Studying more than three decades of state level data, Christopher Witko and Nathan Kelly discovered that when economic growth is low, liberal and conservative governments perform similarly with regard to unemployment. However, when growth increases, Democrats do a better job turning that growth into lower unemployment. Other studies show that Democrats are more successful at keeping inequality in check, and invest more money into higher education.
But these academic studies can obscure the very real human pain and destruction that Republican governors, specifically, leave in their wake. The reality is that economic growth is largely outside of the control of most state and local governments. Its certain that investment in infrastructure and education, as well as a commitment to gender and racial equity, will boost growth in the long term. But at the end of the day, most governance is really about the distribution of economic growth and power.
