In 2010, influenced by the Tea Party and its focus on fiscal issues, 17 states elected Republican governors and every one of those states saw a drop in their unemployment rates since January 2011

The average drop in the unemployment rate in these states was 1.35%, compared to the national decline of 0.9%, which means, according to the analysis, that the job market in these Republican states is improving 50% faster than the national rate. On the other hand, the unemployment rate in states that elected Democrats in 2010 dropped, on average, as much as the national rate decline and, in some states such as New York, the unemployment rate has risen since January 2011.