Most influential politicians? State legislators

Posted at 3:05 PM on April 18, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Most peoples' lives are affected by state lawmakers long before they're affected by the elected national representatives who get the bulk of the coverage.

Political reporters, understandably, are enamored with the presidential aspirations of Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty. And analysts spend hours dissecting every move in Congress, where the hallmark is usually inaction.

But if there's one thing that's clear in advance of the 2012 elections, it's this: The nation is pulled along by the elections that get almost no coverage from local media -- legislative races.

Minnesota, for example, has 201 members in 67 legislative districts. It's too many races to cover, so most news organizations don't bother. They should.

The Associated Press carries a story today that shows why it's a news problem worth solving: Most peoples' lives are affected by state lawmakers long before they're affected by the elected national representatives who do get the bulk of the coverage.

Minnesota wasn't included in the AP's roundup of how state lawmakers are pulling the country to the right, but it easily could have been.

Their successes, spurred by big election gains in November, go well beyond the spending cuts forced on states by the fiscal crunch and tea party agitation. Republican governors and state legislators are bringing abortion restrictions into effect from Virginia to Arizona, expanding gun rights north and south, pushing polling-station photo ID laws that are anathema to Democrats and taking on public sector unions anywhere they can.

All this as the thinned ranks of Democrats find themselves outmaneuvered in statehouses where they once put up a fight. In many states, they are unable to do much except hope that voters will see these actions as an overreach by the Republicans they elected - an accidental revolution to be reversed down the road.

Of course, it's easy to see why the congressional candidates get all the coverage. Their campaigns usually start a few weeks after their election. State legislators usually don't actively begin their campaigns until just a few months before the election.

But given their new prominence, it might be time for a fresh look at how to cover their races.

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Comments (3)

Conservatives in state government may be pulling our laws to the right, but it remains to be seen if this is really where the COUNTRY want to go. Let's see what the map looks like after the Nov. 2012 elections. You may be right (er, correct).

Posted by Bob Moffitt | April 18, 2011 3:27 PM

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There are 67 Senate districts, but 134 House districts - two within each Senate district.

Posted by Kevin Watterson | April 19, 2011 9:25 AM

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"The nation is pulled along by the elections that get almost no coverage from local media -- legislative races."

And its a tough nut to crack. Legislative races don't sell papers, so the biggies don't bother covering them - and there are too many to cover anyway. I do see some coverage in the neighborhood level weeklies, but those are hit and miss for coverate; and sometimes hyper-partisan (Southside Pride, anyone?).

If they'd dedicate resources to the subject, the patch.com affiliates or other online local media might find room to cover these races - or at least ID the candidates for readers.

Posted by bsimon | April 19, 2011 12:31 PM

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