Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Part One: State Partisanship

	; ; Who Runs the States;
	Main Report Pages
	Main Page • Part 1 • Partisanship Infographic • Part 2 • Part 3
	Partisanship Results Report (Part 1)
	Executive Summary • State Partisanship Analysis • Partisan Control of Governorships • Partisan Control of State Legislatures • Partisan Control of State Senates • Partisan Control of State Houses • State Government Trifectas • Overall Partisan Control: Bright, Medium and Soft States • Changes of Partisan Domination over 22 years • Year-to-Year Changes in State Partisan Control • Trifectas and Presidential Election Patterns • Conclusion • Methodology • Appendix A • Appendix B
	State Quality of Life Index (SQLI) Report (Part 2)
	Executive Summary • State Quality of Life Index (SQLI) • About the Index • Overall Rankings • Dramatic Changes from 1st Half to 2nd Half • Individual Indicators • Methodology • Appendices
	Partisanship and (SQLI) Overlay Report (Part 3)
	Introduction • Comparing Partisanship and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI) Rankings • Description of the data • Trends and correlations • Methodology • Key Values for Fifty-State Regressions • Appendices

By Geoff Pallay
May 2013

Praise or blame is extended to political parties for the economic, educational, health and other quality of life outcomes that result from the policies those parties enact into law. To better understand which political party enjoys power in each of the states, Ballotpedia has analyzed state government control from 1992-2013 using the concept of a "partisan trifecta." A partisan trifecta is defined as when a state's governorship and legislative chambers are controlled by the same political party.

The two major political parties claim that their policies will lead to better outcomes. What does the data show?

At Ballotpedia, we explored these issues in a three-part study, Who Runs the States.

This is Part One, examining the partisanship of state government from 1992-2013. Part two will establish a State Quality of Life Index (SQLI), aggregating a variety of existing state indices into one measurement. Part Three will then overlay the two reports, looking for trends and correlations.

To view the full PDF of the report, click here.