The Blue State Power Index

This article appears in the April 2025 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here.

For the next four years, the nation’s capital will be the source of a lot of change but not much progress. We’ve already seen mindlessly inefficient executive branch layoffs, massive tax breaks for the wealthy, and deep and relentless cuts to the most critical anti-poverty programs.

This can’t help but filter down to the state level. Cuts to federal education funding and especially Medicaid, a state-federal partnership, will throw state budgets into upheaval and severely hamper their ability to provide assistance and support to their residents. And President Trump always has an eye toward hurting blue states disproportionately; see his cuts to funding for universities in New York and Maryland.

In that hazardous environment, Democrats who control state governorships and legislatures will need to be creative and resourceful to devise an agenda they can be proud to implement and give the party some element of hope. But not all blue states are created equal.

Read David Dayen on “How to Use Your Power”

Some state Democratic Parties rose from the machine politics of a bygone era, and that mentality still influences what can get passed. Some pay inordinate attention to home-state industries that are deemed untouchable. Some have institutional and often self-created constraints, whether on taxes or other matters, that impose limits on their ambitions. And other states have the propensity to act boldly and energetically to use their political capital whenever they’re fortunate enough to gain that power.

We thought it would be instructive to look at the 17 states with Democratic governors and Democratic majorities in their state legislatures over the past two years, and study what they actually got done. We wanted to separate those states that took up the challenge of governing from those that were unwilling to use the power they have been bequeathed by the electorate.

The resulting ranking, which we’re calling the Blue State Power Index, is admittedly highly unscientific. We took into account the margin of Democratic support in the legislature: What a nearly all-Democratic legislature can do should be more than a closely divided one. We thought about what record these states already had in place: If states had already accomplished key elements of a progressive agenda, then they had less to potentially achieve. Given that most states must balance their budgets, we took into account their resources and tax bases: What a state with a poor population can manage to fund is necessarily more constrained than a state with a rich one—especially with Trump administration cuts and threats looming.

What we found was rather interesting. Our top-ranked state, Minnesota, no longer has a pure Democratic “trifecta”: There is a tie in the state House. Our lowest-ranked state, Rhode Island, has one of the broadest Democratic majorities in the country, yet simply refuses to join other blue states in passing basic protections and economic security for its citizens. States that historically boast of being laboratories of democracy and bellwethers of the nation, like California and New York, fared poorly in our analysis, while more unassuming states like Oregon fared well.

Blue-state governance has not lived up to voters’ expectations, and national electoral results reflect that impatience. Donald Trump won Arizona by a greater margin than Kamala Harris won New Jersey. Democrats need to reverse these trends by exercising their power to improve the lives of their constituents. There are many possibilities for blue states to make strides during the Trump era; we’ll explain those later in this issue. But before laying out what blue states should do, we need to understand what they’ve done.

Let’s go to the rankings:

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1. Minnesota

Governor: Tim Walz

State House: 70-64 | State Senate: 34-33

During 2023 and 2024, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota put together probably the most impressive record of any state legislature in the past 50 years. With just a one-vote margin in the state Senate, the party passed a sweeping policy package, of which any one provision would count as a major victory in any other state. It included a sweeping expansion of labor rights, including a paid sick day mandate, a ban on noncompete agreements and “captive audience” meetings, and a sectoral bargaining system for nursing homes. Additionally, they set up a new paid family and medical leave system, passed new protections for abortions and LGBT folks, legalized recreational pot, gave free lunch to all public-school students, and a number of more minor measures. Gov. Tim Walz had previously had a relatively moderate record in the House, as he represented a Republican-leaning district, but it turned out he had been trimming to fit his district. Though he did veto wage increases for rideshare drivers, the vast majority of the party platform sailed through. Unfortunately, Minnesota Dems lost seats in the 2024 election. At present, Democrats retain a one-vote margin in the Senate, while Republicans and Democrats are tied in the House after a special election on March 11, with control shared between the two parties. Further progressive advances are unlikely until Dems get their trifecta back. –Ryan Cooper

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2. Oregon

Governor: Tina Kotek

State House: 35-25 | State Senate: 17-12-1

The first year of Oregon’s legislative session was marred by a boycott: Republicans denied Democrats a quorum and blocked hundreds of bills. But under a new initiative passed by voters in 2022, ten of the boycotters were ineligible to stand for re-election in 2024. Despite the boycott, Oregon managed to fulfill two of Gov. Tina Kotek’s biggest priorities, housing and behavioral health, this past legislative session. A $2 billion housing fund investment in 2023 was followed up by another $112 million last year for emergency shelters, eviction prevention, and more, as well as $94 million for housing production. A $75 million revolving loan fund provides interest-free loans to local governments to build more, and a $24.5 million repair fund allows for air conditioners and energy upgrades, including heat pumps, in low-income housing. On behavioral health, Oregon made significant investments in tackling the root causes of drug addiction and expanding treatment, while creating behavioral health community clinics that offer primary care integrated with mental health and substance abuse treatment. The measure also increased mental health provider training and apprenticeships, attacking the supply side of the behavioral health question. The legislature also put licensing restrictions on price-gouging pharmacy benefit managers, but it fell short in an attempt to limit private equity’s involvement in health care. The chief sponsor plans to bring it back this year. In late 2024, Kotek issued a bold executive order requiring union workers on large state construction projects, which has infuriated private industry and prompted lawsuits. –David Dayen

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3. Illinois

Governor: J.B. Pritzker

State House: 78-40 | State Senate: 40-19

Illinois Democrats have not quite matched the record of their fellow Midwesterners in Minnesota, but they are doing leagues better than New York or California. In 2023 and 2024, they set up a paid leave system, passed requirements that health insurance cover numerous vital procedures like cancer screening as well as various new health care price controls, allowed noncitizen immigrants to get driver’s licenses and become police officers, imposed various gun control measures, created new protections for abortion and LGBT rights, along with many other smaller measures. Notably, Gov. Pritzker vetoed almost none of the progressive priorities coming out of the legislature. He did block a proposal for one company to get an end run around the permitting process for building an electrical transmission line, and a proposed removal of the state’s ban on new nuclear power plants—perhaps inadvisable given the climate implications, but also things state progressives favored. Pritzker has made this progressive record the foundation of a national profile, proclaiming Illinois to be a safe haven from Donald Trump’s violent repression, and he is clearly angling for national office. On balance, it’s a good indication that despite his enormous wealth—he’s worth about $3.7 billion—he’s the real thing. –Ryan Cooper

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4 . Maryland

Governor: Wes Moore

State House: 102-39 | State Senate: 34-13

In his first two years in office, Gov. Wes Moore went 26 for 26, proposing and passing 26 pieces of legislation. Targeting uplifting low-income Marylanders, three poverty reduction measures landed in the first bundle of bills he signed: an early boost to the $15 minimum wage as well as an earned income tax credit and a child tax credit. The latter two will together benefit about 440,000 people. To stimulate housing creation, Moore signed legislation in 2024 that included tools to permit construction of manufactured and modular homes in areas once zoned for single-family homes. The pressure for red-tape cutting yielded a transparency initiative requiring state agencies to publish catalogs of permits, licenses, or certificates along with timelines for processing and issuing paperwork, and an infrastructure reform streamlined the approval process for industries that rely on backup power generators. Moore also championed a first-in-the-nation paid service year for high school graduates designed to capitalize on opportunities in education, health, IT, and other fields. But billions in transportation cuts, a multibillion-dollar budget deficit going into fiscal 2026, and the pressures posed by the Washington budget and personnel crisis may chip away at the confidence in Moore’s reach-across-the-aisle charm, itself a rare commodity that has bought the state’s first Black governor a steady stream of political capital. –Gabrielle Gurley

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5. New Jersey

Governor: Phil Murphy

State General Assembly: 52-28 | State Senate: 25-15

New Jersey has had a governing trifecta since 2018, when Phil Murphy took over from Chris Christie as governor. Since then, the state has made impressive strides to fund public programs and protect its citizens, all while state revenue slows down and spending ramps up. In 2023, a lawmaker raised the alarm that NJ Transit would run out of funding once federal pandemic aid ran dry. By the end of the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers had created the corporate transit fee, a 2.5 percent surtax on businesses that make over $10 million in profits. Though the tax automatically sunsets in five years, it’s a dedicated funding stream for NJ Transit that will help avoid a massive budget hole. The state has also passed strong spending bills in the 2023 and 2024 sessions. In 2023, they doubled the child tax credit, funneled hundreds of millions into state school aid, and promised property tax credits to elderly residents to encourage them to stay in the state as they age. New Jersey has the highest property taxes of any state. Also in 2023, Gov. Murphy signed a series of three laws aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for some of the most common and crucial medications, including insulin, asthma inhalers, and epinephrine injectors. The laws put in place oversights on drug price negotiators, set caps on out-of-pocket expenses, and require transparency on drug prices. All these moves materially help the lives of New Jersey residents. –Emma Janssen

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6. Washington

Governor (2023-2024 session): Jay Inslee

State House: 58-40 | State Senate: 29-20

Washington state is one of several blue states hamstrung by tax regulations that reduce the revenue available for state programs: The state has no personal income tax, though a capital gains tax was finally approved in 2021. Lawmakers in 2024 passed a measure reaffirming the ban on income taxes, and restricting local governments from imposing such taxes as well. These no-tax stances cast a long shadow over state government. In other areas, Washington is a model blue state. It has long been a national leader on the care economy. Gov. Inslee left his mark on environmental policy, and last year state lawmakers joined the cap-and-trade market established by California and Quebec, building a stronger coalition for emission reductions. In 2023, Washington reserved $1 billion for housing, and changed zoning to build “missing middle” homes and accessory dwelling units. The legislature advanced cutting-edge gun safety bills as well, plus a shield law to protect seekers and providers of abortion services or gender-affirming care. But the lack of income taxes creates a strain, and short legislative sessions often leave plenty on the table. Bills that went unaddressed include a cap on annual rent increases, an increase in transit-oriented development, unemployment benefits for workers on strike, and more oversight for hospital mergers. Bob Ferguson was elected governor in 2024, and he has immediately pivoted to austerity, proposing a 6 percent cut across state agencies to deal with looming budget deficits while downplaying any ideas for new revenues. These self-imposed fiscal straitjackets limit Washington’s ambition. –David Dayen

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7. Connecticut

Governor: Ned Lamont

State House: 98-53 | State Senate: 24-12

In its past two legislative sessions, Connecticut has passed a number of useful bills that will improve the lives of some of the state’s residents, particularly in issues related to the care economy. One example is an omnibus health bill that promises protections for nurses and other health care workers, after two high-profile deaths of care workers in the state’s recent history. The bill also calls for studies on a number of health issues, including loneliness and illnesses facing nail salon workers. The state also plans to improve nursing home conditions for seniors through a law that prohibits nursing homes from overcrowding. And soon, more workers will be eligible for sick leave. Despite these care economy successes, the legislature failed to advance bills that would have built transit-oriented housing and protected renters, particularly elderly and disabled renters. Both bills died in the Senate. Overall, the state’s recent record seems lukewarm: Could be worse, but could be a lot stronger. Maybe in 2025 state Democrats will take on more ambitious projects. In February, for example, Gov. Lamont proposed a massive expansion of preschool access by starting a Universal Preschool Endowment fund with the state’s anticipated surpluses. That’s a move in the right direction. –Emma Janssen

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8. Maine

Governor: Janet Mills

State House: 80-67-2 | State Senate: 22-13

Determined to stabilize a state that had been devastated by the reign of error of her Republican predecessor Paul LePage, Gov. Janet Mills came into office as the broker of a cautious, middle-of-the-road agenda. She has consistently steered dollars to the state’s rainy day fund, bringing it to its statutory maximum in 2023, and a budget surplus at the end of fiscal 2024 sent surplus dollars to several budget items, including health insurance for retired Mainers, child care, and transportation. Even though surpluses are the order of the day, Mills has been concerned that state tax revenues are plateauing and unsuccessfully advocated for moving additional dollars into special reserve funds—even before the chaos unleashed by the Trump administration. When she came into office in 2019, she prioritized fighting the opioid epidemic with a comprehensive menu of solutions, including increasing the number of treatment beds, collecting data, and mandating the distribution of naloxone free of charge to handle overdoses to local communities, clinics, businesses, schools, and colleges—investments that engaged ordinary residents and a major cultural marker in a small state where many people know someone who has overdosed. The focus made a difference: In 2023, the state saw a nearly 16 percent decrease in opioid deaths. Mills also has been praised for obtaining a second extension of a two-year tuition-and-fee-free community college program for 2024 and 2025 high school graduates, a popular program that has boosted the ranks of qualified workers. A paid family and medical leave for all private and public employees regardless of employer size had been in the works before Mills came into office, but Mills signed the plan—the 13th in the country—into law in 2023. –Gabrielle Gurley

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9. New Mexico

Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham

State House: 45-25 | State Senate: 27-15

Grading on a curve, the recent record of New Mexico Democrats can be judged as OK. The party has passed some progressive priorities, with laws that raised the minimum wage to $12 by 2023, protections of voting rights, a waiting period for gun purchases, and a California-style clean-fuel standard. A bill to stand up a paid family and medical leave system did not make it out of the legislature. Gov. Lujan Grisham vetoed many of her party’s bills, including one to create a civil rights division within the office of the attorney general, a small relaxation on sentences for drug crimes, and a modest increase in education spending. Overall, none of these, from the successful laws to the bills blocked by vetoes, were particularly ambitious. But one must cut the state party some slack, because New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the country. Its poverty rate of 17.8 percent is the third-highest of any state, just behind Louisiana and Mississippi. Its median household income of $62,125 is more than $30,000 lower than Colorado’s or New Jersey’s. New Mexico Democrats simply do not have a lot of resources to play with—the entire state GDP is about the same size as the government budget of New York City—and so it isn’t exactly surprising to see a lack of big social programs. Could be better, could be worse. –Ryan Cooper

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10. Hawaii

Governor: Josh Green

State House: 45-6 | State Senate: 23-2

Much of Hawaii’s legislative session was committed to recovery after wildfires devastated Maui in 2023. Over $200 million was appropriated in the fiscal year 2025 budget for the island, part of a $1 billion overall package, and all families affected by the fires were transitioned into longer-term housing, according to Gov. Josh Green. But legislation to put residents in charge of redevelopment oversight did not pass. And an inordinate amount of the session was focused on “the largest tax cut in state history,” which includes a nearly sixfold increase in the standard deduction and over $5.6 billion in tax cuts by 2031. The other big initiative was an affordable-housing program. Under an emergency proclamation from Gov. Green prioritizing low-income and workforce housing creation, the legislature passed a zoning reform measure that mandates two additional units on each single-family residential lot. In addition, counties can now prohibit vacation rentals in order to increase residential rental units available to residents, a big step for a state with a large tourism industry. A measure to develop affordable housing specifically for state K-12 teachers also passed. Hawaii has a strong commitment to the environment—its renewable-energy mandate passed in 2015—and last session, the legislature instituted further ocean and seabed protections, while settling a climate lawsuit, brought by children and teens, to decarbonize the entire transportation sector. The state expanded its social welfare system by committing to a Summer EBT program to provide breakfast and lunch to poor students. Hawaii’s deep tax cuts, however, may make it difficult to advance assistance for those in need in the future. –David Dayen

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11. Massachusetts

Governor: Maura Healey

State House: 134-25 | State Senate: 37-3

Massachusetts can credit its current fiscal health to the Fair Share Amendment, a 2022 ballot initiative that levies a 4 percent surtax on annual incomes over $1 million. The revenues, flowing exclusively to education and transportation, totaled nearly $3 billion in its first two years, exceeding projections. That funding has enabled the Bay State to support a dizzying number of programs: free school meals for every student regardless of income; universal community college; expanded financial aid for public higher education; free regional bus transit fares outside Boston; and operations and additional funding support for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the metro Boston system, and much more. State lawmakers have also been shoveling money into the state’s rainy day fund that now stands at more than $8 billion. These cushions allowed Gov. Maura Healey to focus on the state’s housing crisis and pass a $5 billion housing bond bill, the largest in the state’s history. The legislation is designed to stimulate affordable-housing construction and preservation, new construction, and rehabilitation projects; sustainable and green housing and other grant and incentive programs; a five-year statewide housing planning process; and accessory dwelling units by right in all cities and towns—all of which are a big deal for a state that has long been a NIMBY paradise. Despite these reforms, the housing creation goal of 65,000 units falls far short of meeting the projected shortages and Healey has come in for criticism as immigration and homelessness have strained the emergency shelter system, forcing her to establish Massachusetts residency requirements and place caps on stays. –Gabrielle Gurley

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12. Delaware

Governor (2023-2024 session): John Carney Jr.

State House: 26-15 | State Senate: 15-6

Delaware could be higher on this list if not for its constant prioritization of corporate interests over the interests of actual people. The state has more businesses than people and has long been corporate interest–driven due to its low corporate tax, well-oiled corporate law machine, and light regulations. Perhaps no bill better summarizes this conflict between corporations and people than the 2023 Bond Bill. Though the $1.4 billion funding bill eventually passed, funneling money toward infrastructure projects like road replacements, school projects, and state building upgrades, it faced a roadblock in the House because Republicans wanted to attach an amendment allowing “artificial entities” like LLCs to vote in municipal elections in the city of Seaford. To end the Republican siege on the vote, Democratic leadership convinced a dozen additional lawmakers to back the amendment to prevent a budget stalemate. “Honestly, it felt like a hostage situation,” Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton said at the time after switching her vote to move the amendment through. The Senate ended up rejecting the amendment, but for a state with a Democratic majority, it is a real political failure that such an absurd pro-corporate amendment could threaten the most crucial spending bill of the year. It doesn’t look like the state is changing course anytime soon. This year, Elon Musk moved Tesla’s headquarters from Delaware to try to access his $55 billion proposed pay package that had been blocked by Delaware Chancery Court. And, unsurprisingly, the state is panicking. Both Republicans and Democrats are pushing a state law reform to allow things like Musk’s pay package through. Once again, the corporations are coming out on top in Delaware. –Emma Janssen

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13. Colorado

Governor: Jared Polis

State House: 45-19 | State Senate: 23-12

By rights, Colorado Democrats should have it easy. Though the state was previously purple, today it is firmly blue, and trending more so with inflows of liberals drawn by its beauty and recreation opportunities. The state is also wealthy, with a median household income of $96,640, and a growing renewable-energy sector. Alas, Colorado Dems are falling well short of their potential. The party did pass large expansions of pre-K, preschool, and education funding, as well as abortion protections, some health care price controls, and reforms to create more housing; but it could not get an assault weapons ban or paid family leave through the legislature (though the latter later passed as a ballot initiative). Worse, Gov. Polis—who is worth a reported $400 million—vetoed several good bills, including protections against wage theft, a ban on schools using federal grants for uncertified HVAC contractors, and a ban on disciplining workers who refuse to listen to political or religious propaganda at the workplace, infuriating the state’s labor movement. There are a few reasons why Colorado Dems have disappointed. For one thing, the party has a lot of business-minded centrists who would have been Republicans 20 years ago. As the Colorado Republican Party has lost elections over and over, it has become steadily more deranged, electing lunatics like Lauren Boebert, thus prompting centrists to switch parties. For another, Colorado has an odd combination of Mountain West libertarianism and hippie woo-woo culture that can be seen in Polis’s support for school “choice” and his flirtation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s crackpot health ideas. Colorado Dems lost some seats in the 2024 election, putting them below the supermajority threshold in the House. But some of those losers were the aforementioned centrists, and Polis is term-limited by 2026. The future may be brighter. –Ryan Cooper

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14. California

Governor: Gavin Newsom

State Assembly: 62-18 | State Senate: 32-8

The most telling development in the last two-year California legislative session was a bill to force Big Tech firms, whose advertising dominance has helped destroy local media, to pay a “link tax” to local journalism outlets for the privilege of showing and profiting off their content. After Google got into the negotiating room, what had been a $500 million annual boost to local news was reduced to $15 million, and state taxpayers will foot the bill for even more dollars to help the richest companies in the world develop artificial intelligence. Under Gavin Newsom, this is what passes for public policy in a state that prides itself on being a national leader. Though Democrats have as strong a hold on Sacramento as they have had in decades, their legislative output has not kept pace and the consultants and lobbyists who run the state capital have only tightened their grip. The most prominent accomplishment last year was tightening criminal justice laws in response to a public backlash on crime. California can still be a forward-thinking policy lab: State lawmakers mandated insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization, established a labor board that guaranteed $20 an hour and better conditions for fast-food workers, increased paid sick leave, banned junk fees, and reformed mental health programs. But the structural deficit resulting from a broken tax system that requires a two-thirds vote for changes, something Democrats have but won’t use, makes everything harder, and even the visionary stuff gets stuck: A groundbreaking measure for state production of insulin could end up six years behind schedule, and Gov. Newsom vetoed bills to cap out-of-pocket spending on insulin in the meantime. –David Dayen

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15. New York

Governor: Kathy Hochul

State Assembly: 102-48 | State Senate: 42-21

Suddenly thrown into the Albany maelstrom in midsummer 2021 after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s inglorious exit, Gov. Kathy Hochul had to pick up where his administration left off instead of sailing into office with her own agenda. It’s been rocky. New York’s reputation for liberalism doesn’t always hold up in a legislature that is conservative when it comes to more parochial, NIMBY-laden issues like land use. Hochul’s first major proposal, an affordable-housing plan designed to increase new multifamily opportunities, allow accessory dwelling units, and jump-start denser housing near transit rested on tackling entrenched resistance to zoning reforms in stagnant growth areas like suburban New York. The gambit failed spectacularly in 2023 as she failed to overcome the relentless opposition to the heresy of density. She has scored some notable successes, including tightening up marijuana regulations aimed at reducing the number of illegal pot retailers and establishing an independent ethics commission that survived a constitutional challenge from none other than Cuomo. But Hochul bungled the long sought-after New York City congestion pricing program with a temporary “pause,” followed by a 2025 restart and a reduced fee. That miscue emboldened a New York real estate developer-turned-president to threaten to end a program that decreases vehicular traffic and delivers dollars to New York City transit networks. She also vetoed a bill to ban noncompete agreements in 2023, in a sop to Wall Street donors. Add in her involvement in the no-win case of Gotham’s most embarrassing mayor in decades and proposals—roundly criticized—for “inflation rebates” and other 2026 budget busters, and Hochul’s eroding standing with the legislature and the public promises to keep crumbling as she gears up for a re-election campaign next year. –Gabrielle Gurley

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16. Michigan

Governor: Gretchen Whitmer

State House: 56-54 | State Senate: 20-18

The first Democratic trifecta in 40 years in the Great Lakes State started out solidly, with a repeal of an anti-union right-to-work law and a 1931 abortion ban, LGBTQ protections for employment and evictions, expansion of the state’s earned income tax credit, and an energy package that included a 100 percent renewable-energy standard and an office to support a just transition for workers. But then the legislature settled into a trend of handing out corporate subsidies, reaching around $4.7 billion for the two-year session, roughly $500 for every state resident. Google, Microsoft, Ford, and General Motors were among the beneficiaries. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, vetoed 13 major bills passed by the Democratic legislature, and rolled back benefits for sick leave and minimum-wage increases in a compromise with Republicans and local businesses. Democrats lost their majority in 2024, and that could be an extended loss: William Lawrence, a statewide organizer with Detroit Action, told the Prospect last December that due to the disappointments in the legislative session, “The leadership is not going to leave us with anything to work with to re-elect a Democratic legislature in the future.” –David Dayen

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17. Rhode Island

Governor: Daniel McKee

State House: 65-9-1 | State Senate: 33-5

Much of Rhode Island’s inability to pass bills that support the general welfare, despite a veto-proof Democratic supermajority in both chambers, is due to the state’s conservative bent and weak gubernatorial leadership. Adam Myers, a professor of political science at Providence College, explained that the state’s Democratic Party has long been more culturally conservative than the national party due to Rhode Island’s large Catholic population. There was a progressive primary surge in 2018 and 2020, but most of that energy has fizzled out and not led to concrete change. State politics is governed by big party bosses who set the agenda and block what they don’t like. That means that many progressive causes—like raising the tipped minimum wage, regulating payday loan lenders, or banning assault weapons—never see the light of day. During the 2024 session, legislators did try to make the state’s lottery-based pre-K universal, but that effort stalled after passing the Senate. Similarly, a universal free school lunch bill stagnated without a clear cause. One of the state’s bigger successes was a package of 13 housing bills spearheaded by Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, which make it easier to build by removing some regulations. Only time will tell if progressive lawmakers in the state will be able to push their agenda forward or fall in line with conservative party leadership. –Emma Janssen