Single-party rule growing among U.S. states
Control no guarantee of getting things done
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Democrats have hit the political trifecta in New Jersey and Washington state, seizing complete control of the governor’s office and legislative chambers in the 2017 elections.
In a decade that has seen a resurgence of American political polarization, two-thirds of all state governments now will be fully controlled by either Democrats or Republicans. That rivals the predominant levels of single-party governance last seen in the post-world War II era.
Yet recent experience has shown that new Republican or Democratic majorities still can splinter among factions of moderates and hard-core ideologues. Even when a party bands together for bold initiatives, the results can be mixed.
Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington already appears to be lowering partisan expectations as he prepares to work with a new Democratic-led Senate and House that will have majorities of just a few seats.
“With very closely held margins like this, neither party controls the Legislature,” Inslee told The Associated Press in a phone interview while on a trade trip to Zurich, Switzerland. He added: “I’m hopeful more bipartisan votes will occur.”
New Jersey might be positioned for a somewhat more aggressive Democratic agenda.
Newly elected Democratic Gov.
Phil Murphy will be paired with a legislature that is roughly two-thirds Democrats and had been at odds with Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican forced out of office by term limits. The first bill the Senate president wants to send to Murphy would boost taxes on high-earners, something Christie vetoed five times. Murphy also has expressed support for legalizing recreational marijuana, which Christie also opposed.
Just five states — Alaska, Colorado, Maine, New York and potentially Virginia, depending on the outcome of several too-close-to-call House races — could have functional control of their legislative chambers split among the two major parties. That’s slightly less than the historic norm, according to an AP analysis of data dating to 1900 provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Republicans have used their state majorities to cut taxes, limit union powers and expand school-choice initiatives.
This year, three states with new Republican governing trifectas made a strong push to enact right-to-work laws barring mandatory union fees in workplace contracts.
In New Hampshire, the right-towork bill passed the Senate but failed in the House as 32 of 223 Republican representatives bucked the new governor on an issue that had been part of the GOP platform. Not only did the House kill the bill, it moved to “indefinitely postpone” it, meaning no similar bills can be debated for the remainder of the two-year session.
In Kansas, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback enacted major income tax cuts in 2012 and 2013 that were touted as an economic model for conservatives. But Kansas struggled to balance its budget as tax revenue fell and promised economic gains failed to make up the difference.
The Gop-controlled Legislature reversed course earlier this year, overriding Brownback’s veto to raise income taxes by $1.2 billion over two years. Brownback has since resigned to accept a job in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Democrats also have had problems managing majorities. In 2006, the first year in office for former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, state government shut down amid a budget standoff between him and the Democratic-led Legislature.