Pssssssssssst! Democrats Flip State House Seats In 2 Districts That Trump Won By Double Digits

[malaise]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-flip-seats-oklahoma-new-hampshire_us_59b93e62e4b086432b035ea2
<snip>
Democrats won two GOP-held legislative seats in Oklahoma and New Hampshire on Tuesday, bringing the total number of state legislature seats the party has flipped since the November election to six.

The Democratic victory in Oklahoma was especially striking. Democrat Jacob Rosecrants, a 46-year-old schoolteacher, defeated Republican Darin Chambers, a businessman, by nearly 21 percentage points in a special election to represent District 46 in Oklahoma’s House of Representatives. The district encompasses part of the city of Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma.

Rosecrants had lost by a nearly identical margin in a previous race for the seat in November. The seat opened up, however, when Republican Scott Martin resigned to head the Norman Chamber of Commerce, prompting Tuesday’s special election.

The Democratic win was even more notable because President Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the legislative district by over 10 percentage points.

Rosecrants campaigned on restoring school funding, reforming the state’s criminal justice system, resolving Oklahoma’s budget crisis and limiting corporate influence on state politics.

“Representative-elect Rosecrants fought hard to win this open Republican seat that Trump carried by 10 points in 2016. Progress, public education and long-term budget solutions resonated with Oklahoma voters, turning this once reliably-red seat blue,” said Jessica Post, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, in a statement reacting to the victory.

[mvd]

1. K&R

Hope this is the start of a lot of good things.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Just the wonderful beginning.

[malaise]

4. Yep

Great news

[Bleacher Creature]

3. That 20-30 point shift keeps showing up.

In the special elections that we've lost, the problem was that 20-30 point shift just wasn't enough.

That won't be a problem in the midterms.