POLICY REPORTS/2004 State Election Wrap-Up

Governors

Only 11 Governors' seats were contested in this election.

Governors Elected in 2004: (incumbents in italics)

	Pro-choice (5)	Anti-choice (5)	Mixed (1)
	Ruth Ann Minner (D, DE) Brian Schweitzer (D, MT) John Lynch (D, NH) Mike Easley (D, NC) Christine Gregoire (D, WA)	Mitch Daniels (R, IN) Matt Blunt (R, MO) John Hoeven (R, ND) Jon Huntsman, Jr. (R, UT) Joe Manchin (D, WV)	Jim Douglas (R, VT)
Governors Already In Office:
	Pro-choice (16)	Anti-choice (17)	Mixed (5)
	Janet Napolitano (D, AZ) M. Jodi Rell (R, CT) Rod Blagojevich (D, IL) Thomas Vilsack (D, IA) Kathleen Sebelius (D, KS) John Baldacci (D, ME) Jennifer Granholm (D, MI) Bill Richardson (D, NM) George Pataki (R, NY) Brad Henry (D, OK) Ted Kulongoski (D, OR) Ed Rendell (D, PA) Phil Bredesen (D, TN) Mark Warner (D, VA) Jim Doyle (D, WI) Dave Freudenthal (D, WY)	Bob Riley (R, AL) Frank Murkowski (R, AK) Mike Huckabee (R, AR) Bill Owens (R, CO) Jeb Bush (R, FL) Sonny Perdue (R, GA) Dirk Kempthorne (R, ID) Ernie Fletcher (R, KY) Kathleen Blanco (D, LA) Tim Pawlenty (R, MN) Haley Barbour (R, MS) Mike Johanns (R, NE) Bob Taft (R, OH) Don Carcieri (R, RI) Mark Sanford (R, SC) Mike Rounds (R, SD) Rick Perry (R, TX)	Arnold Schwarzenegger (R, CA) Linda Lingle (R, HI) Bob Ehrlich (R, MD) Mitt Romney (R, MA) Kenny Guinn (R, NV)

Totals: 21 Pro-choice, 22 Anti-choice, 6 Mixed

No record on choice: Richard Codey (D, NJ)

Analysis

• Incumbents:
  • Pro-choice incumbents retained their positions in Delaware and North Carolina.
  • An anti-choice incumbent retained his position in North Dakota.
  • An incumbent who has a mixed record on choice won in Vermont.
• Changes:
  • 2 states replaced anti-choice governors with pro-choice governors: Montana and New Hampshire.
  • 3 states replaced pro-choice governors with anti-choice governors: Indiana, Missouri, and West Virginia.
  • Washington maintained a governor who is pro-choice.
  • Utah maintained a governor who is anti-choice.

State Legislatures

With almost 80% of state legislative seats up in the 2004 election, Democrats made small but important gains across the country. Before the election, the Democrats held the majority in both houses in (17) seventeen states, Republicans held the majority in both houses in (21) twenty-one states, and (11) eleven states were split. After the election, the Democrats held a majority in both houses in (19) nineteen states, Republicans held a majority in both houses in (20) twenty states, and (10) ten states were split.

Several states are worthy of note:

• Colorado: Democrats took both the Senate and the House from Republican majorities.
• Massachusetts: For the first time in history, a pro-choice majority was elected to the House of Representatives.
• North Carolina: Pro-choice Democrats took control of the House and maintained control of the Senate, and the pro-choice Governor was reelected, now making North Carolina a strongly pro-choice state.
• Oregon: Pro-choice Democrats took control of the Senate and added seats to their minority in the House.
• Washington: Democrats took the majority in the Senate and increased their majority in the House.
• Chart summary:
• In 29 States, the party control of the legislature and governor is split.
• Pre-election, the Republicans controlled 53 legislative chambers, and Democrats controlled 44 legislative chambers, with one chamber split evenly between them.
• Post-election, the Republicans controlled 49 legislative chambers, and Democrats controlled 47 legislative chambers, with 2 chambers split evenly between them.

Table of 2004 Election Results

		HOUSE PRE	HOUSE POST	SENATE PRE	SENATE POST	GOV	CONTROL	GAIN/ LOSS
	Alaska	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	Alabama	D	D	D	D	Anti	Split	NC
	Arkansas	D	D	D	D	Anti	Split	NC
	Arizona	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	California	D	D	D	D	Mix	Split	NC
	COLORADO	R	D	R	D	Anti	Split	+
	Connecticut	D	D	D	D	Pro	Split	NC
	Delaware	R	R	D	D	Pro*	Split	+
	Florida	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	GEORGIA	D	R	R	R	Anti	R	~
	Hawaii	D	D	D	D	Mix	Split	NC
	IOWA	R	R	R	Even	Pro	Split	+
	Idaho	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	Illinois	D	D	D	D	Pro	D	NC
	INDIANA	D	R	R	R	Anti*	R	~
	Kansas	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	Kentucky	D	D	R	R	Anti	Split	NC
	Louisiana	D	D	D	D	Anti	D	NC
	Massachusetts	D	D	D	D	Mix	Split	NC
	Maryland	D	D	D	D	Mix	Split	NC
	Maine	D	D	D	D	Pro	D	NC
	Michigan	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	Minnesota	R	R	D	D	Anti	Split	NC
	MISSOURI	R	R	R	R	Anti*	R	~
	Mississippi	D	D	D	D	Anti	Split	NC
	MONTANA	R	Even	R	D	Pro*	?	+
	NORTH CAROLINA	R	D	D	D	Pro*	D	+
	North Dakota	R	R	R	R	Anti*	R	~
	Nebraska	Non	Partisan			Anti		NC
	NEW HAMPSHIRE	R	R	R	R	Pro*	Split	+
	New Jersey	D	D	D	D	D	D	NC
	New Mexico	D	D	D	D	Pro	D	NC
	Nevada	D	D	R	R	Mix	Split	NC
	New York	D	D	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	Ohio	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	OKLAHOMA	D	R	D	D	Pro	Split	~
	OREGON	R	R	Even	D	Pro	Split	+
	Pennsylvania	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	Rhode Island	D	D	D	D	Anti	Split	NC
	South Carolina	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	South Dakota	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	TENNESSEE	D	D	D	R	Pro	Split	~
	Texas	R	R	R	R	Anti	R	NC
	Utah	R	R	R	R	Anti*	R	~
	Virginia	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	VERMONT	R	D	D	D	Mix*	Split	+
	WASHINGTON	D	D	R	D	Pro**	D	+
	Wisconsin	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
	West Virginia	D	D	D	D	Anti*	D	~
	Wyoming	R	R	R	R	Pro	Split	NC
		HOUSE PRE	HOUSE POST	SENATE PRE	SENATE POST	GOV	CONTROL	GAIN/ LOSS
	TOTALS	R=26	R=25	R=27	R=24	Anti=22	R=12	Loss=8
		D=23	D=23	D=21	D=24	Pro=21	D=7	Gain=9
			Even=1	Even=1	Even=1	Mix=6	Split =29	NC=33

* Governors Elected in 2004
** A lawsuit challenging the election results is expected.

Table Key

	D	Democratic majority
	R	Republican majority
	Even	Evenly split between D and R
	Pro	Pro-choice governor
	Anti	Anti-choice governor
	Mix	Governor is mixed on choice
	Control	Party holds a majority in legislature and governor's seat
	Split	One party does not control both the legislature and governor's seat
	Gain/Loss	Possible impact of party changes on choice issues
	( + )	Election changes may have a positive impact
	( ~ )	Election changes may have a negative impact
	NC	No change in leadership

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