Republicans running under newly elected President Donald Trump made gains in numerous state legislative chambers, though Democrats also scored some victories in an expensive battle for state power.
The most notable change from Tuesday’s elections occurred in Michigan, where Republicans won back the House of Representatives just two years after Democrats took full control of both the legislative chambers and the office of the Senate for the first time in four decades. had claimed governorship. Republicans also appeared on track to force a tie with Democrats in the Minnesota House, which would break a Democratic trifecta won two years ago.
Democrats had used their power in upper Midwestern states to advance a sweeping agenda in support of abortion rights, gun control, union bargaining powers, and more. That will likely end under a new era of divided party control.
Votes were still being counted Thursday in some states, including Arizona, as Republicans sought to defend slim majorities in both legislative chambers against an aggressive campaign by Democratic-leaning groups. In Pennsylvania, Democrats tried to hold on to a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, while Republicans retained control of the Senate.
Nationally, Republicans will continue to hold a majority of state legislative chambers and governor’s offices. None of the 11 governorships up for election have reversed control. Overall, it appears there will be only modest change in the makeup of state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Republicans called that a major achievement.
“Republicans at the state level were the definitive winners across the country,” said Dee Duncan, chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee, adding that “Republicans are well positioned to advance conservative policies in the states.”
Although few chambers flipped control on Tuesday, the parties waged a fierce battle over the strength of their majorities.
When a party has a supermajority, it has such wide margins that it can enact laws over a governor’s veto, call special sessions or place constitutional amendments on the ballot without needing any support from opposing party lawmakers.
Republicans appeared to win enough seats on Tuesday to gain new supermajorities in Iowa and South Carolina and break up existing Democratic supermajorities in New York and Vermont. The victories in Vermont were particularly meaningful because they will strengthen Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s veto. In June, Democrats overrode six of Scott’s vetoes, including those on an average 14% increase in property taxes and a requirement for state-owned utilities to switch to renewable energy.
Vermont House Speaker Jill Krowinski, a Democrat, said it is essential that Democrats “take stock of the messages being sent by voters.”
Yet Democrats also claimed some successes. They appeared on their way to gaining a legislative supermajority in Connecticut and made significant gains in Republican-led legislatures in Montana and Wisconsin, where they ran for the first time under new district maps that gave them a better chance of winning.
Democrats also appeared on track to gain a seat in the North Carolina House, which would prevent Republicans from single-handedly overriding Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein’s vetoes.
North Carolina was a major target for Democrats as Republicans overrode more than two dozen vetoes from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, including legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricting medical treatment and sports activities for transgender youth.
While it was “a brutal night for Democrats” nationally, the party “held more ground than expected” in state legislatures, the Democratic-leaning group Forward Majority said in a statement.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Forward Majority and The States Project, another Democratic-leaning group, have collectively poured about $175 million into state legislative races — more than national Republican groups. These efforts “prevented a Republican wave from taking shape in our state legislatures,” said Heather Williams, chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
Democrats had hoped to break even more Republican supermajorities, including in Kansas. But Republicans instead appeared to be moving to expand their power there. Republicans called the result a repudiation of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, whose Middle of the Road political action committee spent about $2 million trying to break the supermajority.
New Hampshire’s deeply divided legislature also shifted to the right, even as a slim majority of voters there supported Democrat Kamala Harris for president. Heading into the election, Republicans had a majority of just a few seats in the House of Representatives, the country’s largest chamber, with 400 members. But they will have a majority of several dozen seats in that chamber and a new supermajority in the Senate.
In heavily Democratic Massachusetts, Republicans also celebrated several victories. Since 1984, only one Republican has flipped a seat in the state legislature in a presidential election year, according to Amy Carnevale, chair of the Republican Party of Massachusetts. On Tuesday, the party flipped three legislative seats, though Democrats still hold overwhelming majorities in both chambers and the governor’s office.
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Associated Press reporters John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Steve LeBlanc in Boston; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; and Lisa Rathke of Marshfield, Vermont, contributed.
