Legislatures: start your engines.

• Author: Underhill, Wendy
• Position: Elections

Voters said "stay the course" in legislative elections last fall and "yes" to most of the ballot measures. Now it's time to get to work.

Voters went to the polls last fall in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia to choose their state legislators and in Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi to decide on their governors. And in seven states, voters had their say on a wide variety of ballot measures. But the election turned out to be a rather quiet affair, with partisan control across the nation's legislatures remaining unchanged.

As sessions begin this year, Republicans control both chambers in 30 states, and Democrats control both in 11. In eight states, the parties each control one chamber. Nebraska has a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature. Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas hold biennial sessions and will not convene this year.

Legislative Races Wrap-up

In the Virginia Senate, a 40-member chamber that has changed hands three times in the last three years, Democrats needed to pick up just one seat to regain control. Retiring incumbents--four Republicans and two Democrats--created competitive open seats and exciting races, but in the end, the voters kept things unchanged. Republicans control the Senate in the Old Dominion State with the same 21-19 majority.

Meanwhile, over in the House of Delegates, every seat was up for a vote. Republicans held a 67-33 majority in the 100-member chamber prior to Election Day, and that didn't change much. The GOP lost one seat but maintained a commanding 66-34 margin.

In Mississippi, Republicans increased their lead in the House of Representatives, but fell short of the 74 seats needed for a supermajority, which would have allowed them to pass spending, taxing and other measures that require a three-fifths vote without Democratic support. Two days after the election, however, Representative Jody Steverson, a Democrat, announced he was switching parties. Still, Republicans had a 73-48 majority with one race officially tied and set to be determined "by lot," according to state law. In the end, the two candidates drew straws, with Democratic incumbent Bo Eaton coming out on top. Republican challenger Mark Tullos indicated he would contest the decision and has asked the Republican House to vote on the election this month. It's a large turnaround from 2011, when Republicans captured the Mississippi House for the first time in 130 years. Republicans also maintained control of the Mississippi Senate...