Millionaire’s money key to NC’s historic GOP wins–Source: Institute for Southern Studies

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DATELINE: THE SOUTH – News and trends SPECIAL REPORT – Art Pope’s Big Day: Millionaire’s funds key to historic GOP wins in NC legislature INSTITUTE INDEX – The South’s new political landscape DATELINE: THE SOUTH – News and trends 3 BIG ELECTION STORIES IN THE SOUTH: What’s the fallout in the South from the 2010 elections? Facing South looks at three big-picture issues raised by this year’s contests. (11/3/2010) MEET THE LIKELY HOUSE COMMITTEE CHAIRS WHO PROMISE TO ROLL BACK ‘JOB-KILLING’ REGS: Election-night gains by House Republicans will mean new leadership for powerful House committees. (11/4/2010) LATINO FIREWALL HELPED SAVE SENATE FOR DEMOCRATS: If Republicans hadn’t used anti-immigrant rhetoric in their campaigns, they could have captured the Senate. Meanwhile, immigrant advocates say the outcome of the election doesn’t bode well for immigration reform. (11/4/2010) WILL THE TEA PARTY GO NUCLEAR? The nuclear power industry sees the outcome of this week’s mid-term election as a win for itself. But will the industry’s call for more taxpayer subsidies resonate with politicians and an electorate demanding fiscal austerity? (11/4/2010) SPECIAL REPORT – Art Pope’s Big Day: Millionaire’s funds key to historic GOP wins in NC legislature By Chris Kromm The Republican takeover of North Carolina’s state legislature in 2010 — the first time since Reconstruction — caught many by surprise, but perhaps none more than state senator John Snow. A three-term Democrat in the senate’s western-most district in the mountains, Snow largely avoided controversy and often bucked his party; one group rated him as the state’s second-most conservative senate Democrat. What’s more, his Republican opponent Jim Davis — a dentist and newcomer to state politics — seemed like a long shot. But then the money flooded in. Smelling an upset, the state Republican Party injected $321,600 [pdf] into Davis’ challenge campaign. By mid-October, the Republican had raked in a total of $448,000 — a staggering sum for the small district, and nearly double the $225,000 incumbent Snow had raised. (Final campaign finance reports will be released in January.) If he was caught off guard by the GOP’s big spending, Snow was completely blindsided by another onslaught: A barrage of attack ads and mailers from Civitas Action and Real Jobs NC, outside groups backed by conservative donor Art Pope. In lockstep with the Republican Party, the ostensibly non-partisan organizations poured over $205,000 into attacking Snow — almost as much as Snow had raised for his entire campaign. The money Republicans and aligned advocacy groups lavished on the Sen-50 race may well have tipped the balance: Two days after the election, Sen. Snow trailed his Republican challenger by just 187 votes. Sen. Snow was not alone. According to a Facing South analysis of state and federal campaign records, in 2010 three independent groups backed by Art Pope — Americans for Prosperity, Civitas Action and Real Jobs NC — poured $1.1 million into 21 state legislative races targeted by Republicans. Art Pope and his family members injected another $252,000 into 19 of those races, for a total of over $1.3 million spent on the targeted state contests. In most cases, the record-setting investments paid off. Republicans won 18 of the 21 races deluged by party and outside spending — a stunning 86% win rate. Democrats decisively won just one contest; in two others — senate districts 44 and 45 — Democrats are clinging to leads of less than 100 votes. … (To read the full story and comment, click here.) INSTITUTE INDEX – The South’s new political landscape Number of seats the Republican Party gained in the U.S. Senate in the mid-term elections: 6 Number of those seats that are in the South: 1 Number of seats the Republican Party gained in the U.S. House: at least 60 Number of those seats that are in the South: 16 Percent by which the Blue Dog caucus of conservative House Democrats was reduced: 50 Of the 22 Blue Dogs who lost their re-election battles, number from the South: 7 Percent of the losing Blue Dogs replaced by Republicans: 100 Percent by which the House’s Progressive Caucus was reduced: 5 Last time the Republican Party made such dramatic gains in a mid-term election: 1938 Number of governorships the Republican Party picked up: 7 Number of those governorships that are in the South: 1* Number of seats Republicans picked up in state legislatures nationally: over 500 Of the 13 Southern state legislatures, number that are now controlled by the GOP: 7 Number of Southern states where Republicans took control of both chambers: 2** Number of state legislative chambers nationally that switched from Republican to Democrat: 0 Last time Republicans controlled the North Carolina Senate: 1898 Number of years since Republicans last controlled the Alabama legislature: 136 Number of new Congressional districts the South is expected to gain after the 2010 Census results are in: 7 Percent of those districts where Republicans will be drawing the lines: 100 * Tennessee ** Alabama and North Carolina (Click on figure to go to source.)

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