The Base Of The Republican Wave

Bill Connelly looks at the composition of state legislatures:

[R]ecruiting is as important as redistricting in House races because candidate quality is critical. Since the New Deal, Democrats’ dominance in state legislatures provided them with impressive farm teams. In the 2010 midterm elections, however, Republicans gained over 680 new state legislative seats, significantly expanding their farm teams and shrinking Democrats’.

In related commentary, Weigel points out that reapportionment likely means Obama will earn six fewer electoral votes should he win the exact same states in 2012 as 2008.