“Republicans, who seem to be pretty confident about the midterm elections on a congressional level, also are feeling pretty good about their prospects back in the states. … Ed Gillespie, the group’s chairman, said in a conference call with reporters that he thought even more Democratic chambers could become vulnerable to a flip in the coming weeks and that ‘things have only gotten better’ since the committee released its initial report.” (New York Times, 9.16.2010)

“The report increases the number of expected Republican pick-ups to six legislative chambers — adding the North Carolina and Michigan houses, with at least 11 other Democrat-controlled chambers solidly in play. As the organization has in the past, it predicts that Democrats will make no gains this election season in state house control.  ‘Voters have dramatically moved away from the Democratic Party and in the direction of a strong crop of fresh new Republican candidates seeking office,’ the report says.” (Los Angeles Times, 9.16.2010)

“State Legislatures Looking Red” (National Review’s The Corner, 9.16.2010)

“Top Republican strategists are becoming more confident that their gains in congressional races will have a down ballot impact on state legislature elections — further bolstering Republican power in next year’s once-a-decade redistricting of the House.  In a report released today, the REDistricting Majority Project (REDMAP) of the Republican State Leadership Committee said that its projections … are starting to look increasingly conservative as each week passes.” (Politico, 9.16.2010)

As the national environment continues to trend toward the GOP a little more than a month before the midterm elections, Republican strategists say it’s putting more and more state legislative chambers in play with major implications for the upcoming round of redistricting. … The new REDMAP report … said Thursday that economic anxiety and concerns over taxes and spending at the national level are trickling down to races.” (The Hill, 9.16.2010)

“GOP Expands State Legislature Playing Field: 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. … A good example of how Republicans will be targeting their resources can be found in the Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania Houses. The RSLC says there are at least 30 districts in these legislatures that Obama won and will determine majority control. … The RSLC will seek to capitalize on national issues in each of these districts. In each, they say, the Democratic incumbent voted for increased government spending and taxes (sound familiar?).” (Hotline On Call, 9.16.2010)

“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 Daily Caller, 9.16.2010)

“Democrats have been fighting to regain control of the Texas House ahead of the next remap but top GOP strategists declared today that the fight is over, and they won.  Even worse for Democrats, the Republican State Leadership Committee, a soft money-backed outfit created to maximize state-level gains, is predicting that Republicans will retake a half-dozen state legislative chambers across the country, and probably 11 others.” (Dallas Morning News, 9.16.2010)