How a Strategy of Targeting State Legislative Races in 2010

Led to a Republican U.S. House Majority in 2013

On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States by nearly a three-point margin, winning 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney’s 206 while garnering nearly 3.5 million more votes.  Democrats also celebrated victories in 69 percent of U.S. Senate elections, winning 23 of 33 contests. Farther down-ballot, aggregated numbers show voters pulled the lever for Republicans only 49 percent of the time in congressional races, suggesting that 2012 could have been a repeat of 2008, when voters gave control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to Democrats.

But, as we see today, that was not the case.  Instead, Republicans enjoy a 33-seat margin in the U.S. House seated yesterday in the 113th Congress, having endured Democratic successes atop the ticket and over one million more votes cast for Democratic House candidates than Republicans. The only analogous election in recent political history in which this aberration has taken place was immediately after reapportionment in 1972, when Democrats held a 50 seat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives while losing the presidency and the popular congressional vote by 2.6 million votes.

To be sure, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) built on its strong recruitment and successful strategy that gave them a Republican majority in 2010 by going on offense over Democratic cuts to Medicare and by linking their Democratic opponents to President Obama’s most unpopular policy proposals.

However, all components of a successful congressional race, including recruitment, message development and resource allocation, rest on the congressional district lines, and this was an area where Republicans had an unquestioned advantage.

Today, nearly two months after Election Day, and one day after the 113th United States Congress took the Oath of Office on Capitol Hill, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) is releasing this review of its strategy and execution of its efforts in the 2010 election cycle to erect a Republican firewall through the redistricting process that paved the way to Republicans retaining a U.S. House majority in 2012.

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2010 State Elections: REDMAP’s Execution

As the 2010 Census approached, the RSLC began planning for the subsequent election cycle, formulating a strategy to keep or win Republican control of state legislatures with the largest impact on congressional redistricting as a result of reapportionment. That effort, the REDistricting MAjority Project (REDMAP), focused critical resources on legislative chambers in states projected to gain or lose congressional seats in 2011 based on Census data.

The rationale was straightforward:  Controlling the redistricting process in these states would have the greatest impact on determining how both state legislative and congressional district boundaries would be drawn.  Drawing new district lines in states with the most redistricting activity presented the opportunity to solidify conservative policymaking at the state level and maintain a Republican stronghold in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade.

To fund the initiative, the RSLC raised more than $30 million in 2009-2010, and invested $18 million after Labor Day 2010 alone. Specifically, the RSLC:

• Spent $1.4 million targeting four New York State Senate seats, winning two and control of the New York State Senate. (-2 Congressional seats).
• Spent nearly $1 million in Pennsylvania House races, targeting and winning three of the toughest races in the state. (-1 Congressional seat).
• Spent nearly $1 million in Ohio House races, targeting six seats, five of which were won by Republicans. Notably, President Obama carried five of these six legislative districts in 2008. (-2 Congressional seats).
• Spent $1 million in Michigan working with the Michigan House Republican Campaign Committee and Michigan Republican Party to pick up 20 seats. (-1 Congressional seat).
• Spent $750,000 in Texas as part of an effort that resulted in 22 House pick-ups. (+4 Congressional seats).
• Spent $1.1 million in Wisconsin to take control of the Senate and Assembly.
• Committed resources to Colorado (more than $550,000) and North Carolina (more than $1.2 million).
• The RSLC also invested more than $3 million across a number of other states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington. (Five of these eleven states gained or lost Congressional seats).

Election Day 2010 proved to be a “wave” election nationally, in both REDMAP targeted states and others across the country.  Prior to Election Day 2010, Democrats controlled 60 state legislative chambers to the Republicans’ 36.  After the 2010 elections, Democrats controlled 40 chambers, Republicans controlled 55 chambers, and two remained tied.  In all, Republicans took control of 21 legislative bodies and moved one from Democratic control to being evenly divided. After Election Day 2010, Republicans held majorities in both legislative chambers in 25 states – and, in most cases, control of redistricting – up from 14.  The result can clearly be seen in the following chart showing partisan control over redistricting from 1980 to 2010:

* Source: Republican National Committee, December 2, 2010

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2012 Congressional Elections: REDMAP’s Impact

President Obama won reelection in 2012 by nearly 3 points nationally, and banked 126 more electoral votes than Governor Mitt Romney.  Democratic candidates for the U.S. House won 1.1 million more votes than their Republican opponents.  But the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is a Republican and presides over a 33-seat House Republican majority during the 113th Congress.  How?  One needs to look no farther than four states that voted Democratic on a statewide level in 2012, yet elected a strong Republican delegation to represent them in Congress: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Michigan

The effectiveness of REDMAP is perhaps most clear in the state of Michigan.  In 2010, the RSLC put $1 million into state legislative races, contributing to a GOP pick-up of 20 seats in the House and Republican majorities in both the House and Senate.  Republican Rick Snyder won the gubernatorial race, and with it Republicans gained control of redrawing Michigan’s 148 legislative and 14 congressional districts.  The 2012 election was a huge success for Democrats at the statewide level in Michigan: voters elected a Democratic U.S. Senator by more than 20 points and reelected President Obama by almost 10 points. But Republicans at the state level maintained majorities in both chambers of the legislature and voters elected a 9-5 Republican majority to represent them in Congress.

Ohio

Ohio once again proved to be the national bellwether, voting to reelect President Obama to a second term in the White House by almost two points.  On the statewide level, Ohioans also elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate by more than five points.  But the Republican firewall at the state legislative and congressional level held.  In 2010, REDMAP allocated nearly $1 million to Ohio House races, resulting in a Republican take over of the House and increasing the GOP majority in the Senate.  With the election of Republican John Kasich to the governor’s mansion, the GOP controlled the redrawing of 132 state legislative and 16 congressional districts.  Republican redistricting resulted in a net gain for the GOP state House caucus in 2012, and allowed a 12-4 Republican majority to return to the U.S. House of Representatives – despite voters casting only 52 percent of their vote for Republican congressional candidates.

Pennsylvania

A REDMAP target state, the RSLC spent nearly $1 million in Pennsylvania House races in 2010 – an expenditure that helped provide the GOP with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.  Combined with former Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett’s victory in the gubernatorial race, Republicans took control of the state legislative and congressional redistricting process.  The impact of this investment at the state level in 2010 is evident when examining the results of the 2012 election: Pennsylvanians reelected a Democratic U.S. Senator by nearly nine points and reelected President Obama by more than five points, but at the same time they added to the Republican ranks in the State House and returned a 13-5 Republican majority to the U.S. House.

Wisconsin

In 2010, the RSLC spent $1.1 million to successfully flip both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature. With the election of Republican Governor Scott Walker, the GOP gained control of the redistricting process and gave Wisconsinites and all of America a firsthand look at what bold conservative leadership looks like.  In mid-2012, Democrats were able to regain control of the Wisconsin Senate, albeit for a period of time when the chamber was out of session. In November 2012, however, running on lines redrawn after the successes of 2010, Republicans were able to retake the Senate and add to their margins in the House.  On a statewide level, in 2012, Wisconsin voters elected a Democratic U.S. Senator by nearly six points and reelected President Obama by nearly seven points, but still returned a 5-3 Republican majority to Congress, including the GOP vice presidential nominee, Representative Paul Ryan.

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Conclusion

After REDMAP’s success on Election Day 2010, Republicans held majorities in 10 of the 15 states that gained or lost U.S. House seats and where the legislature played a role in redrawing the state legislative and congressional district map.  In the 70 congressional districts that were labeled by National Public Radio as “competitive” in 2010, Republicans controlled the redrawing of at least 47 of those districts; Democrats were responsible for 15, and a non-partisan process determined eight.

REDMAP’s effect on the 2012 election is plain when analyzing the results: Pennsylvanians cast 83,000 more votes for Democratic U.S. House candidates than their Republican opponents, but elected a 13-5 Republican majority to represent them in Washington; Michiganders cast over 240,000 more votes for Democratic congressional candidates than Republicans, but still elected a 9-5 Republican delegation to Congress.  Nationwide, Republicans won 54 percent of the U.S. House seats, along with 58 of 99 state legislative chambers, while winning only 8 of 33 U.S. Senate races and carrying only 47.8 percent of the national presidential vote.

State elections can have a big impact on a political party’s performance in future federal elections, not only by building a strong “bench” and strengthening party infrastructure, but also through the decennial redistricting process.  As the largest caucus of Republican state-level officeholders, the RSLC understands the importance of this.  The REDMAP effort implemented during the 2010 election cycle focused resources on critical state-level races in states projected to gain or lose congressional seats in reapportionment, and realized enormous success on Election Day in 2010.  The RSLC’s vision and foresight in undertaking such an effort was further validated in 2012 by remarkable Republican success in down-ballot races, thereby allowing a Republican House of Representatives to return to Washington as an important check and balance of power in our nation’s capital.

Introduction | Shortly after the 2008 elections, the RSLC began planning for the 2010 election cycle, formulating a strategy to keep or win Republican control of state legislatures with the largest impact on Congressional redistricting. That plan, which was labeled the REDistricting MAjority Project (REDMAP) focused resources on states projected to gain or lose Congressional seats in 2011 based on the most recent Census data.

The Landscape | The 2010 state legislative elections were a referendum on the Democrat approach to the economy and government spending at all levels. In state after state, Democrat Governors and Legislatures responded to the economic crisis by increasing taxes and failing to cut spending, mirroring the approach so aggressively pursued by President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats.

In numerous legislative districts won by President Barack Obama in 2008, voters shifted away from the Democratic incumbents, preferring a strong crop of fresh new Republican candidates.  In Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, for example, there were dozens of House Democrats who voted for larger state budgets and massive tax increases in the midst of a recession.  In each of those states, voters gave control of the House to Republicans.

Twenty legislative bodies which were previously split or under Democratic control are now under Republican control.  This includes key chambers where the RSLC devoted significant resources, including the Michigan House, New York Senate, Ohio House, Pennsylvania House and the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate.

The Execution | In total, the RSLC raised more than $30 million for the 2009-2010 cycle and invested $18 million after Labor Day, alone.  Specifically the RSLC:

1. Spent $1.4 million targeting four New York State Senate seats, winning two and control of the New York State Senate.
2. Spent nearly $1 million in Pennsylvania House races, targeting and winning three of the toughest races in the state (House Districts 39, 54, 130).
3. Spent nearly $1 million in Ohio House races, targeting six seats, five of which were won by Republicans. Notably, President Obama carried five of these six legislative districts in 2008.
4. Spent $1 million in Michigan working with the Michigan House Republican Campaign Committee and Michigan Republican Party to pick up 20 seats.
5. Spent $750,000 in Texas as part of an effort that resulted in 22 House pick-ups.
6. Spent $1.1 million in Wisconsin to take control of the Senate and Assembly, including spending nearly $500,000 to target Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker.  The RSLC was the only group to target Decker who was defeated soundly by Republican Pam Galloway.
7. Committed resources to Colorado (more than $550,000), North Carolina (more than $1.2 million), and Alabama ($1.5 million).
8. The RSLC also invested more than $3 million across a number of other states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Nevada, New Jersey and Oregon.

The Impact | Election Day 2010 proved to be an even bigger “wave” election, nationally, in addition to REDMAP targeted states. As a result, Republicans will take control of 20 legislative bodies and move one from Democratic control to being evenly divided.  Since Election Day, at least 20 Democrats have changed parties including several in Louisiana, making Republicans the majority party in the House.  There are now 25 states where Republicans hold majorities in both legislative chambers, up from 14.

Newly Republican Majorities

In comparison to past elections, Republicans had more success than either party has seen in modern history. Republicans gained nearly 700 seats on Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, outperforming the 628-seat Democratic gains in 1974, 472-seat Republican gains of 1994 and more than doubling the 322-seat Democratic gains of 2006.  Before Election Day 2010, Democrats controlled 60 state legislative chambers to the Republicans’ 36.  After the November 2nd elections, Democrats control 40 chambers, Republicans control 55 chambers, two remain tied and one (NE) is unicameral/non-partisan.

Impact on Congressional Redistricting| Due to the Election Day victories, Republicans hold majorities in 10 of the 15 states that will gain or lose U.S. House seats and where the legislature plays a role in redrawing the map.  In the 70 congressional districts that were labeled by National Public Radio as “competitive” in 2010, Republicans now control the redrawing of at least 47 of those districts; Democrats are responsible for 15 and a non-partisan process determines eight.  To put REDMAP’s achievements in historical perspective, the following chart* demonstrates the change in the redistricting situation over the last 30 years.

* Source: Republican National Committee, December 2, 2010

A bookstore owner from Yolo County, a retired engineer from Claremont, an insurance agent from San Gabriel and an attorney from Norco are among those who will determine how legislative districts are drawn as part of an experiment that promises to drastically change the state’s political landscape.

Until now, the boundaries of legislative and congressional districts were drawn every 10 years by state legislators in a process that critics said was often skewed for partisan advantage or to protect incumbents. Many officeholders have been able to skate from election to election without much in the way of serious competition.

But through a series of ballot measures, California voters have set the state on a radically different course with an unknown outcome. In 2008, voters gave the job of drawing legislative district lines to a new Citizens Redistricting Commission. This month, voters gave the commission additional powers, handing them authority over congressional districts. And Thursday, the first members of that new commission were picked by lottery.

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There’s no bigger development in 2011 that will affect the political landscape than the decennial process of redrawing the district boundaries for members of the House. In 22 states, it’s a process steeped in partisanship — with one party holding unilateral control of the process, thanks to majorities in the state legislature.

Go here to read the full list.

Nearly two weeks after the election, Republicans and Democrats remain locked in fight over three close races in the state Senate. The resulting legal wrangling promises to be both expensive — Senate Democrats already $2 million in debt for costly election season — and lengthy.

The stakes could hardly be higher: control of the Senate hangs in the balance, and to the majority party goes outsized influence over the once-a-decade process to redraw district lines in New York.

The process is heavy on politics. After the completion of the U.S. Census, lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate revise the intricate district maps that define their constituencies. In past redistricting efforts, lawmakers in control of the process have adopted artful, demographic-savvy strategies in a bid to create safe seats for incumbents and expand the reach of the majority party.

Read the full report here.

For months, Democratic strategists privately expressed concern that the party had the expertise and resources to stem the GOP tide in some federal races, but there wasn’t enough attention on races further down the ballot. Their nightmare came true on Tuesday.

The GOP picked up 19 chambers, giving it control of 56 out of 98 partisan legislative chambers in the country. More important, Republicans control both chambers in 26 states (up from 15 before the election), including some key redistricting states. In 20 of those states they also control the governorship.

“Of the 18 states that are going to gain or lose seats in reapportionment, Republicans now have majorities in 10 of those states,” said Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee, who predicted that the GOP could gain 15 to 25 House seats through redistricting.

Every state will redraw its congressional map, even if it doesn’t gain or lose a seat due to population growth or loss. In most states, the legislature is in charge of drawing the lines, and in 39 states it has the power to veto a new map or the authority to appoint a redistricting commission.

“If you are a political party, you never want to have a really bad election,” said veteran political handicapper Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report. “But if you’re gonna have one, you really don’t want to have it in a year that ends in a zero.”

Read the full story here.

ALEXANDRIA, VA – As outstanding results continue to come in from across the country, they continue to show that Republicans made history this week by surpassing Democrats’ gains in the post-Watergate 1974 election and more than doubling their 2006 gains.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “Republicans gained at least 680 seats on Tuesday” outperforming the 628-seat Democratic gains in 1974, the 472-seat Republican gains of 1994 and more than double the 322-seat Democratic gains of 2006.  In addition, the NCSL reports “Republicans now hold about 3,890, or 53 percent, of the total state legislative seats in America, the most seats in the GOP column since 1928.”

“As we analyze these results and the state legislative gains, it becomes very apparent that Democrats cannot expect to recover anytime soon from this wave that swept them from office.  This is not simply another cycle where some seats went back and forth and will soon move back the other way.  This election doubled the Democrats’ 2006 performance and the next round of redistricting is likely to further cement these results,” observed RSLC Chairman Ed Gillespie.

More than a year ago the RSLC begin planning for the 2010 election cycle, designing a strategy to maximize impact on Congressional redistricting. That plan called for focusing resources on states projected to gain or lose Congressional seats based on the most recent Census data. The RSLC devoted resources to these states and won complete victories in the Michigan House, Ohio House, Pennsylvania House and the Wisconsin House and Senate.  The New York Senate is still to be determined, but appears likely to be a Republican pick-up as well.

Specifically the RSLC:

1. Spent $1.4 million targeting four New York State Senate seats, winning two and potentially controlling the New York State Senate (GOP currently ahead in enough seats to gain control, but recounts are expected).
2. Spent nearly $1 million in Pennsylvania House races, targeting and winning three of the toughest races in the state (House Districts 39, 54, 130).
3. Spent nearly $1 million in Ohio House races, targeting six seats, five of which were won by Republicans. Additionally, five of these six legislative districts were carried by President Obama in 2008.
4. Spent $1 million in Michigan working with the Michigan House Republican Campaign Committee and Michigan Republican Party to pick up 20 seats in Michigan.
5. Spent $750,000 in Texas as part of an effort that resulted in 22 House pick-ups.
6. Spent $1.5 million in Wisconsin to take control of the Senate and Assembly, including spending $500,000 to target Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker.  The RSLC was the only group to target Decker who was defeated soundly by Republican Pam Galloway.
7. Committed resources to Colorado (over $550,000), North Carolina (over $1.2 million), and Alabama ($1.5 million).

The RSLC also invested more than $3 million across a number of other states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Nevada, New Jersey and Oregon.  In

total, the RSLC raised more than $30 million for the 2009-2010 cycle, spending $18 million after Labor Day alone.

About the RSLC
The RSLC is the largest caucus of Republican state leaders and the only national organization whose mission is to elect down ballot, state-level Republican office-holders.  Since 2002, the RSLC has been working to elect candidates for the office of attorney general, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and state legislator.  The RSLC has more than 100,000 donors in all 50 states. 

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In this dopey election season with the blowout governor’s race, we actually are witnessing something historic: the probable end of the competitive two-party political system in Tennessee.

This troubling development for democracy will come as a shock to many voters after next week’s elections. That’s because, in one of the worst political malpractices ever committed, no one is telling them about it.

Rather than talking about the need for choice in elections — and warning about the crazy stuff Republicans will do if given free rein — Tennessee Democrats stubbornly have stuck to their playbook of campaigns past (as dreadfully unsuccessful as it has been). That is, they have masqueraded as Republicans — not really Democrats at all, but God-fearing, Nancy Pelosi-hating good ol’ boys just like their opponents.

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When U.S. voters go to the polls next week, there’s a lot more at stake than just who controls Congress next year.

The outcome could also decide who holds power in the House of Representatives–and maybe even the White House–over the next decade.

The reason? Legislatures all across the nation will redraw the boundaries of congressional seats based on the 2010 Census, as required every 10 years by the U.S. Constitution. The party that wins more governor races and state legislatures will gain the upper hand in the remapping process.

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