22 if Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) holds on to his narrow lead in the race for governor.

Some states where the two parties now split power will be critical to either side’s path to the White House in 2020.

Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin all have incoming Democratic governors who will contend with Republican-dominated legislatures.

Virginia and North Carolina are run by Democratic governors and Republican legislatures, neither of which changed hands on Tuesday.

New Hampshire’s Republican governor, Chris Sununu, now faces a Democratic-controlled legislature. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the Granite State’s four electoral votes by just 2,800 votes in 2016.

Tags Hillary Clinton Jared Polis Tim Walz