Polarization in the States

Innovative research into applying ideological mapping techniques that work well for congress to state legislatures lets us finally answer the question: Do ideological patterns in state legislatures resemble those in congress? The answer: It depends! California and Michigan display Beltway-esque polarization patterns. Florida, however, looks very different and Pennsylvania is pretty different as well. So far, those are the only states this has been done for.

If you want the full explanation, see this PDF of Boris Shor, Christopher Berry, and Nolan McCarty “A Bridge to Somewhere: Mapping State and Congressional Ideology on a Cross-Institutional Common Space.”