Democrats in dark-red states like Utah and Idaho know they have a tough road ahead of them this November, and we at the DLCC salute them for taking up the challenge. Discounting candidate home states, these were George W. Bush’s two best states in 2004, and legislative Democrats there are more outnumbered than anywhere else in the country.

But despite these challenges, Democrats in both states have successfully fielded enough legislative candidates to deny the Republicans a free ride to the majority.

The Utah Dems did quite well, in fact, fielding candidates in 60 of 75 House districts and 13 of 15 Senate Districts. Even though only half of the Senate is up for election this year, the seven Republican seats being contested are enough to flip the chamber if Democrats ran the table.

Idaho was a little bit dicier for the party, but according to the Secretary of State’s official candidate list (PDF), Democrats successfully fielded enough candidates to capture control in both chambers, and every competitive district will feature a Democratic candidate.

This is in stark contrast to the Republican recruiting performance in Arkansas and West Virginia, two states which were among John McCain’s best performers. Despite this advantage, Republicans still conceded control of both State Senates by failing to field enough candidates to win a majority. Republicans have the same problem in the Illinois Senate.

This means two things. First, it means Democrats are in better shape organizationally and at the grassroots in the two most challenging states for Democrats than the Republicans are in some states where they need to outperform this November.

Second, it means Democrats start this election cycle with a 3-1 lead in chambers where one party’s poor recruiting has made it mathematically impossible for them to take the majority. Add to that a 8-1 lead in chambers that aren’t up for election this year (Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Virginia), and it’s pretty clear Republicans have a lot of catching up to do.

West Virginia isn’t the only state where Republicans have legislative recruiting troubles. Yesterday afternoon was the filing deadline in Arkansas, and the Republicans’ field in that state is even more of a disaster than in West Virginia.

According to the Secretary of State’s list of officially filed candidates, Arkansas Republicans largely abandoned the field in three key races:

• State House: Republicans failed to field a single candidate in 44 out of 100 State House seats. That means Democrats only have to win seven of the remaining 56 seats to guarantee a majority.
  
  

• State Senate: Arkansas Republicans also left uncontested 8 of the 17 State Senate seats up for grabs in 2010. Between these and the Republican-held seats they have to defend, it is now mathematically impossible for Republicans to win control of the chamber.
  
  

• Attorney General: One of three statewide offices Republicans failed to contest, the Attorney General race is significant because the winner sits on the three-member Board of Apportionment, which will redistrict the state legislature in 2011. Democrats are now guaranteed at least one of the three seats.

For Republicans, it's embarrassing enough that this happened in a state John McCain carried by 20 percent. But more surprising still, the GOP couldn’t even find people willing to run in seats that should be at the top of their target list.

To give just one example, we had been watching House District 21, where the incumbent Democrat announced his resignation effective June 6th. McCain earned nearly 65 percent of the two-party vote in that district, but not a single Republican candidate stepped up to run for the open seat.

Since we mentioned Oklahoma Democrat Eric Proctor’s pledge to sponsor legislation banning insurance companies from denying coverage for survivors of domestic violence, we should point out that Arkansas Democrats successfully passed similar legislation earlier this year:

Six months after the Women’s Health Summit, Governor Beebe signed ACT 619 into law. The Act adds “status as a victim of domestic abuse” to the list of attributes that insurers may not use as the sole justification for denying an individual health insurance coverage.

Congratulations to all of the advocates in Arkansas who worked on this issue.

Every vote against this bill came from a Republican -– to the party’s shame. Thankfully for the people of Arkansas, Democrats dominate both legislative chambers, and those Democrats voting on the bill supported it unanimously.

Republicans right now are doing everything they can to prove they’re out of touch. Case in point?

A Republican state senator in Arkansas has demanded the repeal of the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution. Specifically, he claims that popular elections have somehow made senators “less responsive to the people,” as the Associated Press described his comments.

For those unfamiliar, the 17th Amendment requires the direct election of U.S. Senators (prior to ratification in 1913, senators were chosen by their respective state legislatures). Amazingly, the Arkansas Republican who proposed repealing the amendment is also a rumored US Senate candidate. And since Arkansas Democrats hold leads of 72-28 in the State House and 27-8 in the State Senate, repealing the 17th Amendment would just about end any chance of anyone from his party winning a U.S. Senate seat.

But despite the Republican’s obviously flawed logic, the 17th Amendment is a source of some interesting academic debate –- particularly for us at the DLCC. Following our success in the 2008 elections, Democrats had complete control of 27 state legislatures and controlled one legislative house in another 8 states. If US Senators were chosen by legislators in the same proportion, Democrats would hold a 62-seat majority (a rough count, to be sure, as an exact estimate would involve many more variables than simple chamber control).

In a more abstract sense, some have argued that the 17th Amendment irreversibly undermined federalism by severing the only direct link between state governments and federal policymaking. Senators would be less likely to preempt state laws, for instance, if lawmakers back home could fire them at the end of their terms. At the same time, popular elections are a much more transparent process for choosing such powerful officials.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate aren't the only lawmakers making room for a new colleague this week.

The Arkansas House of Representatives is also gaining a new Democrat.

The Associate Press reports:

Arkansas state Rep. Richard Carroll said Wednesday he plans to switch when the Democrat-controlled Arkansas Legislature adjourns Friday.

Rep. Carroll is currently the country's highest-ranking elected official from the Green Party.

For Democratic State Senator Paul Bookout, leadership runs in the family. Nearly two decades ago, Sen. Bookout’s father, Jerry Bookout, served as President Pro Temp of the Arkansas Senate. On Thursday, his fellow senators voted to elect the younger Sen. Bookout to that position starting in 2011:

"What more can you ask for when your colleagues believe in you well enough to be the leader in the next session in the Senate?" Bookout, D-Jonesboro, asked after the secret-ballot election. "It is a ways off but we'll certainly be looking forward to doing a lot of good things when the time comes."

The election took place on Thursday, the final day of the 2009 regular session, as prescribed in the state constitution. Regular legislative sessions in Arkansas occur on every odd-numbered year.

Sen. Bookout, who represents the Jonesboro-based 14th senate district, will follow outgoing President Bob Johnson. In the past, Sen. Bookout has been an effective advocate for middle-class tax cuts, state funding for medical research, and other Democratic priorities in the legislature.

All of us at the DLCC congratulate Sen. Bookout on his win and wish him luck in the 2011 legislative session. We also salute Senator Johnson for his vision and effective leadership in this year’s session.