State Senate battle ranked in top 10

By John Greiner

Published: August 17, 2006

This year's election battle for control of the Oklahoma Senate is one of the top-10 legislative election battlegrounds in the nation, the National Conference of State Legislatures said Wednesday.

"State legislatures are sort of where the action is on public policy," said Tim Storey, an elections expert with the organization.

State legislatures spend public money on issues that matter to people, including roads and health care, Storey said.

Democratic and Republican elections for control of state legislatures, including the Oklahoma Senate, were part of a news conference at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday.

Seats nearly equal
Of the nation's 7,384 total legislative seats, Democrats have just 21 more seats than Republicans, Storey said.

But 83 percent of those 7,384 seats are up for grabs in this year's elections, Storey said.

Shifts of three or fewer seats in 17 state senates will change control in this year's elections, Storey said.

Oklahoma is one of those states.

Democrats outnumber Republicans 26-22 in the Oklahoma Senate, but several Democrats are leaving this year, and some of their seats are in Republican areas.

In 2004, Republicans gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for only the second time in state history. They've never controlled the state Senate.

Michael Davies, executive director of the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said during the news conference there was good news for Democrats in legislative battles this year.

"As we look toward 2006 (elections), we feel there clearly is a much more favorable wind for Democrats at legislative levels," he said.

Control of state legislatures is critical, even several years down the road, because congressional and legislative redistricting will be affected by whoever controls the legislatures, he said.

Alex Johnson, spokesman for the national Republican State Leadership Committee, said it will be a challenging year for Republicans because elections in the mid-term of a presidency traditionally go against the president's party.

He said Republicans are prepared for the elections.

Johnson said candidates who focus on the issues will do well in legislative races.