As I turned on the TV this morning to reports of the "dueling town halls" last night, a thought occurred to me: All the concentration on this admittedly crucial Presidential election is draining attention from state and local contests--and, in the long run, those could be far more consequential.
There's only one state-wide race in my area--for state attorney general. (Neither of our Senators is up for re-election this cycle.) While normally a state AG is not big deal, in the litigious world of modern politics, having an AG who supports voter rights can be very important.
The entire state legislature is up for grabs this year...and, if your local state reps are in play, you should pay attention--especially this year. The people we put in our state legislatures in this election will decide the state and congressional districting following the 2020 Census. Republicans have, over the past two decades, used that decennial process to skew representation toward their strongholds in the states where they control the legislature. As an example, here in PA, Democrats outnumber Republicans in the electorate by just under one million in a total of just under nine million voters; yet the legislature is controlled by the GOP: 109-93 in the House, 28-21 (with one independent) in the Senate.
And the Congressional delegation is also out of balance: 10 Republicans, 8 Democrats in the House; one Senator of each party.
So, don't let the Presidential race be the only thing on your mind as you fill out your ballot or go to the polls.
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