Although most of the country is focused on the Presidential election, there are other races at the state level garnering attention. In 2010 state legislatures saw a huge shift in Republicans’ favor, causing several state legislative chambers to narrowly switch control for the first time in decades. Additionally, redistricting has set up several states to either maintain or lose that control this election cycle.
The Colorado General Assembly is a state government where legislative control of both chambers is extremely competitive this year. Currently the Colorado House is closely controlled by Republicans 33 to 32 and the Colorado Senate is controlled by Democrats 20 to 15.
Control of these chambers is going to come down to just a handful of races and will be a good indicator of how the electorate is feeling at the local level. Many of the large gains by Republican legislators in 2010 were won in seats that were traditionally held by Democrats. As a result, the high number of Republican legislators, vulnerable incumbents due to redistricting and the term limit rule Colorado enforces, means there could be a high amount of turnover in both chambers. For an in depth look at the dozen or so races that will determine control of the Colorado General Assembly, click here.