This diary is an updated version of my original diary on this which aims to identify the various brilliant DKE diaries out there on State Legislatures... Mostly concentrating on the current composition of the State Legislature, redistricting impacts, election results and predictions, and how Democratic or Republican various seats are.
Fortunately the utterly amazing Presidential Results by Legislative District is nearly complete. Thanks to the Jeffs only Maryland, Mississippi and Alabama are left to do. The Legislative Districts Maps diary by Stephen Wolf makes things so much easier when doing your research.
This is my attempt I guess to do something similar to the official DKE resources on Congressional redistricting and the various "living" dictionary type diaries that SaoMagnifico, wwmiv and others have in their signature.
Please feel free to correct any mistakes, as this is my attempt to sort out the data that is available.
So I guess this is a bit of a Meta diary (I think) as it is about our community resources as opposed to original research.
The aim of this diary is to provide you all with a:
- Ready Reckoner providing quick links to DKE diaries on state legislature.
- Guide on what State Legislatures need a DKE diary...
- A collection of diaries so you can refresh yourself on what makes a great state legislature diary.
- Helpful hint on what your next diary should be !
- Chance for you to help me track down the many diaries I have missed on this topic.
I haven't included any fantasy redistricting diaries unless they also gave a review of the legislative maps. This is a review of DKE diaries only... so if it doesn't have the DK Elections tag then it was not included... So let me know about them. If you have any old school Swing State Project diaries that are still useful resources, I would love to link to them.
Legislative Elections Predictions & Results - DKE User Diaries
Okay as per my last diary on this, I scoured the Daily Kos Elections sidebar for the various diaries relating to the State of the States. Basically I am limiting it to the diaries on the various State Legislatures post 2010 Census round of redistricting...
General Summary - What States Have Been Done Well ?
There are a few states where there are many competing DKE diaries on them: California, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Then there are a few states where some of our best authors keep up to date diaries: Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey and Ohio.
Of course special mention goes to James Allen who keeps Oregon up to date and sets the gold standard with the various background diaries on the State. Jeff Singers diaries are of course the reason he went professional - always great.
I have to say the kurykh diaries for California always seem to strike the right balance with having just the right amount of detail, and very clear maps to back it up.
Then there are those that do several states: ProudNewEnglander doing Maine and Connecticut, SouthernINDem doing Indiana and Kentucky (I would have thought more Hoosiers would do Indiana), Minnesota Gopher surprisingly does states other than Minnesota and KingofSpades who has done many different states to a very high standard.
What States Have Been Done Since Version 1 of this Diary ?
The good news is that three key states in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida have had diaries done by Jeff Singer, js18 and Tyler Yeargain.
js18 tackled Ohio which was sorely missing any real effort, and has done a great job, a very comprehensive effort here.
Adam B and others had kept us up to date on Pennsylvania, with a fair few updates on the State Legislature in the Live Digest, but Jeff Singer captured everything very well in his diary.
Tyler Yeargain gave us a primary preview of Florida, and hopefully (hint, hint) he will give us a general election preview.
What States Should Be Done Well ?
spiderdem previously
listed his top 10 legislature targets each for the Dems and GOP, which I think still remains valid.
On his list of top 10 prospective Dem takeovers he identifies both the Pennsylvania chambers (It is the 2nd largest State Legislature with 203 House Seats and 50 Senate Seats) with the Dems holding around 46% of each chamber. His top pick is the NY State Senate... then outside the top 3, there is the Iowa State House (where Dems have 47 out of 100) and the New Hampshire State Senate (where Dems hold 11 out of 24) which would appear to be very achievable targets. Obviously given we hold the Iowa State Senate and New Hampshire State House, it would be good to get the others. The rest of the top ten would all appear to be very challenging...
The Alaskan State Senate and Iowa are also of interest to me... but my next diary will fill the gap on the Kansas State House.
How Can You All Help ?
Do a diary on a State Legislature - and not one that has already been done well !
So obviously there are a few local specialists who concentrate on the one State and have produced great diaries... And I hope these DKE'ers keep track of their States, but for those who are looking for a good diary idea, why not look at those States that haven't been done ? You could do a diary on Oregon but given James Allen's work it would seem to be a bit of wasted effort when you could do one on New York.
The good new is that there are plenty of states out there that need diaries on the Legislatures... I doubt there will be a volunteer for New Hampshire State House anytime soon of course!
If you don't have the time to do a comprehensive diary on a whole legislature then why bother ? Just do the real competitive takeover targets. I know that for many of us Xenocrypt's diaries on some key Legislative Districts in Arizona was extremely useful.
The State of the States - DKE Diaries on Legislative Districts
In addition to the diaries below, Skaje has a few interesting comments on various State Legislatures, including:
New York,
Colorado and
Hawaii.
California is one of those states that had a huge array of good diaries, with many of course focused on the congressional races, but a fair few also looked at the legislative races.
California
The table below consists of the States where there is DKE data on Presidential Election Results by Legislative District (and sometimes other races) as well as Stephen Wolf's maps.
DKE Diaries for State Legislatures
State |
DK User |
Diary Subject/Name |
Date |
Alaska |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive legislative maps for Texas and Alaska |
2014 |
Arizona |
Xenocrypt |
Why Arizona Didn't Trend Blue in 2012: Presidential Results by Legislative District. |
2012 |
Arizona |
Xenocrypt |
How competitive is the AZ legislature post-redistricting? (Note: Numbers might be a little off.) |
2011 |
Arizona |
CF of Aus |
Racial Profiling & Killer Republicans - (Arizona State House Primary Review) |
2012 |
Arizona |
CF of Aus |
Phoenix Rising - Taking Arizona Part 2 (Winning the State Senate) |
2012 |
Arizona |
CF of Aus |
Taking Arizona Part 1 - CDs 1-3 and the State Senate |
2012 |
Arkansas |
Jeff Singer |
A look at the Arkansas and Vermont legislatures, with interactive maps and new election data |
2014 |
Arkansas |
GradyDem |
Arkansas Senate: July Update |
2012 |
Arkansas |
GradyDem |
Arkansas Primary Preview |
2012 |
Arkansas |
GradyDem |
Redistricting the Arkansas Senate: Did the Democrats do it? |
2011 |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Colorado Senate in 2013 |
2013 |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Democrats win the Colorado House |
2012 |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Retaking the Colorado House (September) |
2012 |
Colorado |
farleftfagala |
Battle for the Colorado Senate (September) |
2012 |
Colorado |
Stephen Wolf |
? |
2014 |
Connecticut |
ProudNewEnglander |
2014 Connecticut State Senate races: Table and Ratings |
2014 |
Connecticut |
ProudNewEnglander |
Connecticut State Senate Races and Ratings |
2012 |
Connecticut |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Connecticut and Montana |
2014 |
Delaware |
? |
? |
? |
Florida |
Tyler Yeargain |
Florida Primary Elections Preview |
2014 |
Florida |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative district maps for Florida and Utah |
2014 |
Florida |
Tyler Yeargain |
Florida Primary Elections Preview |
20 Aug 2014 |
Georgia |
fearlessfred14 |
Georgia Legislative Elections Overview |
2012 |
Georgia |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Georgia and South Carolina |
2014 |
Hawaii |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive maps of 11 state legislatures, with tons of data |
2014 |
Idaho |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive maps of 11 state legislatures, with tons of data |
2014 |
Illinois |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Illinois and Oklahoma |
2014 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Indiana Primary Preview |
2014 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Indiana Primary Preview |
2012 |
Indiana |
Jeff Singer |
A look at the Indiana and Missouri legislatures, with interactive maps and new election data |
2014 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Indiana State House seats Ratings II: The Rest of Indiana |
2012 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Indiana State House Races, Part I: Southern/ Western Indiana |
2012 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
Guide to Election Night in Indiana |
2012 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
The Indianapolis Metro Area: Final part of New Indiana State House Districts Analysis |
2011 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
New Indiana State House Districts Analysis, Part II: Northwest: The Region to South Bend- Elkhart |
2011 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
New Indiana State House Districts Analysis, Part III: Northeast, Cornfields, and Everything Else out |
2011 |
Indiana |
SouthernINDem |
New Indiana State House Districts Analysis, Part I: Southern/ Western Indiana |
2011 |
Iowa |
? |
? |
? |
Kansas |
CF of Aus |
Who Will Help Paul Davis ? Kansas State House - Moderates Vs Conservatives |
2014 |
Kansas |
ptgkc |
Kansas – Home of the new GOP (God’s Old Party) |
2012 |
Kansas |
ptgkc |
Kansas GOP Primary Scorecard |
2012 |
Kansas |
KingofSpades |
KS-Redistricting: If you want something done right... |
2012 |
Kansas |
? |
? |
? |
Kentucky |
SouthernINDem |
Kentucky Primary Preview |
2012 |
Kentucky |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive legislative maps for Kentucky and Tennessee |
2014 |
Louisiana |
Jeff Singer |
A legislature of dunces: A look at the Louisiana legislature, with maps and presidential data |
2014 |
Maine |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Maine and Nebraska |
2014 |
Maine |
ProudNewEnglander |
2014 State Senate races in Maine - Updated Analysis: Will the Democrats keep their majority? |
2014 |
Maine |
ProudNewEnglander |
2014 State Senate races in Maine: Will the Democrats keep their majority? |
2014 |
Massachusetts |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and West Virginia |
2014 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
A Viewer's Guide to Michigan Legislative Primaries |
2014 |
Michigan |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive state legislative maps for MI, RI, MN, and SD |
2014 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Michigan State House Viewing Guide |
2012 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Taking Back the MI House Part 3 |
2012 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Taking Back the MI House Part 2 |
2012 |
Michigan |
Slacks |
Taking Back the MI House Part 1 |
2012 |
Michigan |
minnesota gopher |
Taking the Michigan Senate |
2013 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Primary Recap |
2014 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Eletions 2014: Part III |
2014 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Elections 2014: Part II |
2014 |
Minnesota |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive state legislative maps for MI, RI, MN, and SD |
2014 |
Minnesota |
TonyAngelo |
Minnesota Senate hPVI, 2013 |
2013 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Election Postmortem: OGGoldy's report card |
2012 |
Minnesota |
AndrewMN |
Analysis and Race Ratings: MN State Legislature (with maps!) |
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota: Final Predictions, Part II |
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota: Final Prediction, Part I |
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Primary Post-Mortem: State Legislature
|
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislature. Wo is running where? Part 2: Metro |
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislature. Who is running where? Part 1: Outstate |
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislature Part II: Metro |
2012 |
Minnesota |
OGGoldy |
Minnesota Legislative Districts Part I: outstate |
2012 |
Missouri |
Jeff Singer |
A look at the Indiana and Missouri legislatures, with interactive maps and new election data |
2014 |
Montana |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Connecticut and Montana |
2014 |
Nebraska |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Maine and Nebraska |
2014 |
Nebraska |
? |
? |
? |
Nevada |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Nevada, North Dakota, and Virginia |
2014 |
Nevada |
atdnext |
#NVLeg: New Nevada Senate Race Ratings |
2012 |
Nevada |
atdnext |
New Nevada Legislature Race Ratings: Part 2, The Assembly |
2012 |
Nevada |
atdnext |
New Nevada Legislature Race Ratings: Part 1, The Senate |
2012 |
Nevada |
atdnext |
Nevada Primary Preview |
2012 |
Nevada |
SouthernINDem |
New Nevada Assembly Districts |
2011 |
Nevada |
SouthernINDem |
New Nevada Senate Districts |
2011 |
New Hampshire |
Alizarin Indigo |
A Democratic/Republican New Hampshire State Senate |
2011 |
New Hampshire |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive state legislative maps of Ohio, New Hampshire and Wyoming |
2014 |
New Jersey |
KingofSpades |
A Bridge Too Far: 2013 New Jersey Legislative Elections |
2013 |
New Jersey |
KingofSpades |
2011 NJ State Legislative Races: Maps and Analysis |
2011 |
New Jersey |
minnesota gopher |
New Jersey Election Data |
2013 |
New Jersey |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Washington, New Mexico, and New Jersey |
2014 |
New Mexico |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Washington, New Mexico, and New Jersey |
2014 |
New York |
? |
? |
? |
North Carolina |
Stephen Wolf |
Did Gerrymandering Cost Dems the NC Senate? A Fair Map Suggests Not in 2012, But Likely Will in 2014 |
2013 |
North Carolina |
Stephen Wolf |
A Comprehensive Look at the NC State Legislature Elections and the 2014 Landscape Part 2: The House |
2013 |
North Carolina |
Stephen Wolf |
A Comprehensive Look at the NC State Legislature Elections and the 2014 Landscape Part 1: The Senate |
2013 |
North Carolina |
possumtracker |
Analysis of New NC State Senate Districts |
2011 |
North Carolina |
roguemapper |
roguemapper Comment |
2011 |
North Carolina |
roguemapper |
The New North Carolina Political Landscape - Updated |
2011 |
North Dakota |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Nevada, North Dakota, and Virginia |
2014 |
Ohio |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive state legislative maps of Ohio, New Hampshire and Wyoming |
2014 |
Ohio |
js18 |
Post-Primary Ohio Race Ratings Update |
2014 |
Ohio |
js18 |
2014 Ohio Primary Quick Guide |
2014 |
Ohio |
js18 |
2014 Ohio General Assembly Races |
2014 |
Ohio |
js18 |
2014 Ohio State Senate Races |
2014 |
Oklahoma |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Illinois and Oklahoma |
2014 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
Oregon State Senate Races Post Labor Day |
2014 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
Oregon State House Races to Watch |
2014 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
2014 Oregon Senate Elections |
2014 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
State of Oregon Elections: One Month Out |
2012 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
State of Oregon's elections, pre-Labor Day Update |
2012 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
2012 State of Oregon Elections: the Legislature |
2012 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
Oregon's Next Legislature (Image Heavy) |
2011 |
Oregon |
James Allen |
Oregon elections liveblog |
2012 |
Pennsylvania |
Jeff Singer |
Can Democrats flip the Pennsylvania Senate? A look at the 2014 playing field, with maps and new data |
2014 |
Rhode Island |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive state legislative maps for MI, RI, MN, and SD |
2014 |
South Carolina |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps for Georgia and South Carolina |
2014 |
South Carolina |
SCDem4 |
Complete Guide to South Carolina Races in 2014 |
2014 |
South Dakota |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive state legislative maps for MI, RI, MN, and SD |
2014 |
Tennessee |
? |
? |
? |
Texas |
Stephen Wolf |
Daily Kos Elections releases new interactive legislative maps for Texas and Alaska |
2014 |
Texas |
KingofSpades |
Texas State Senate Interim Map (Updated with proposed changes) |
2011 |
Texas |
wwmiv |
Texas House Interim Map: 2008 and 2010 |
2011 |
Texas |
TDDVandy |
So, just what happened in Texas last night? |
2012 |
Utah |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative district maps for Florida and Utah |
2014 |
Vermont |
Jeff Singer |
A look at the Arkansas and Vermont legislatures, with interactive maps and new election data |
2014 |
Virginia |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Nevada, North Dakota, and Virginia |
2014 |
Virginia |
pistolSO |
A look at the 2013 Virginia House of Delegates Elections. |
2013 |
Washington |
Jeff Singer |
What Washington's top-two primary will tell us about the Democratic chances to flip the state Senate |
2014 |
Washington |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Washington, New Mexico, and New Jersey |
2014 |
West Virginia |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and West Virginia |
2014 |
Wisconsin |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and West Virginia |
2014 |
Wisconsin |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive legislative maps of Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and West Virginia |
2014 |
Wisconsin |
WisJohn |
2014 Wisconsin Senate Races 2.0: October Ratings.
|
Wisconsin |
WisJohn |
2014 Wisconsin Senate Races
|
2014 |
Wisconsin |
BlueSasha |
11 Seats to Flip: Taking Back the Wisconsin State Assembly |
2014 |
Wisconsin |
BlueSasha |
Three Seats to Flip: Taking back the Wisconsin State Senate |
2014 |
Wisconsin |
BlueSasha |
Wisconsin State Assembly Elections (2/3) |
2013 |
Wisconsin |
BlueSasha |
2014 Wisconsin State Assembly Elections (1/3) |
2013 |
Wisconsin |
CentralWIGuy |
WI Assembly, Nov. 2012 Election |
2012 |
Wisconsin |
CentralWIGuy |
WI Assembly Election, 2012 |
2012 |
Wyoming |
Stephen Wolf |
New Daily Kos Elections interactive state legislative maps of Ohio, New Hampshire and Wyoming |
2014 |
Wyoming |
? |
? |
? |
There are a few States with no DKE data yet in the table below, and also no diaries on them.
The States with no DKE Data Yet
State |
DK User |
Diary Subject/Name |
Alabama |
? |
? |
Maryland |
? |
? |
? |
Mississsippi |
? |
? |
Spotlight on Key State Legislature Seats
In this modern day gerrymandered world sometimes it is a bit of waste writing about the whole legislature... When there are sometimes only a few competitive seats. Here are a collection of the spotlighted races. The Xenocrypt diaries are excellent for understanding Arizona or as a good guide to reviewing a key legislative seat. Sometimes of course there is an especially interesting special election or a recall (eg. the Wisconsin Recalls, or the removal of the especially odious then AZ Senate President Russell Pearce). But at this stage I haven't bothered too much to find these ones.
Miscellaneous (2012 Diaries)
Good Resources for State Legislature Diaries - DKE User Diaries
DKE Dictionaries
Miscellaneous (2012-2014 Diaries)
Diary Name |
DK User |
Diary Subject |
California State Legislature district PVIs (with a crowdsourcing ask) |
kurykh |
This diary attempts to kickstart a mission on obtaining the 2012 PVIs for the California State Legislature. |
Oregon Political Geography and Redistricting 101 |
James Allen |
This diary is a resource that aims to help people with any Oregon related redistricting diaries. |
Handicapping Minnesota For 2012 County by County--Obama Counties |
Mark27 |
A look at the election results and predictions for the 2012 elections for Minnesota's counties. |
Handicapping Minnesota for 2012 County by County--Romney Counties |
Mark27 |
A look at the election results and predictions for the 2012 elections for Minnesota's counties. |
2012 Minnesota Predictions: How Did I Do? |
Mark27 |
A look at how well Mark27 went in his predictions for the 2012 elections for Minnesota's counties. |
Oregon Political Geography 303: Mid Willamette Valley |
James Allen |
A look at Yamhill, Polk and Marion Counties, Oregon |
Oregon Political Geography 302: Portland |
James Allen |
A look at Portland |
Oregon Political Geography 301: The Suburbs |
James Allen |
A look at the suburbs east of Portland in Multnomah County, and the suburbs in Washington and Clackamas counties. |
Oregon Political Geography: Demographics & Turnout |
James Allen |
A look at whether the more heavily Hispanic areas in Oregon have trouble with turnout. |
Political Geography of Maine, Part 6: Northern and Northeastern Maine |
ProudNewEnglander |
A look at Piscataquis, Penobscot, and Aroostook Counties, Maine |
Political Geography of Maine, Part 5: Northwestern Maine |
ProudNewEnglander |
A look at Oxford, Franklin, and Somerset Counties, Maine |
Political Geography of Maine, Part 4: Down East Maine |
ProudNewEnglander |
A look at Hancock and Washington Counties, Maine |
Political Geography of Maine, Part 3 (Central Maine) |
ProudNewEnglander |
A look at Androscoggin and Kennebec Counties, Maine |
Political Geography of Maine, Part 2 (Mid-Coast Maine) |
ProudNewEnglander |
A look at Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo Counties, Maine |
Political Geography of Maine, Part 1 (Southwest Maine) |
ProudNewEnglander |
A look at York and Cumberland Counties, Maine |
The Bay State's Political Regions- Breaking Down Massachusetts' 2012 US Senate Election Results |
IllinoyedR |
A really good review of how Massachusetts various political regions voted in 2012 |
Still Think This is a Democracy? Dems Won the Popular Vote in 13 State Legislatures, GOP Kept Power |
Stephen Wolf |
An amazing resource reinforcing the States where gerrymandering was either soley or partly responsible for Republicans maintaining control. |
Virginia Statewide Election Guide |
Alibguy |
Comprehensive look at the regions of Virginia to determine what numbers the Statewide Dems need to hit in each region to win. |
Who Controls the County Commissions in Florida |
bluedemocrat |
Awesome diary showing which County Commissions are Democrat controlled |
? |
? |
? |
There was also a few other crackers that might be useful, and are certainly both educational and entertaining:
The Palm Beach Puzzle: How did a diversifying urban county trend Republican? by Xenocrypt,
The Eastside's Political Geography: Tracing Eastern Suburban Seattle's Political History by IllinoyedR,
21st Century Orange County: A Walk-Through by jncca.