Dems Lose Last Legislative Chamber in the South

More bad news for the Democrats: In a result that the Washington Post says leaves the party "basically extinct in the South," Republicans are now in control of Kentucky's House of Representatives for the first time since 1921. The state house was the last legislative chamber in the South controlled by Democrats, who held a 65 to 35 majority in the chamber just six years ago. House Speaker Greg Stumbo was one of 17 Democratic incumbents defeated on Tuesday, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Two other Democrats switched parties after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin defeated Democratic candidate Jack Conway, and two more resigned to accept jobs from Bevin. The Herald-Leader notes that the GOP, which also controls the state Senate, is now expected to revive proposals including tougher restrictions on abortion. University of Louisville political science professor Jasmine Farrier told the Post earlier this year that defeat in Kentucky would be a wake-up call for the Democrats. "What has the Democratic Party done for poor, conservative, evangelical white people?" she said. "And the answer is not much." (More Election 2016 stories.)