Previous posts have examined
polarization in the states. Craig Gilbert writes at the
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Recent elections have produced an explosion in the number of states (like Wisconsin) where the same party controls the governor’s office and both legislative chambers.
States with one-party rule have soared from 19 a decade ago to 37 today.
The number of states with divided government — 12 — is at its lowest level in 60 years:
Only three states have divided legislatures (where different parties control the two houses) — the lowest number since the 1940s.
Half the states now have veto-proof legislative majorities for one side.
This is a striking new landscape in state politics. It stands in sharp contrast to a national government often paralyzed by the division of power. And it coincides with a burst of ambitious, partisan policy-making in which red and blue states are governing in increasingly divergent and often controversial ways.
