The Pew Charitable Trusts

Spurred by skyrocketing power bills, lawmakers in at least six states are considering reining in electric utilities that were freed from regulation in the late 1990s.

The power of personal fortunes to sway political outcomes was put to the test in state races across the country last year. With help from billionaire activist Jon Stryker, an heir to a medical products fortune, Democrats captured control of the Michigan state House for the first time in 12 years. But other super-rich donors got less bang for their buck.

This year, school choice - or using public money to pay for private school tuition - is a big election issue in states where voucher plans have been defeated by narrow margins in recent years, such as Utah, South Carolina and Texas. Meanwhile, those same states have pro-school choice organizations that are well-funded and increasingly politically savvy.

It sounds like a good idea: Replace state employees with a high-tech contractor to more efficiently screen thousands of applications for state support, and save taxpayers millions. That's what Texas and Indiana policy-makers thought. But early results of a privately run social services project in Texas and troubles with the Indiana bidding process have caused both states to put their plans on hold.