Coloring by Numbers

The vote tallies in the presidential and congressional races suggest this is a blue region (with the exception of Virginia) but that is probably not true of the insurance community here or elsewhere. Purple, maybe; blue, doubtful.

Blue voters can rest a bit, knowing it’s a lot easier being a critic than having to actually run the government; second terms are often political disasters; and there’s no money in the federal budget to do anything anyway.

Red voters have earned the right to celebrate but now that they are in charge they will act quickly. Those tax cuts will become permanent. Medical and asbestos liability reform appear doable. Estate tax repeal –not a problem. Terrorism backstop, association health plans, Social Security reform, regulatory modernization? Let’s just say prospects for these are less certain.

As fascinating as the red and blue politics of Washington are, the insurance industry must also keep an eye on the politics of the states.

Nationwide, Republicans grabbed control of a few more governorships. In this region, there were three gubernatorial contests. In Delaware, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D) defeated William Lee (R) in a surprisingly tight race. (Democrat Matthew Denn was also elected the state’s new insurance commissioner.) In New Hampshire, John Lynch (D) defeated first-term Gov. Craig Benson (R). In Vermont, Gov. Jim Douglas (R) defeated Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle (D).

Democrats picked up a few seats in state houses but not enough to tip the balance their way. The scorecard of majority parties in state legislatures looks like this:

Democrat (20): District of Columbia plus Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

Republican (20): Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Split (10): Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee.

Non-Partisan: Nebraska.

Politics in Annapolis, Albany, Boston, Harrisburg, Hartford, Richmond and other state capitals will have as much influence on insurers, agents and consumers as what happens in Washington. What states do and don’t do could decide the future of insurance regulation. Tort reform, credit scoring, privacy and the ongoing probes into brokerage practices–states will be addressing these and other insurance matters.

As fall glides into winter, the campaigns’ bright colors fade and everything turns gray and brown. There’s serious work to do. When it comes to insurance issues in the states, it’s still an open question: more of the same or a fresh start?

Topics Virginia Washington