# Why do Democrats control so few states governments

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [February 28, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649 "2013-02-28T17:59:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649/41 "2013-04-12T12:34:11Z")

</div>

> [@adaher](#):
>
> Gerrymandering can’t account for current Republican dominance in governors’ mansions.

Tru dat, but there’s (a) the fact that most governors come up for re-election in non-Presidential years, when the electorate tilts older and whiter (hence more Republican), and (b) 2010 specifically.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649/42 "2013-04-12T16:06:40Z")

</div>

Quite true. But I also think that voters reward good governance, which is why a normally blue city like New York hasn’t elected a Democrat in a good long while, and why Chris Christie looks like a lock for reelection in Jersey. And if Christie has a successful 2nd term, the GOP candidate that succeeds him will start with a leg up. It’s also why Arkansas and North Dakota vote Democrat more often in statewide races than in national races. The party has a good local brand.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649/43 "2013-04-12T16:13:30Z")

</div>

Similar with MO - a run of good Democratic governors and shitty GOP ones and you get a state that votes against its national trend pretty consistently for the Governor spot (and other state-wide offices, actually).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649/44 "2013-04-12T16:15:54Z")

</div>

Missouri Republicans suck. Lots of good Democrats though.

Florida, my own state, has a strong Republican Party, much stronger than it should be given Florida’s swing state status. We’ve had a Republican governor since 1998(although that’s likely to change in 2014, albeit with a former Republican governor beating Scott), and Republicans have controlled the legislature for geez, I don’t know, most of my adult life.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-democrats-control-so-few-states-governments/651649.md?page=2)