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Republicans, who hold a majority of U.S. governors offices and legislatures, see a path to expand their dominance to unprecedented levels in elections next week.

The party that now controls 59 of the 99 U.S. legislative chambers has set a goal of attaining 66 of them, according to the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, which it said would be a modern-day record. Democrats are focusing on holding the power they have in a midterm election that almost never favors the party in the White House.

After Republicans took 21 new legislative chambers in the 2010 election, states cut taxes, restricted abortion and limited collective bargaining for public employees. State-level policy making is increasingly important with Congress and President Barack Obama deadlocked, said Tim Storey, an analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.

You cant understate the impact of these elections on peoples lives and public policy, especially at a time when Washington is almost certainly going to remain gridlocked, Storey said.

Twenty-two of the 29 governorships held by Republicans are contested this year, among 36 states choosing chief executives, according to the National Governors Association. Nineteen Republicans and nine Democrats are seeking re-election, with open seats in eight states.

Predicting the national outcome is difficult because 11 gubernatorial races are rated toss-ups by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington.

In legislatures, Republicans control both chambers in 27 states -- three shy of the partys record of 30 after the 1920 election, Storey said. The party also claims control of Nebraskas unicameral, nonpartisan body, thanks to an edge in state voter registrations. About 15 chambers in 14 states could see a change of control in either direction, Storey said.

Prime Republican targets include the Iowa Senate, Kentucky House and New Hampshire House, which could provide dominance if they also retain the other chambers in those states, according to the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee in Washington.

If the Democrats werent able to make more substantial advances in 2012, when Obama won re-election, theyre pretty much in fantasyland thinking that theyre going to be able to make gains this year, said Jill Bader, a spokeswoman for the group.

Democrats pointed to five chambers where they think they can take control from Republicans, including the Wisconsin Senate. Their priority is keeping senate majorities in Iowa, Nevada and Colorado and the houses of representatives in Minnesota, New Mexico, Kentucky and West Virginia, said Kurt Fritts, national political director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee in Washington.

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Republican Goal: Two-Thirds of U.S. Legislative Chambers