All Races, Great and Small

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is aiming to raise the same amount of money -- $20 million -- as Gillespie and Reynolds want to raise for their side. And while they're playing defense, Democrats start with a big advantage; the party controls 60 of the nation's 98 partisan legislative chambers (Nebraska has a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature).

"We've been working for [multiple] cycles now to work up to this kind of majority, and I think Republicans are, frankly, late to the game," said DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant. Sargeant has been a DLCC employee since 2001, when he began as political director; the RSLC did not emerge until 2002.

Sargeant acknowledges that Democrats face electoral challenges this year, but he says the party is still going to target some Republican-held chambers.

"We can't control the political environment. What we can control is the fact that we work very hard with our campaigns to run the best campaigns possible," he said. "We're going to surprise some people."