Earlier this year, Democrats won a major victory in the 37th State Senate District of Virginia when Dave Marsden defeated Republican Steve Hunt. The seat was left open when Republican Ken Cuccinelli was elected Attorney General in the fall.

Heading into Election Day, most observers were predicting a Republican victory. Instead the seat became the first legislative district in the country to change hands in 2010. Democrats, led by Majority Leader Richard Saslaw -- a DLCC Board Member -- clearly ran a great campaign, particularly in terms of field.

But an innovative tactic employed by the Democratic Caucus may have also been a factor -- in the days before the election, the district was saturated with Internet advertising:

The caucus spent $15,000 on a brief Web ad campaign, a significant expense considering it was targeted to a small region and ran for only about a week leading before election day on January 12. [Marsden Campaign Manager Mark] Henson suggested the ads helped Marsden eke out the win. "Online advertising contributed to that perfect storm that let us pull off this upset," he said, also stressing the importance of all campaign components. Henson said, "I'm definitely more likely now to dedicate more resources toward online advertising."

Majority Leader Saslaw was a key advocate for employing the online ads, pushing the Caucus to pay for the spending as a in-kind contribution to the campaign. In total, the $15,000 buy generated almost 8 million Web impressions.

The Republican Party has begun targeting three strongly Democratic states with fake letters purporting to be official Census documents. The letters seem designed to create confusion, which could cost Democrats congressional seats and electoral votes in all three states:

It's arriving this week in mailboxes in Minnesota, New York and Washington state. At first glance, it might appear to be related to the upcoming once-a-decade count of every man, woman and child in the United States.

It's not. It's a Republican fundraiser and opinion poll.

And it has some local Democrats crying foul. They're calling for a federal investigation.

"This is as egregious as it gets," said Luz Maria Frias, director of St. Paul's Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity and the city's point person for raising awareness of the federal 2010 U.S. census.

The letters are likely to heighten confusion and even suspicion when residents receive legitimate Census questionnaires later this year. This, in turn, could decrease overall Census participation in these three states, all of which could be considered “on the bubble” to gain or lose additional congressional seats after reapportionment.

Local officials in these states are right to demand an investigation. Even if the Republican scheme fails to reduce these states’ congressional clout and electoral votes, any reduction in Census participation could cost local taxpayers millions of dollars in federal money.

Oklahoma Republicans have some funny opinions about marriage: they want to make it as difficult as possible to get in, but once you’re in, they’ll never let you leave. That’s the most reasonable take, anyway, on a Republican-sponsored divorce ban in the Oklahoma State House:

[Rep. Mark] McCullough, R-Sapulpa, wants all marriage license applicants to receive at least eight hours of counseling. He also proposes counseling for parents of minor children before divorcing.

[Rep. Sally] Kern, R-Oklahoma City, is proposing to bar divorces on grounds of incompatibility for couples married 10 years or more, that have minor children, or if one or the other party objects.

Kern’s bill is especially bizarre, but it follows a long line of homophobic statements by Rep. Kern, including her declaration that homosexuality is “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism.” So this is probably just misguided pushback against successes by the marriage equality movement in other states this year.

Equality supporters have a basic argument that two people who love each other should have the right to be married. But there’s also a pretty compelling corollary that says two people who do not love each other should have the right to divorce.

Sally Kern and her Republican allies obviously don’t believe either of these arguments. So maybe a better, simpler principle is that government should not meddle in people’s personal lives.

That’s something people of all political stripes should be able to get behind.

Though Census Day is nearly two months away, in Alaska, the count has already started. On Monday, World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, an 88-year old resident of Noorvik, became the first citizen registered in the 2010 Census.

While the rest of the country must wait until April 1, the complexities involved with conducting a census in Alaska force officials to begin with the state:

The largest state in the union stretches across 586,000 square miles. That's more than twice the size of Texas, the biggest state in the Lower 48. Yet Alaska has one of the nation's smallest populations at less than 700,000.

More than 260,000 live in Anchorage, the state's largest city. About 13% of residents are American Indian and Alaska Native, and almost half of Alaskans live in rural areas. Many live in villages so remote they are not connected to roads and receive mail through a post office box.

Mailing the Census forms to these far-off places won't work because the Census must count people where they live, not where they pick up their mail. If the questionnaires can't be delivered to a street address, Census takers bring the forms in person.

In Noorvik, the Census is a cause for celebration, and the count was ushered in with traditional dancing by local residents.

With Congress seemingly stuck on the question of how best to advance health care reform, state lawmakers are done waiting to take up their own initiatives. One major overhaul is under consideration in California.

The bill, introduced by State Sen. Mark Leno, would -- among other things -- create a single payer system:

Christine Kehoe, a San Diego Democrat and the chairwoman of the State Senate appropriations committee, which revived Mr. Leno’s bill, said the costs to the state would be $1 million in the next fiscal year because the bill would only initially create a commission to find ways to pay for expanded health care.

And while Ms. Kehoe said a single-payer system could cost “tens of billions a year,” she added that the state was already paying significant amounts for other publicly financed health care programs. She said Mr. Leno’s bill — which would also expand eligibility for Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program — would eventually result in the state saving money.

“The cost of health care insurance in California is a major hindrance to our economy,” said Ms. Kehoe, citing large numbers of uninsured and people paying high rates. “If we could begin to trim some of those costs, there would be billions of dollars going into the economy for more productive use.”

California Democrats have twice before passed bills to create a single-payer system in the state, only to see them vetoed by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the importance of a single-payer win in California cannot be overstated.

Independently, California would have the 9th-largest economy in the world, and it contributes 13 percent of the United States’ gross domestic product. Adding California to the ranks of the single-payer health care systems would add enormous momentum to the national health reform push, and it would make other, more moderate reforms (like a robust public option) politically viable across the country.

So for anyone still doubting the power of state legislative politics, watch what happens if California passes this bill.

Late last week, Tennessee lawmakers passed a major bill aimed at improving graduation rates in the state's public colleges and universities:

One central provision calls for state funding of colleges and universities to be based on the number of students who graduate, not just the number enrolled. Most legislators hailed the "outcome-based" funding plan as a means of focusing attention on getting students to complete their degrees.

The bill also mandates that course credits be readily transferred between state colleges and universities, assures that graduates of two-year community colleges will be accepted at four-year institutions, and eliminates remedial education classes at four-year schools.

Senate Democratic Leader Jim Kyle, who sponsored the bill in the upper chamber, told reporters that the legislation would "take higher education to a higher level."

The bill passed the Senate unanimously, while the House approved the measure by a vote of 93-2. Both no votes came from Republicans.

After Census officials have determined which states gained and lost population over the course of the last decade, congressional districts will be reallocated. States which grew in large numbers will add seats, while states which shrunk will lose them.

For some time, demographers have predicted that Texas will gain seats. The question now is how many.

Some experts -- like William Frey from the Brookings Institution -- now believe that refugees from Hurricane Katrina could tip the balance for the state:

Demographers predict Texas will add at least three new districts, and the evacuees who stayed after the 2005 storm – experts estimate between 50,000 and 100,000 did so – could provide the margin for a fourth seat.

That news makes this set of legislative races in Texas even more important. Republicans hold a slim one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, but if they retain control of the legislature, they'll have a significant advantage when it comes time to draw the new lines for the state's Congressional districts.

Democrats have an all too fresh reminder of how Republicans will approach redistricting if they control every lever of power. In 2003, the GOP -- led by Tom Delay -- forced through a controversial mid-decade plan that reduced Democratic Congressional seats in the state from 15 to 11.

We can't let them do that again. After this election, we must have a seat at the table.

Democratic State Senator Josh Stein-- a 43 year old freshman legislator in North Carolina -- is being honored for his work as a consumer advocate. AARP North Carolina has presented Shapiro with its 2009 Outstanding Legislator Award:

Bill Wilson, associate state director for advocacy, said Stein is “a strong voice on behalf of consumers, particularly for older adults in this state because they are frequently the targets of people who want to scam or take advantage of them.”

Though just a first year member, Stein was the primary sponsor of 10 different pieces of legislation to become law. Because of his efforts, consumers will find it easier to place a security freeze on their credit report, and the state will launch a financial literacy council to oversee financial education for students.

After the Census, most states will meet to redraw legislative districts for their local lawmakers (in addition to the lines for members of Congress). In Alaska, a group of legislators is pushing a proposal to expand the size of of both chambers:

The proposed constitutional amendment, introduced by Rep. Peggy Wilson of Wrangell, would increase the number of House members from 40 to 48 and those in the Senate from 20 to 24. It is similar to a proposal previously raised on the Senate side.

While any expansion proposal must pass many hurdles, we'll continue to watch this situation.

This week, Democrats in the Virginia House and Senate introduced a sweeping package of ethics reforms that would prevent scandals like those involving former GOP Rep. Phil Hamilton. Hamilton came under fire last year when officials learned that he negotiated a job offer for himself with Old Dominion university even as he worked to secure public funds for the school.

The bill would create a five-member ethics advisory panel, which would be empowered to investigate potential misconduct by lawmakers -- even if they resign -- and hold meetings in public.

Additionally, the bill would require:

--A legislator to disclose any wages or salary paid to him or an immediate member of his family, regardless of the amount, by a state or local government or advisory agency employer:

--the Clerks of the House and Senate to establish a searchable electronic database, available to the public through the Internet, containing the information from the disclosure of personal interests statements filed by legislators, legislators-elect, and candidates for the General Assembly.

--That payments to a member for office expenses and supplies may be made only upon the member's submission of a voucher for the expenses.

--A member of the General Assembly to disclose in his annual disclosure of personal interests any salary and wages in excess of $10,000 paid to him or his immediate family for employment with a state or local government or advisory agency.

If passed, the legislation would be the first overhaul of Virginia's General Assembly Conflicts of Interest statutes in more than 20 years.

With his state still grappling with high unemployment, Indiana Speaker Pat Bauer -- a DLCC Board member -- is calling for a major new infrastructure investment as a way to create jobs.

Four years ago, lawmakers created the Next Generation Trust Fund with money generated from leasing the Indiana Toll Road to private operators for $3.8 billion. The fund now holds more than $500 million.

Speaker Bauer wants to take a significant portion of that money and use it to repair the state's crumbling bridges:

"We believe we ought to put the money to work . . . instead of letting the banks lend it out and make interest," Bauer said. "We have, like, over 60 percent of our bridges in this state that are considered dangerous, decrepit. We ought to start fixing those. We should do that now and put people to work, and we do have the money."

Predictably, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels thinks the state is already doing enough.

As Virginia gears up to begin a new legislative session, Republicans are trying to nationalize politics in the state, focusing in on Congress and the Obama administration:

"I think the federal government is out of control," said House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford). "There's genuine concern, not just from Republicans, but from people who are just concerned citizens. . . . And I believe the message is clear: We better be paying attention."

GOP lawmakers have already promised to introduce legislation to oppose provisions of the health reform bill and forbid the federal government from regulating any good or service produced or rendered entirely within the borders of Virginia.

If those seem like strange priorities in a state suffering from high unemployment and a $4 billion budget shortfall, it's because they are. But with the GOP captivated by the Tea Party movement and right-wingers becoming ever more fixated on Obama, it's completely unsurprising.

Luckily, Democrats control the Virginia senate, and Dave Marsden's special election victory on Tuesday night has helped to solidify the majority.

Every time it looks like Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature has finally hit rock-bottom, they find a way to sink even lower. But really, closing a state budget deficit by stealing from the dead? We never thought they’d sink that low… until they did:

According to her will, a 2003 donation of nearly $250,000 was given to the Arizona Department of Parks on behalf of Asta Forest.

"She wanted to give this money so that other people could enjoy the state parks and all they have to offer," Essenburg said Monday.

While parks officials considered what to do with her donation, Arizona's budget deficit climbed.

But last month, when the state Legislature met to cut cash from the budget, $213,000 was taken away from the Arizona State Parks donation fund. (…) That money included most of Forest's donation.

We’re not unsympathetic to lawmakers’ dilemma in Arizona. The state is facing a severe deficit brought on by the recession, and no one will be particularly happy to see their services cut or their taxes raised.

But this just isn’t right.

This week, the Indiana House passed a sweeping new set of ethics reforms. The bill passed the lower chamber by a vote of 97-2 and now heads to the state senate for consideration.

Speaker Pat Bauer -- a DLCC Board Member -- introduced the legislation to reinforce public confidence in state government. If passed, the law will:

• Prohibits lawmakers from becoming lobbyists until one year after the end of their term.

• Lowers the reporting requirement threshold for gifts and meals from lobbyists to lawmakers from $100 to $50.
• Bars the governor from fundraising during a long budget session. Lawmakers already are prohibited.
• Prohibits lobbying firms from representing clients with conflicting interests.
• Bans businesses holding contracts with the state for more than $100,000 from contributing to some political campaigns.

The two members who chose to vote against the legislation were both Republicans.

Coordination is one of the biggest keys to a complete Census count. That’s why a new coalition between advocates for African-Americans and first generation immigrants -- two of the most chronically-undercounted minority groups -- might pay dividends:

Civil rights organizations and advocates for the growing Caribbean and African immigrant population are setting aside differences and have formed the Unity Diaspora Coalition to push all blacks to fill out the federal forms. They vow to keep the coalition alive well beyond this year's Census — through the midterm elections, redistricting battles and all the way to the 2020 Census.

"We need the numbers," says Benjamin Afrifa, chairman and CEO of the African Federation, a group he founded in 2005. "The 2010 Census is an opportunity for us to go out there, mobilize the community. … We realize that we cannot do this in isolation." (…)

The coalition is spreading the Census message from Haitian festivals in New York and Miami and Nigerian community events in Houston to black churches in rural Mississippi and NAACP chapter meetings in Chicago.

By making sure everyone pulls in the same direction when it comes to the Census, the coalition hopes to eliminate confusion about how to respond to Census questionnaires and raise awareness of the importance of the process for minority communities.

Political representation after redistricting and $400 billion in federal funding are at stake in the 2010 Census, money that supports everything from schools to local health clinics.

The first state legislative seat to change parties in a special election this year went to Democrat Dave Marsden of Virginia, who scored an election-night upset over Republican Steve Hunt to win the 37th Senate District in Fairfax County. The seat was left open when Republican Ken Cuccinelli was elected Attorney General in the fall.

The Marsden Campaign’s impressive get-out-the-vote operation reveals itself in the district vote totals. Not only did Marsden win the early vote by more than 2-1 (providing just a few more votes than his total margin of victory), but turnout in his best-performing district was a full 9 points higher than in Steve Hunt’s best district.

Though 2010 is still young, this victory could turn out to be the most important special election all year. It gives Virginia Democrats a welcome shot of energy after a disappointing 2009 campaign, and it solidifies Democratic control of the State Senate ahead of redistricting. The Democratic margin there will now be 22-18, making it unlikely that any unforeseen events could flip control to the Republicans.

Congratulations to DLCC Board member and Virginia Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw and his political staff for running a great campaign.

Term limits promise to shake up legislative politics – and create unique opportunities for Democrats – in a number of states where term-limited legislators are disproportionately Republican. One such state is Montana, where The Missoulian recently previewed the upcoming legislative contests:

State Senate: 25 of its 50 seats are up for election this year, including 15 that are open because term limits bar the incumbent from running. Sixteen of the contested seats are held by Republicans; nine by Democrats. Republicans currently hold a 27-23 majority in the Senate.

State House: All 100 House seats are up for grabs this year, including 14 that are vacant because of term limits. The current House is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans.

In the Montana Senate, Republicans have ten open seats to defend because of term limits, while the Democrats only have five. There are also slightly fewer term-limited Democrats in the State House than Republicans, and with both chambers so closely divided, any small advantage could tip control to one side or another.

With the New Year well underway, many states’ legislative sessions will be gearing up soon too. With that in mind, the National Conference of State Legislatures has announced its predictions for the top-ten issues in 2010 state politics.

Unsurprisingly, budget troubles brought on by the weak economy took the top spot, followed by:

• #2 - Managing Health Costs and Coverage

• #3 – Lowering Unemployment Rates
• #4 - Affording Higher Education
• #5 – Analyzing Sentencing and Corrections Costs
• #6 – Maintaining Transportation and Infrastructure
• #7 - Balancing and Managing State Government
• #8 – Developing Clean Energy Alternatives
• #9 – Examining Sex Offender Registration
• #10 – Expanding Broadband Access

You can read more about what’s driving these issues and why they’re likely to get so much attention on the NCSL website. They also list several other issues they plan to pay keep an eye on as the year goes on.

We would add to this list ethics reform -- including lobbying and redistricting reform. Several states already have active legislation or ballot initiative drives under consideration, most prominently in Indiana, where State House Speaker and DLCC Board Member Pat Bauer is leading the charge on a lobbying reform package.

For our part, we plan to keep highlighting legislative action in these areas all year long, right here at DLCC.org.

Maine is one of ten states across the country which has adopted a mandatory cap-and-trade system. While critics consistently maintain that carbon trading programs will cost jobs, the experience in the Pine Tree state suggests otherwise.

The nation's first mandatory carbon trading scheme is being credited with potentially creating nearly 1,000 [new] jobs while promoting energy efficiency projects in industries located across Maine.

Those jobs will be spread amongst 16 different projects, which altogether already employ nearly 7,000 people in the state. The money to create these new positions comes from a number of sources, including both money allocated by state policymakers and federal stimulus money.

With so many northern states “on the bubble” for losing or gaining congressional seats, local officials are going after so-called “snow birds” to make sure the Census doesn’t skip over them while they’re vacationing further south.

It may seem like a small universe of people, but it could make a huge difference for states like Michigan and Minnesota:

Minnesota's latest population estimate from the State Demographic Center, released in July, was 5.3 million. It needs to count about 2,000 to 3,000 more people to ensure that Minnesota maintains eight congressional seats, Ronningen said. The state estimates it will lose $1,300 for every person it misses, she said.

In Michigan, where unemployment is high and population is slipping, officials have launched a campaign to educate snowbirds on filling out the forms to reflect where they live most of the time. Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who is heading Michigan's Census count effort, says an estimated 200,000 snowbirds were missed in 2000, contributing to the loss of a congressional seat and about $2 billion in federal funds over the decade.

Overall, the number of winter vacationers is actually quite large. Two of the most popular winter destinations, Florida and Arizona, see their populations rise by about 800,000 and 300,000 people during the season. And many of those temporary residents will receive Census forms at both of their residences:

Because Census forms are sent to every residence in the country — about 130 million are to go out in 2010 — chances are the winter travelers will get one in their home state and one at their winter homes.

The problem lies in the fact that Census forms are not forwarded by the post office because they are based on residence, not the person, said Kim Hunter, a Census Bureau media specialist in Detroit.

So Rosanne and William Bowker, both 65, of Royal Oak, Mich., will see only the Census form they get at the Fort Myers, Fla., home, where they've spent about four months every winter for the past four years.

According to the Census Bureau, the correct procedure for snowbirds is to mark “0” as the number of people living in their vacation home on the Census questionnaire they receive there. When they return home later, they should also fill out the form they receive at their primary residence, listing everyone who spends more than half the year living there.

South Carolina Republicans are now on-record saying they can’t be trusted with power. That’s our interpretation, anyway, of a new proposal by the state’s Republican legislative leaders to make across-the-board budget cuts automatic when times are tough – without any input or on-the-record votes by the legislature:

To deal with future budget shortages, the state's top legislators want across-the-board cuts to come quicker as they propose automatic cuts when revenues fall a certain percentage.

Currently, only a budget oversight board led by Gov. Mark Sanford can decide to cut the state's spending when it gets a report that revenues are 4 percent shy of expectations. Lawmakers want the cuts to come automatically when the state's revenues are 2 percent short.

Even the most uncompromising anti-tax voter should be outraged by this proposal. We elect our leaders to make tough choices, not to run away from them. And the reason we want elected officials making the tough decision to cut services or raise taxes is so we the people can hold them accountable for their actions.

Writing the budget is the most basic responsibility of every legislature in America – the power of the purse. If Republicans really want across-the-board spending cuts, they should at least have the backbone to vote for them, on the record. But South Carolina Republicans are too afraid to do their jobs in tough times, and now they want someone else to do it for them.

New legislation passed by Colorado lawmakers takes aim at making preventive care more affordable.

The law, which took effect Friday, assures that services such as screenings for breast and cervical cancer, cholesterol levels and colorectal cancer; childhood immunizations and flu vaccines; and programs to help manage alcohol misuse and quit smoking are available at low cost to clients, even when the insured have not met their deductibles.

Focusing on preventive care is a key component of any effort to reduce health care costs. Spotting troubling medical condition early makes them far more affordable to treat, and for Colorado, a state where cardiovascular disease are the number one killer, this type of effort holds significant potential to improve the general health of the population.

Even though “Census Day” is officially April 1st, the U.S. Census Bureau is already cranking up a $300 million dollar campaign to publicize the Census and encourage all U.S. residents to turn in their Census forms.

Though the $300 million figure may seem high, every penny of outreach will be worth it. The Census figures will eventually be used to distribute $400 billion in federal tax revenue to states and localities, and an effective early outreach campaign can shave hundreds of millions of dollars off the cost of conducting the census:

In 2000, about 67 percent of households mailed back their forms, ending a three decade decline in the response rate. Follow-up visits are expensive. For every percentage point decrease in the response rate, the Census Bureau says it costs an additional $85 million to find and count those people.

Ultimately, the Census Bureau’s efforts will be supplemented by state and local officials, who depend on a complete count for their share of tax revenue and fair representation after redistricting.

Minnesota Republicans began 2010 on an ugly note when they nominated Mike Parry as their candidate to replace former Republican Sen. Dick Day, who resigned to become a lobbyist. After winning the nomination, Parry immediately scrambled to delete dozens of racist and otherwise bizarre comments from his twitter account, including this gem from our title:

"read the exclusive on Mr O in Newsweek. He is a Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man"

The excellent state-level blog MN Progressive Project took screen-captures of most of the deleted tweets, and the site’s publishers are promising to release more of them as the New Year unfolds. Bluestem Prairie is also covering the story.

The district itself is the conservative, largely rural 26th Senate District in southern Minnesota, which voted narrowly for McCain in 2008 despite the McCain Campaign largely abandoning the state near the end.

Still, Minnesota voters take pride in their open-mindedness and political independence – two ideals they can uphold by rejecting Mike Parry and his racist comments. The Democratic candidate in the race is atomic physicist and university professor Jason Engbrecht.