The size of the chamber was reduced by 12 seats after redistricting and, as a result of the 2002 elections, Democrats lost twelve seats while Republicans held the same number of seats as they did previously. (ballotpedia.org)
However if the Democrats controlled the senate this could pass and with their party having the same number of seats as Republicans you have to scratch your head and wonder why they can't get along and form a majority. (nystateofpolitics.com)
While nationalist parties continued to retain the same number of seats that they had under proportional representation, the Northern Ireland Labour Party and various smaller leftist unionist groups were smothered, meaning that it proved impossible for any group to sustain a challenge to the Ulster Unionist Party from within the unionist section of the population. (en.wikipedia.org)