Midterm voters end long GOP dominance in state legislatures as Democrats make historic gains

The US midterm elections brought historic changes in state legislatures. Pennsylvania voters elected a Democratic majority in the state Senate for the first time since Jimmy Carter was president. Democrats in Texas will run the state House there for the first time in 24 years, and the Georgia House will have a Democratic majority for the first time in more than 20 years.

The results reversed a Republican dominance in legislatures that began in 2010 and had solidified since. Going into the midterms, Republicans controlled legislatures in 28 states and Democrats held 18, while the remaining few were divided. Now, with some votes still being counted, Democrats look likely to hold a 24-to-22 lead, with the others divided.

According to data compiled by NPR, Democrats have picked up seats in nearly every state that held legislative elections. They gained significant ground even in unexpected, reliably Republican states such as Texas, Utah and Florida.

The shift could mean real change in people's lives, as legislatures rewrite laws on taxes, reproductive rights, access to health care, school funding and other issues. Legislatures have also been important in promoting or blocking President Trump's agenda.

The Republican State Legislative Committee, which coordinates support for GOP candidates, blamed the losses on the national anti-incumbent mood and heavy spending for Democrats. The group's president, Edith Jorge-Tuñón, wrote that the results underscore both the challenges Republicans face and the importance of maintaining a strong, sustained presence in the states.

The president of their rival organization, Heather Williams of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said the wins proved what is possible when statehouses are put at the center of a national strategy.

Some of the biggest changes could come in states where Democrats now control both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office. They gained six new such 'trifectas.' In Arizona, Democrats will hold the majorities in the state House and Senate and the governor's office — a trifecta — for the first time since 1966.

One possible policy change in Arizona could be on school vouchers. Governor Katie Hobbs has repeatedly tried to reform and limit the state's billion-dollar voucher program, which provides public money for private school tuition regardless of family income, but the Republican-run legislature had blocked her. Arizona Democrats have also said they hope to provide financial relief on rent, utilities and childcare.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro has promised to work with a newly Democratic legislature to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, strengthen abortion rights and increase affordable housing. Democrats also won trifectas in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and in Nevada, where they won the governor's office. They broke Republican trifectas in Georgia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas.

Going into the midterms, Republicans had a few more trifectas than the Democrats. Now Democrats will likely have 22 and the Republicans 17, with 10 other states divided, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That figure does not include Nebraska, which has a Republican governor and a unicameral legislature controlled by Republicans.

In some states, including Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, Democrats have turned Republican-controlled legislatures into divided legislatures. Georgia Democrats won the House and came close in the Senate; on their agenda, they could try to win over a few GOP lawmakers and pass Medicaid expansion to provide health care to more low-income residents.

Democrats won control of the North Carolina state House. In the state Senate, a Republican is leading the race for one seat by just over a couple of hundred votes and it is likely headed to a recount. That race will determine whether Republicans have a one-seat majority or the chamber will be tied; if it is tied, the Democratic lieutenant governor would be the tie-breaker.

In several states, Democrats fell short of flipping some Republican-held chambers but won enough seats to end Republican supermajorities. The government relations firm Multistate says that happened in six states that had GOP, veto-proof supermajorities. That will matter most where there are Democratic governors, such as North Carolina, Ohio and Kansas, who now have leverage to veto GOP initiatives.