Attention of voters

Karen Tumulty, Washington Post April 2023
…there’s scant evidence that voters even know all that much about who their state lawmakers are — or what they are up to. .. a St. Louis University political science professor, took a national survey in 2018 and asked people to name their state representative — or at least make a stab at it. Only 11 percent knew the right answer, 31 percent gave a wrong one, and 18 percent said they had no clue. (Most, however, are aware of which party controls their legislature.)

Nor do state legislative incumbents generally feel the heat from the voters. Rogers notes that nearly half of those running for reelection in recent decades have faced no challenger in the general election, and more than one-third ran unopposed in both the primary and general election contests.Adding to this unhealthy situation is the continuing decline of local media, which has created what Rogers calls a “severe visibility problem.” That’s another way of saying hardly anyone is keeping watch anymore. News outlets have shrunk or shut down their state capital bureaus, which were once a coveted assignment for sharp-eyed reporters. Across the country, there are fewer than 1,800 full- and part-time journalists covering state government — about one-third of the number who were credentialed to cover the 2022 Super Bowl, Rogers notes in his upcoming book, “Accountability in State Legislatures.”

Many Democrats acknowledge they were not sufficiently focused on what was happening in state capitols, either. While Republicans were making gains in state houses over the past decade, Democrats put their resources into presidential and congressional races….Everyone should be paying attention now. Democrats regularly cite the fact that they have popular support on their side on such issues as abortion and guns and LGBTQ rights. But Republicans have for years understood this to be a long war that can be won if they stay close to the ground. If the other side doesn’t meet them there, they will continue to march ahead.