As the presidential election and federal races dominate the headlines, Democrat and Republican Party operatives are quietly slugging it out to dominate statehouse races.
In November, voters across the country will weigh in on hundreds of races that will shape the balance of power in their state’s capital. Right now, more than ever, state politics are often dominated by a single party. When one of the parties holds enough seats to override a governor’s veto in both their legislative chambers, they have the ability to set the state’s agenda without the cooperation of any member of the opposition party or even the governor.
According to data compiled by government affairs consultancy Stateside, there is a partisan supermajority in 57 of the 99 legislative chambers in the United States. Republicans hold more of these advantages than Democrats. However, in 14 of the 35 states with at least one legislative supermajority, the advantage is secured by three seats or less.
Michael Behm, Stateside’s co-CEO and principal, said over the past three decades, national political organizations have gotten heavily involved in the state-level races. Now, groups like the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) and the Republican State Leadership Committee (RLCC) invest vast national resources into the state’s legislative caucuses.
This year, according to memos published by the partisan groups, millions will be spent on fortifying existing advantages and blocking the opposition party from gaining power.
Behm said the parties recognize the stakes are high, even if voter interest is often low, because the state legislatures set policy on everything from abortion to transportation.
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“With the federal government being so polarized and hamstrung these days, the action is at the state level,” Behm said.
—Austin Alonzo
US EYEING SUSPECTED NORTH KOREAN TROOPS IN RUSSIA
The Pentagon has assessed North Korean troops are in Russia, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on Wednesday.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and the Ukrainian government previously flagged suspected North Korean troop movements into Russia, but the U.S. government hadn’t previously joined their assessment.
As many as 10,000 North Korean troops may already be in Russia.
“What exactly they are doing is left to be seen,” Austin told reporters at a Wednesday press event in Rome.
The alleged troop deployments have fueled speculation North Korean forces could soon be fighting for Russia.
“If they’re co-belligerents, if their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue,” Austin said.
Paul Davis, an adjunct professor for The Institute for World Politics, said a North Korean combat deployment inside Ukraine’s borders “definitely steps over a red line.” He said Ukraine’s Western backers may consider deploying their own troops onto the Ukrainian battlefield if North Korea does indeed join the fight.
Michael DiMino, the public policy manager at Defense Priorities, urged a more restrained wait-and-see approach, suggesting the current North Korean detachment in Russia is unlikely to tip the scales in Ukraine.
“It’s important not to overreact to this or to give this more weight or credibility than it really deserves,” DiMino said.
North Korean forces could potentially fight for Russia without ever entering Ukraine, including by helping Russian forces drive back a Ukrainian cross-border assault into Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian forces first entered the Kursk region in early August, but Russian forces have yet to retake all of the territory.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said if North Korean forces do end up fighting for Russia, it would be “a sign of weakness” on Russia’s part after more than 2 1/2 years of fighting.
—Ryan Morgan
BOOKMARKS
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has accused the UK’s Labour Party of election interference and making illegal foreign campaign contributions. The campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday amid reports Labour Party staff were recruiting volunteers to stump for Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States.
Gender, taxes, abortion, and President Joe Biden’s health were some of the topics Harris addressed on Tuesday in a sit-down interview with NBC News. She also touched on whether she would appoint Republican Liz Cheney to a cabinet position and if she would consider pardoning Trump.
Technical issues marred Wisconsin’s first day of early in-person voting on Tuesday as the state’s election system experienced severe delays and outages. Election officials attributed the problems to high voter turnout.
Officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, say it may take 10 to 13 days to tabulate the results of the Nov. 5 election. Maricopa, Arizona’s most populous county, was the epicenter for claims of election fraud in the state after the 2020 presidential election.
Arkansas could have enough lithium to meet at least nine times the projected 2030 global demand for the critical mineral in car batteries, a new study has found. The U.S. Geological Survey study determined that there are between 5 and 19 metric tons of lithium in an ancient seabed buried deep below southwest Arkansas.
