republican legislators in kentucky<u+00a0>on tuesday<u+00a0>gained control of the state house for the first time in nearly a century, part of a string of successes for state-level republicans in the nationwide elections. the kentucky win caps the gop<u+2019>s decades-long march across the once-democratic south. republicans also defended their majorities in most state legislative chambers across the country and surprised many pollsters by picking up control in several states thought to be safely democratic. republicans also picked up majorities in the iowa and minnesota senate chambers, and the state senate breakdown<u+00a0>in the normally blue state of connecticut is currently tied. <u+201c>republicans certainly bested expectations,<u+201d> said dan diorio, a policy specialist at the national conference of state legislatures. <u+201c>we expected democrats to pick up chambers and pick up seats. instead, it looks like democrats will actually lose seats.<u+201d> the average annual number of chamber flips between parties is around 12, according to mr. diorio, and this year saw only around eight. but the results surprised many analysts and mirrored the unexpected success that president-elect donald trump had in several typically democratic pockets across the country. the current count of state legislative chambers stands at 66 for republicans and 30 for democrats, plus the tied state senate in connecticut, and a yet-to-be-resolved state senate race in new york. (nebraska has a single-chamber legislature, which is nonpartisan.) republicans in new york claimed they had won control of the state senate there, but state democrats are challenging some results. before<u+00a0>tuesday, the count was 67 chambers for republicans and 31 for democrats. <u+201c>the general expectation maybe from the pundits and democrats had the expectation of [republicans losing] anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen chambers. certainly we were prepared to be on defense,<u+201d> said matt walter, the president of the national republican state leadership committee. <u+201c>but through a combination of very strong recruiting of the right candidates in the right districts, and the right operations in competitive districts, we managed to outperform even the rosiest of projections.<u+201d> kentucky republicans<u+00a0>had long sought to flip control of the state house, the last remaining democratic-controlled legislative chamber in the south.<u+00a0>on tuesday, they achieved that with an overwhelming victory that boosted their numbers in the house to 64, from 47 members, out of 100. <u+201c>the size of the swing toward the gop was greater than even the more hopeful republicans anticipated,<u+201d> said d. stephen voss, a political-science professor at the university of kentucky. <u+201c>this is clearly part of broader national trends,<u+201d> including the movement of coal country and appalachia toward the gop. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s always been my goal<u+2026>for the republicans to be the majority,<u+201d> said gop rep. jeff hoover, who is expected to become the new house speaker. <u+201c>our focus is on making kentucky<u+2026>a state that is more attractive to companies wanting to locate here<u+201d> and to expand existing operations. republican leaders in the state have sought to pass right-to-work legislation that would weaken unions, but the democrats in the house succeeded in halting it. mr. voss said that other measures the gop might pursue include a charter-school bill and efforts to defund planned parenthood. among the wins for democrats was the new mexico state house, which flipped from republican control, and both houses in nevada, which flipped back from republican control.<u+00a0>democrats also expanded their majorities in the california assembly, the washington house, and the new mexico senate.<u+00a0>one of the few positive surprises for democrats was the alaska house of representatives, which is now under democratic control for the first time since 1993. jessica post, the executive director of the democratic legislative campaign committee, called it a <u+201c>challenging election night.<u+201d> <u+201c>our nation<u+2019>s forward progress depends on thwarting the ultraconservative agenda pushed by gop lawmakers across the country,<u+201d> ms. post said. write to will connors at william.connors@wsj.com and arian campo-flores at arian.campo-flores@wsj.com
gop sees gains in state legislatures  - wsj
will connors arian campo-flores