14 MOST IMPORTANT ELECTIONS OF 2014

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Human Events:

There is no shortage of important elections in 2014, as two recent electoral waves will collide, producing a slate of statewide electoral contests that will shape state and federal policy for years to come.

 

Democrats won huge shares of the vote in 2008, and that wave has allowed them to maintain control of the U.S. Senate ever since, despite some minor chipping away by Republicans in the past two cycles.

 

Republicans, on the other hand, enjoyed a wave election in 2010 that carried their party into control in 30 of the nation’s 50 governor’s mansions. The perks that come with that – setting state-level policy and, in many places, controlling congressional redistricting – were reflected in a run of union-busting laws in traditionally blue states and favorable gerrymandering ensuring GOP control of the U.S. House.