Politico reports:

Significantly, Gillespie contends that recent trends are putting in play the state House in large states such as Illinois and Michigan, where Republicans need 12 and 13 seats to take control. He said that GOP takeovers of the more closely divided state Houses in Ohio and Pennsylvania are virtually done deals.

Each of those four states currently has a Democratic governor. But Republicans currently are favored in three of those states, and they are optimistic that John Kasich will defeat Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio. Also potentially in play are the North Carolina House and Senate, where Democrats have nine-seat and six-seat majorities.

Gillespie said that Republicans will criticize Democratic lawmakers in those states for having supported tax increases. “We can tap into voter frustration,” he said.

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National Review‘s The Corner:

This morning, the Republican State Leadership Committee released its second report on the “REDistricting MAjority Project” (REDMAP). Led by former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, the committee is supporting Republican candidates for state legislatures across the country with the hope of influencing 2011’s redistricting efforts in the GOP’s favor. The report has four major findings …

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From National Journal‘s Hotline On Call:

Republicans are increasingly bullish that they will capitalize on the national mood and make significant inroads in state legislatures this fall, something that could prove pivotal to their redistricting efforts after the census.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, which is leading the GOP’s efforts, said Thursday that it believes it will net new majorities in at least six chambers with a total of 17 chambers now in play.

Ed Gillespie, the chairman of the committee, said the committee is quickly expanding its efforts into Democratic states. They now believe they will win majorities in six chambers: the Indiana House, Michigan House, North Carolina House, Ohio House, Pennsylvania House and Wisconsin Senate.

And in a sign of how confident Republicans are getting, the RSLC is now planning to spend money in the Illinois House. Currently, Democrats hold a 21-seat majority there.

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From the Daily Caller:

Republicans in November will win control of more state legislatures than previously projected, according to a report released Thursday, which could lead to more Republican drawn U.S. House districts during redistricting next year.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, chaired by veteran GOP operative Ed Gillespie, says Republicans will win control of six state legislature chambers in November. Additionally, 11 Democratic-controlled chambers are also in play for Republicans. Democrats, on the other hand, will not win control of any GOP chamber this year, according to the REDMAP report.

“We think we’re going to be able to tap into the frustration amongst voters out there about taxes and spending,” Gillespie said Thursday of the group, which is putting money towards Republicans in these targeted state legislature races.

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From the Dallas Morning News:

“The fact is, we could end up adding more, given the dynamic on the ground,” said RSLC chairman Ed Gillespie, the former George W. Bush adviser and national GOP chairman. He and vice chairman Tom Reynolds , former head of the party’s House campaign arm (Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions is that committee’s current chairman) released a status report this morning on their Redistricting Majority Project (or REDMAP).

As for the Texas House, that was one of four chambers across the country that Democrats had hoped to win back this November, and REDMAP strategists say the Democrats’ no longer have that within reach.

REDMAP executive director Chris Jankowski ticked off four chambers viewed at risk earlier this year – the state Houses in Texas and Tennessee, and the Senates in Michigan and Kentucky. “We are firmly convinced… that those four state chambers that are Republican controlled — that were the only four that could arguably have been said to be in play this spring — are safe Republican,” he said on a conference call with reporters.

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