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Fourth, for the first time since we began publishing

this report card, we found that party affiliation did seem

to make a major difference in the governors' records of fis-

cal restraint.  Republicans substantially outperformed Demo-

crats on the 1998 report card.  The average grade for Repub-

licans was a B-, while the average grade for the Democratic

governors was a C-.  On the past three report cards, Repub-

licans recorded only slightly higher average grades than

Democrats (C+ for Republicans and C- for Democrats).  But

not all Republicans did well.  Frank Keating of Oklahoma,

Terry Branstad of Iowa, George Voinovich of Ohio, and Jim

Edgar of Illinois all received a grade of D.

Finally, this study inevitably reflects the impact of

the spending and taxing inclinations of the state legisla-

tures.  On average, governors of states with more fiscally

conservative legislatures tend to perform better on the re-

port card than do governors of states with more pro-spending

legislatures.  There are 14 governors in our survey who work

with state legislatures that are entirely controlled by the

other party.  Governors Lincoln Almond of Rhode Island, Kirk

Fordice of Mississippi, Gary Johnson of New Mexico, and

Frank Keating of Oklahoma have each been particularly handi-

capped by the fact that they work with legislatures that are

more liberal than those of most states.  On the other hand,

Governors Roy Romer of Colorado, Gary Locke of Washington,

and Lawton Chiles of Florida have each benefited signifi-

cantly from a more fiscally conservative legislature.  To at

least partially separate out the influence of the legisla-

ture, we include data on each governor's budget recommenda-

tions and proposed tax cuts and increases--which are inde-

pendent of the legislature--as a component of the rating.

The Myth of State Government Downsizing

The historic election of 1994 brought Republicans into

majority power in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Rep-

resentatives for the first time in 40 years.  What was over-

looked in that election--but was perhaps just as momentous--

was the Republican takeover of the nation's statehouses in-

cluding those of Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,

Alabama, Oklahoma, and Connecticut.  In all, 14 new Republi-

can governors were elected in November 1994.  Almost all of

them--from Bush in Texas to Pataki in New York--promised

leaner and less costly state government.

The elections in 1995, 1996, and 1997 brought further

GOP pickups so that the GOP now has almost a 2-to-1 advan-

tage in governorships, and roughly 70 percent of the U.S.

population lives in a state with a Republican governor.  The