Yes, it sucks to be the Illinois Republican Party. The Democrats have veto-proof majorities in both houses of the General Assembly, and a Republican last won the governorship when the Bulls last won an NBA championship.
But there are worse places to be a Republican than Illinois. In nine states, Republicans are less influential in at least one chamber of the legislature, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Hawaii Senate, for example, has one Republican among its 25 members. (The poor fellow’s name is Sam Slom, and he is, by default, both Minority Leader and Minority Floor Leader.)
Here’s a list of less Republican legislatures than Illinois’s.
Illinois House: 39.8 percent
Illinois Senate: 32.2 percent
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California House: 32.5 percent
California Senate: 30 percent
Connecticut House: 34.4 percent
Connecticut Senate: 38.9 percent
Hawaii House: 13.7 percent
Hawaii Senate: 4 percent
Massachusetts House: 18.1 percent
Massachusetts Senate: 10 percent
Maryland House: 30.4 percent
Maryland Senate: 25.5 percent
Nevada House: 35.7 percent
New York House: 28.7 percent
Rhode Island House: 8 percent
Rhode Island Senate: 13.2 percent
Vermont House: 30 percent
Vermont Senate: 20 percent
Where’s the worst place to be a Democrat? That would be Wyoming, where only 13.3 percent of legislators are Democrats.