Making history: Democrats pump up their control of state legislatures, but Republicans also make gains.

• Author: Storey, Tim
• Position: ELECTION 2008 - Cover story

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The electoral tsunami that swept Senator Barack Obama into the White House and delivered Democrats to Congress also helped the party make historic strides at the state legislative level.

Voters reversed a trend in recent elections and left states with the fewest number of politically divided legislatures since 1982. Only eight states had split legislative control--Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Montana, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Partisan control of legislatures shifted in a dozen states.

Democrats won some big prizes, but Republicans held their own, scoring historic victories in the South. In large measure, the results signaled a solidifying of regional power and a decline in partisan parity across the nation.

Democrats took control of four legislatures--Delaware, Nevada, New York and Wisconsin. Those gains helped the Northeast take on a deeper shade of blue, with every chamber north of Virginia in Democratic hands except for the lone splash of Republican red--the Pennsylvania Senate. Based on preliminary, unofficial results, Democrats now control both chambers in 27 states.

"Democrats were successful all up and down the ticket," says Matt Compton, communications director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. "There's been a fairly close division between the parties at the state level, but the Democrats have been steadily picking up numbers since 2003."

For Republicans, it was a sweet song in the South. The GOP took over legislatures in Tennessee and Oklahoma for the first time. And the party gained seats in the region despite a net loss nationwide of approximately 100 seats. Republicans now control both chambers in 14 states, reflecting no net loss. Eight states are divided, with the Montana House tied 50-50. Nebraska has a unicameral, nonpartisan Legislature.

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Carrie Cantrell, spokeswoman for the Republican State Leadership Committee, called the outcome "strong victories" for the GOP.

"The Democrats made huge plays in the Dakotas for Republican seats and were unsuccessful there, just like they were in Tennessee," she says.

The winners face opportunities and sobering reality. On the up side, parties that have taken control of both chambers will have the upper hand heading into the critical redistricting cycle following the 2010 census. On the down side, nearly every state is facing deep fiscal problems that will persist through FY 2009 and, many economists think, dog states into 2010.

From the perspective of state lawmakers, though, the Obama victory does offer something they have not seen since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.

"You will have a president who has spent time in a state legislature and knows and...