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Who Governs? A Look at the Demographics of State Legislators
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Moderator: Brian Weberg, director of legislative studies, National Conference of State Legislatures
January 29, 2016
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Who Governs? A Look at the Demographics of State Legislatures
National Conference of State Legislatures
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Who Governs? A Look at the Demographics of State Legislators
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Today's Speakers
Karl KurtzPresidentLegis Matters
Scott GreenbergerExecutive EditorStateline
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Karl KurtzKarl T. Kurtz is the president of Legis Matters and
recently retired director of NCSL’s Trust for
Representative Democracy, a public outreach and
education program designed to promote civic engagement
and counter public cynicism and distrust toward American
democracy. He had worked for the National Conference of
State Legislatures (NCSL) since its founding in 1975.
Karl has written, consulted and lectured widely on
American state legislatures, elections and public opinion.
He is coauthor of Republic on Trial: The Case for
Representative Democracy (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press,
2003) and coeditor of Institutional Change in American
Politics: The Case of Term Limits. He has provided advice
and assistance in the development of democratic
institutions to legislators and legislative staff throughout
the world.
Before NCSL, Karl taught political science at the
University of Georgia. He also worked on the staff of the
United States Congress as a Congressional Fellow of the
American Political Science Association.
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Scott GreenbergerScott S. Greenburger is the executive editor of Stateline, the
daily news service of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Greenberger guides a team of veteran journalists who report
on state politics and policy in the 50 states and the District of
Columbia.
Before joining Pew, Greenberger was a staff writer at The
Boston Globe, where he covered education, served as City
Hall bureau chief, and was the primary policy reporter in the
Globe’s State House bureau. He wrote extensively about city
and state politics, budgets, health care, crime, housing, and
economic development. Previously, Greenberger was a
reporter at the Austin American-Statesman, where he covered
a wide range of city and state issues and traveled with then-
Texas Governor George W. Bush on the presidential
campaign trail. He is also the co-author, with former Senator
Tom Daschle, of The New York Times bestseller Critical:
What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis, published in
2008.
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Who GovernsAmerica’s State Legislators in 2015
Karl Kurtz, Legis Matters
Revised January 2016
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Women and Minority Legislators Increase Over Time
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
1971 1981 1991 1999 2009 2015
Women
Blacks
Hispanics
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Representation of Women and Minorities Lags the General Population
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Legislators
Congress
U.S. Pop
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15-24%
>34%
Women Legislators Do Best in West and Northeast
25-34%
<15%
National Average: 24%
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20-29%
0-9%
40% or more
Minority Legislators are Concentrated in the Southern Tier
30-39%
10-19%
Estimates based on percentages of valid data
Legislator National Average: 18%
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Oldest and Youngest Legislatures
• Averages• All state legislators: 56
• U.S Adult Population: 47
• Congress: 59
• Statistically significant• Senators two years older
than House members
• Term-limited legislatures three years younger than non-term-limited
• Women two years older than men
Five Oldest Five Youngest
NH 64 PR 49
ID 62 MI 51
VT 61 FL 51
NM 61 WI 52
WY 59 OH 52
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Boomers Lead America’s Legislatures
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Millennials(18-34)
Gen X (35-50)
Boomers(51-69)
Silent (70-87)
Greatest(88-100)
Legislators
Congress
U.S. Adult Pop
Estimates based on percentages of valid data
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Legislators are Better Educated than the General Public
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Less than Bachelors Bachelors Graduate orProfessional
Legislators
Congress
U.S. Pop.
Note: Missing data for legislators=23%
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Protestant and Catholic Legislators Predominate but Most aren’t Saying
38%
16%
2%2%
42%
Religion
Protestant
Catholic
Other Christian
Non-Christian
Unspecified/NA
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Legislators’ Religions Mirror the U.S. Population
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Legislators
Congress
U.S. Pop.
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Legislators Represent Diverse Professions
Occupation Total
Business(Owner—13%)(Other—11%)(Real Estate—3%)(Insurance—2%)
30%
Attorney 14%
Legislator 12%
Retired 8%
Consultant/Nonprofit/Professional 8%
Educator 6%
Agriculture 5%
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Business, Law and Farming Have Declined Over Time
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
1976 1986 1993 1995 2007 2015
Changes in Selected Occupations of State Legislators
Business
Attorney
Legislator
Agriculture
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Partisan Differences in Selected Occupations
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Attorney Agriculture Business Legislator
Dem
Rep
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Descriptive Representation
• Should our legislators look like America?
• Does it make a difference?
• Representation is in the doing, not the belonging.
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-health
Unrepresentative:The Demographics of State Legislatures
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Female Legislators: After Progress, a Plateau
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Women in State LegislaturesNationwide, women hold just under 25 percent of state legislative seats.
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Women in State LegislaturesNationwide, women hold just under 25 percent of state legislative seats.
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Minorities in State Legislatures
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Minorities in State Legislatures
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Minorities in State Legislatures
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Occupations of State Legislators
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Educational Background of State Legislators
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Educational Background of State Legislators
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Educational Background of State Legislators
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pewtrusts.org/fiscal-healthStateline.org
Educational Background of State Legislators
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Questions?
To ask a question, type your question into the box on the right-hand side of your screen.
You will not be identified and only the presenters will see your question.
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Questions after the webinar
If you have any questions regarding this Webinar, please contact: Brian Weberg
This Webinar will be archived and will be available at the following link:
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=30011
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ResourcesThe Pew Charitable Trusts Website: http://www.pewtrusts.org/
Stateline: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline
NCSL's Fiscal Policy Homepage: http://www.ncsl.org/research/fiscal-policy.aspx
• Report: “Who We Elect: The Demographics of State Legislatures”:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/who-we-elect.aspx
• Legislator Demographics; State-by-State Map:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/legislator-demographic-map.aspx
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Thank you for participating!
For more information on this webinar or future webinars, email [email protected].