Governing magazine’s Louis Jacobson pays special attention to state legislatures across the country, and he’s out this month with a review of a dozen legislators to watch – six from each party – just in time for the New Year.

Some of the Democratic names may be familiar to you because of the leadership they’ve already shown in 2011 and in recent years:

• Stacey Abrams - Georgia House (D)
  House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who is the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly, earned degrees from Spelman College, Yale Law School and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. She’s a tax attorney and a former deputy city attorney for Atlanta. Despite being in the minority in the Legislature, observers credit her with winning concessions from freshman Republican Gov. Nathan Deal on a revamp of the HOPE scholarship program, a merit-based higher education fund for Georgia residents, and for putting up a strong fight against a GOP tax plan….
  

• Reuven Carlyle - Washington House (D)
  …After a career in the cellphone and software industries, Carlyle won an open seat in 2008 representing a trendy area of Seattle. He has made a point of crossing party lines and taking on figures in his own party. “I believe the people of our district elected me in 2008 to vigorously seek intellectual and moral independence from old-fashioned orthodoxies,” he wrote on his campaign website. “We live in a 21st-century global community and stereotypical positions -- liberal, conservative, Democrat and Republican -- have little bearing on our children’s future…”
  

• Wendy Davis - Texas Senate (D)
  …Sen. Wendy Davis, who represents Fort Worth, used the limited tools available to her to achieve spectacular results. Hours before last year’s session was to end, Davis filibustered a bill that included $4 billion in school cuts. That forced Republican Gov. Rick Perry -- who was on his way to becoming a presidential candidate -- to call a special session. It also turned Davis into “an icon among Democratic activists in Texas,” says Mark P. Jones, a Rice University political scientist….
  

• Ted Lieu - California Senate (D)
  ...Before election to the Senate in 2011, Lieu chaired the Assembly’s Rules, and Banking and Finance committees, where he was a key mover of legislation on such topics as foreclosure prevention, child sex offenders, domestic violence, cyberbullying, sewage spills and health insurance.
  “Ted Lieu is that rare Democratic political figure who combines it all,” says California-based Democratic strategist Garry South. “He’s smart and well educated, articulate, pleasant and professional to deal with, center-left while also being a former JAG and current reserve officer in the Air Force, has a photogenic young family, and is part of the fastest-growing ethnic group in the largest state....
  

• Vincent Sheheen - South Carolina Senate (D)
  Sen. Vincent Sheheen exceeded all expectations in his 2010 race for governor. Running in a strongly Republican state in a strongly Republican year, he lost to Nikki Haley -- who attracted considerable national media attention -- by just four percentage points. An effective legislator, he had sponsored 18 bills that became state law prior to his gubernatorial campaign….
  

• Darrin Williams - Arkansas House (D)
  Rep. Darrin Williams was adopted and raised in Little Rock. He’s a second-termer in a state with a three-term limit for state representatives, so he’s positioned to become a strong contender for speaker -- which would make him the first African-American to hold the position. He has already chaired the House Judiciary Committee, where he won a measure of bipartisan support for legislation….
  

Please read the full column for longer profiles of each legislator. We expect big things from all six of them, in addition to the many accomplishments they've already racked up.

State legislatures are the staging ground for tomorrow’s political leaders and provide the farm team for congressional, senatorial, gubernatorial, even presidential (Barack Obama’s first elected office was that of Illinois state Senator) candidates. Steven Colbert acknowledged this (in a way) in his “Mr. Smith Goes to the State Legislature, Then Later Possibly Washington” segments on The Colbert Report.

Now Governing has sifted through the thousands of Democratic state legislators across the country to select a dozen up-and-comers to watch. Criteria included demonstrated leadership qualities, a record of leading the party to noteworthy gains, and likelihood of having a long political future. 

We’re highlighting a few below, but don’t miss the full article. 

Maine state Rep. Emily Ann Cain 

Cain was born in Kentucky and grew up in Illinois and New Jersey before studying vocal music education at the University of Maine. At just 24, she was elected to the state House in 2004, and only six years later is the House Democratic Leader for the current legislative session. In the midst of a difficult economic period for the state, she served as House Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs in 2009 and 2010. 

California House Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma 

Ma, who plans on running for state Senate, is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Ma started her political career as an aide to former influential state Sen. John Burton, a Democrat. She won election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before winning an Assembly seat in 2006 and quickly ascending the leadership ladder. Her legislative agenda has included restrictions on chemicals in toys, tools to fight domestic violence, expansion of high-speed rail and awareness of hepatitis B -- a problem disproportionate among Asian and Pacific Islanders, including Ma herself, who learned at age 22 that she had been infected at birth. 

Indiana state Rep. Scott Pelath 

Pelath, first elected in 1998, is assistant minority leader and a leader of the "Hoosier 39," who boycotted the Legislature for almost five weeks in a bid to deny Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels a quorum on right-to-work legislation. The Republicans decided to ultimately not pursue the legislation. An Army reservist, Pelath previously worked as an aide to former Democratic-U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer.

Special elections are on everyone’s mind this week as voters go to the polls for the Corwin-Davis-Hochul election in Western New York. But whatever happens in that race, a nationwide surge in Democratic performance is unmistakable.

The DLCC tracks every state legislative special election in the country. In the last three months, we’ve noticed a startling trend: Since March 1st, Democratic candidates have overperformed in almost every similar special election compared to the Democrats who ran in the same districts in 2010.

This is a truly stunning turnaround. The conventional wisdom says that all else being equal (though it never is), a lower-profile election will produce a more Republican electorate. Therefore, a presidential year like 2008 should see better Democratic performance than a midterm like 2010, which in turn should see better Democratic performance than an odd-year special election.

But ever since the radicalism of the GOP's assault on working families had a chance to sink in nationally, we’ve begun to see the opposite. Democratic special election candidates are now performing about 9.7% better than the Democratic candidates who ran in the exact same districts in 2010.

To get useful data, we obviously can’t include districts that produce an “apples-to-Volvos” sort of comparison. Therefore, we have to ignore districts where only one major party fielded candidates in 2010 or in the recent special (10 races); districts which were not up for election in 2010 (3 races); districts where a third party candidate won enough votes to skew the result in either year (2 races); and districts where one major-party candidate died before the election but remained on the ballot (1 race – and a long story).

That leaves 8 elections in 6 states since March 1st:

As you can see, the character and location of these districts were all over the map. Two were overwhelmingly Democratic in 2010; three were overwhelmingly Republican; and three were swing seats. The West, Midwest, and Northeast are all represented. Democrats improved their performance in every district except the Massachusetts seat, which held mostly steady.

And most importantly for prognosticators, Democrats actually won all three of the swing districts. There is also a rough, directly proportional relationship between the competitiveness of the district and the magnitude of the Democratic gain. The change in Democratic performance in swing districts (D+12% to D+19%) was far higher than it was for either party's safe seats (R+1% to D+8%). If this trend continues through the election cycle, Democrats are on pace for a dramatic turnaround.

As the Tea Party and GOP leaders continue to pursue extreme right-wing legislative agendas, any Republican state legislator who values his or her job needs to stop pandering and start pondering: If my Democratic opponent wins an extra 10-15% of the vote in the next election, will I still have a job?

Likewise, Republicans have a similar question to ask if they represent safe districts but enjoy life in the majority: how many of my GOP colleagues will lose their seats if this trend holds?

There are no more special elections scheduled that would apply to this analysis between now and the Wisconsin recalls, likely to be held July 12th. Those races will tell us a lot more about how the electorate is responding to GOP radicalism.

Well, no one ever accused Republican budget priorities of being coherent:

Assemblymember Diane Harkey is a Republican from southern Orange County, and like most Republicans from that part of the county, is a total wingnut. In 2010 she proposed a bill to gut the high speed rail project by preventing the sale of the HSR bonds that California voters had approved in November 2008. The bill went nowhere. (…)

Still, that didn't prepare California for Harkey's shocking and offensive comments today about the high speed rail project:

Harkey pointed to California's high speed rail project as an example of unnecessary spending. She also objected to it being built through farmland.

"This is cultural genocide, and we can't tolerate that," she said.

Wow.

Seconded – wow indeed.

There’s really not much more to be said about this story, except that with just a few more Democrats in the state Assembly, the state of California will never have to care about the offensive rantings of Republicans like Diane Harkey ever again.

[Hat-tip – Calitics]

Democrats won two special elections last night, including one where Republicans had hoped to steal an under-the-radar victory.

First in Minnesota’s state House district 5B, the state Republican Party had relied on violent language and images in its attack mailers against DFL nominee Carly Melin. But those attacks clearly backfired in this culturally conservative district, as Representative-Elect Melin won a landslide 61.5% of the vote in last night’s three-way race.

The Republican nominee, despite significant financial backing from his state party, won barely more than a third of the vote.

Several hours later in California’s state Senate district 28, Democrat Ted W. Lieu walked away with a convincing 57.1% of the vote against a deeply fractured field of seven other competitors.

Senator-Elect Lieu finished more than thirty points ahead of his closest Republican competitor, and he avoided a runoff by winning more than 50% of the vote in this first round.

Congratulations to both winning candidates, and we wish them well as they join their respective Democratic colleagues.

This is an update to our earlier post about the threats directed against California state Senator Leland Yee. Sadly, this story is growing uglier by the day, with Senator Yee’s office now reporting a new set of threatening letters, some of which bear crosshair graphics.

Meanwhile, Limbaugh’s supporters are flooding Senator Yee’s office with hundreds of phone calls actually supporting Limbaugh’s hateful remarks!

Joe Strupp at Media Matters for America has the inside scoop:

A California state senator who criticized Rush Limbaugh's mocking of Chinese culture last week has received two more threatening faxes, according to his chief of staff.

Adam Keigwin, chief of staff to Sen. Leland Yee, said the threats came via fax over the weekend, adding to previous threats that are being investigated. He also said that the senator has "received hundreds of calls and e-mails that support the comments [Limbaugh] made." (…)

Keigwin said the latest faxes are similar to two faxes his office received last year - one of which included crosshairs - after Yee sought to have information disclosed regarding Sarah Palin's appearance at a California State University campus.

"We have since received two more similar to that," Keigwin said of the latest faxes. "But one of them includes this crosshairs graphic."

This means it’s more important than ever to show Senator Yee and his staff that they’re not alone – that we stand with Senator Yee as he stands against hate.

So the DLCC is calling on our supporters and progressives everywhere to sign our petition thanking Senator Yee for his effort, and we’re encouraging everyone who signs to add their own personal message we can deliver to Senator Yee along with our letter.

Please click here to add your name, and show Senator Yee that the progressive community supports his effort to combat hatred.

Angry phone calls from Limbaugh supporters shouldn’t be the only thing Senator Yee and his staff hear. Thanks to thousands of you who’ve already joined our call, it won’t be.

But with Senator Yee going up against someone like Rush Limbaugh, he’ll need every voice on his side that he can get.

Visit www.dlcc.org/petition/Yee to add yours.

One California Democrat is standing up to Rush Limbaugh and his latest outrageous comments, including a segment ridiculing individuals of Chinese descent. And in return, he’s begun to receive death threats from Limbaugh’s supporters:

After condemning offensive comments by Rush Limbaugh, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) today was sent a racist death threat via fax to his San Francisco and Capitol offices. The faxes have been turned over to the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to investigate.

The faxes that were sent to Yee’s office today also state (with misspellings):

FIGHTING The Marxist N[-explative-] Thug Hussein Obama & Fish Head Leeland Yee

To: JoBama Rectum Sniffing Moron LEELAND LEE

Achtung! [German word meaning “watch out”] Fish Head Leeland Lee. Rush Limbaugh will kick your Ch[-explative-] ass and expose you for the fool you are.

Without exceptions, Marxists are enemies of the United States Constitution! Death to all Marxists! Foreign and Domestic!

The fax also contained references to Limbaugh and a drawing of a pickup truck dragging a noose tied to (what appears meant to be) the severed head of President Obama.

But Senator Yee is has not been intimidated by Limbaugh’s supporters; in fact, he’s now expanded his effort from a simple call for an apology to a demand that corporate advertisers stop supporting Limbaugh’s hate speech.

And that effort is quickly catching fire. New York Assemblywoman Grace Meng voiced her outrage at Limbaugh’s remarks in an interview with the Associated Press:

I want an apology at the very least," said New York Assemblywoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat. "Making fun of any country's leader is just very disrespectful for someone who says he is a proud American."

She added: "He was, in his own way, trying to attack the leader of another country, and that's his prerogative as well, but at the same time he offended 13 percent of New York City's population."

Then on MSNBC's The Ed Show, Senator Yee explained how important it is to take a stand against hate:

Because we agree with Senator Yee’s effort to repudiate hate speech and stand up against Rush Limbaugh’s ongoing pattern of shameful remarks, the DLCC is asking all of our supporters to sign our petition thanking Senator Yee for his stand, and for sending the message that progressives will not be intimidated by threats.

Click here to thank Senator Leland Yee for standing up against Rush Limbaugh’s hate speech!

Winning a previously Republican state legislative seat in this challenging cycle required an extraordinary Democratic candidate.

But extraordinary candidates were one of the hallmarks of the campaigns that made it onto our 2010 Essential Races list. Many of those extraordinary Democrats won in November, proving that Democrats can stay on offense even when the odds are stacked against us.

Below are four of those success stories from 2010 in which all Democrats should take pride.

Dan Muhlbauer in Iowa (HD-51)

On Election Night, Dan captured a previously Republican state House seat in rural Western Iowa. And he didn’t just eke out a win – Dan shocked political observers with his convincing 58%-41% victory.

It was clear from the start that Dan was a special candidate. He’s operated a family farm in Western Iowa for 32 years, while serving the community with local food banks, civic organizations, and as Chairman for the Crawford County Supervisors. In short, Dan represents the best of Democratic values in rural Iowa, and we know he’ll make his community proud.

Like many winning candidates this year, Dan focused his campaign on job creation, concentrating specifically on providing the new transportation needed to attract jobs in a rural district like his.

During the campaign, he explained that part of his platform in an interview with KCIM Radio.

Richard Pan in California (AD-5)

Out of 120 state legislative seats in California, only one seat changed hands from one party to the other in this year’s elections – and that feat was accomplished by Democratic pediatrician and Assemblyman-Elect Richard Pan.

A political outsider, Dr. Pan is a pediatrician and an award-winning educator at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. He has a long history of community involvement, including as a board member for the United Way California Capitol Region, the BloodSource regional blood bank, and other community groups.

Dr. Pan defeated the author of the infamous Proposition 8 ballot measure that took away the rights of hundreds of thousands of Californians to marry the person they love. What’s more, Dr. Pan won his upset victory in a district with a narrow Republican registration advantage – demonstrating that even in a Republican district in a challenging year for Democrats, Californians don’t want to be governed by a far-right social agenda.

Because of his Republican opponent’s involvement with Proposition 8, outside special interests led by national anti-equality groups flooded the airwaves with attack ads against Dr. Pan.

But Dr. Pan fought back with his own message of finding common-sense solutions for job creation and health care to successfully capture this seat from the GOP.

Linda Greenstein in New Jersey (SD-14)

Before her upset victory in a state Senate special election this November, in which she defeated an incumbent Republican appointee, Linda Greenstein spent a decade in the state Assembly fighting for good government and ethics reform.

Her effectiveness and tenacity in the fight for reform have earned Linda respect across the political spectrum – no small feat for a staunchly progressive legislator who supports top priorities like education and equal rights.

Voters in this swing district clearly shared that respect, bucking the national trend and delivering a convincing victory for Senator-Elect Greenstein rather than the incumbent GOP appointee.

The key to Senator-Elect Greenstein’s win was a focused campaign based on job creation – yet another issue where the candidate’s impressive record reinforced her words:

But she also built a professional campaign team that produced some eye-catching TV ads that helped cut through the standard campaign clutter. Senator-Elect Greenstein’s “stencil” ad is a perfect example.

This campaign was especially important because this was the only GOP-held legislative district up for election this year in New Jersey. Senator-Elect Greenstein’s victory helps set the stage for 2011, when the entire New Jersey legislature will be up; it also provides New Jersey Democrats a needed boost at a key moment in the new GOP governor’s administration.

Kendall Van Dyk in Montana (SD-25)

This November, Kendall defeated an incumbent GOP state Senator by just 4 votes out of more than 6,200 cast and it’s easy to see why his community trusts him enough to send him to the Montana Senate.

Born and raised on a cattle ranch outside Three Forks, Kendall’s made a career out of protecting Montana’s natural beauty as a coordinator for Trout Unlimited. Kendall stood true to those principles after he was elected to the state House, winning the 2009 “Legislator of the Year” award from the Montana Wildlife Federation.

One of Kendall’s top legislative accomplishments in the state House was a landmark stream access law – an important priority for sportsmen, conservationists, and others in Montana:

Despite his successful fundraising and his district’s inexpensive media market, Kendall built his campaign as a true grassroots effort, inspiring waves of volunteers and taking his message directly to voters through door-to-door campaigning and direct mail.

And with a final margin of just four votes – or 0.06% - it’s clear that every hour Kendall and his volunteers spent knocking on doors made a difference. He and his supporters should be extremely proud of their hard work.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2010

Contact: Carolyn Fiddler
202.449.6754
fiddler@dlcc.org

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s Board of Directors met today to elect leadership for the coming year. Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal was elected to his fifth term as Chair of the DLCC. Nevada Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford will serve as the DLCC’s Vice Chair, and New Hampshire Sen. Sylvia Larsen will become the Board Secretary. Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Gerber was reelected Treasurer. Virginia House Democratic Leader Ward Armstrong will remain Finance Chair.

New Board members include California Speaker John Perez, Delaware House Majority Whip Valerie Longhurst, Ohio House Democratic Leader Armond Budish, Michigan House Democratic Floor Leader Kate Segal, and Missouri House Democratic Leader Michael Talboy.

"The election of this leadership team marks an important step forward for the DLCC,” said DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant. “As we reflect on the challenges and successes of the past cycle and plan for the 2011 and 2012 state legislative elections, this Board of Directors will help Democrats across the country continue to fight for the issues that matter.”

"I am honored to continue my leadership of the DLCC as we work to elect Democratic state legislators nationwide,” added DLCC Chair and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Gronstal. “Democrats in statehouses will continue our hard work to reverse the damage our states have suffered from Republican policies by continuing our efforts to create and save jobs while balancing state budgets. In tough times Democratic legislators will continue to provide steady leadership and make the wise investments needed to move our states forward.”

Republican State Sen. Roy Ashburn of California, one of the legislature’s most outspoken opponents of equal rights, was arrested last month for drunk driving after leaving a gay nightclub in Sacramento. But things went from bad to worse this week when Sen. Ashburn was sentenced to prison for his offense:

Ashburn was arrested in the early morning of March 3, 2010 on suspicion of DUI after he was seen by a CHP officer driving his state vehicle erratically. He was coming from FACES, a gay nightclub located in midtown Sacramento. Ashburn had a .15% blood alcohol level.

Ashburn has been ordered to serve 48 hours in county jail, three years of probation, pay fines and fees of about $2,000, and attend a mandatory first offender DUI program. His driver's license was suspended for 30 days.

In the days following his arrest, Ashburn announced he was gay on a local radio show. But he’s ruled out moderating his voting record on LGBT issues, which was one of the worst in the State Senate:

According to Project Vote Smart, Ashburn's voting record shows he has voted against every gay rights measure in the State Senate since taking office including Recognizing Out-Of-State Same-Sex Marriages", Harvey Milk Day and Expanding Anti-Discrimination Laws.

Despite the shame he’ll bring to the legislature by continuing to hold office while in jail (and despite his serious lapse in judgment, which could have resulted in tragedy), Ashburn is also refusing to resign.