The Iowa Caucuses are months away, leaving election addicts like myself left to pore over the latest polls, Clinton email, or even Trump tweet to get our electoral fix. I have regrettably done this, and to help others avoid a similar fate, I want to momentarily take POLIsci readers’ attention away from the White House and to where elections actually take place this year: the State House. In the next few weeks, Louisiana, Virginia, Mississippi, and New Jersey voters will go to the polls to select their state representatives. These states hold their state elections in the off-year (i.e. the odd instead of even numbered year), and there are 584 state legislative seats up for grabs. State legislative races in the off-year may sound like just the fix to satisfy election junkies until Iowa, but a deeper look at these elections reveals a disappointing dosage of electoral competition. Among 584 seats up for grabs in 2015, over half of the elections are already decided. I do not mean already decided in the way many thought Clinton had the Democratic nomination
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