Democrats Win State Legislatures Across Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin

Democrats gained control of state legislatures across the United States on Tuesday, extending a night of congressional losses for Republicans into statehouses in Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to The Guardian.

In Austin, Texas, supporters gathered to celebrate Gina Hinojosa's defeat of Republican Greg Abbott in the governor's race, the Guardian reported, part of a broader result that will give Democrats control of the Texas House for the first time since 2002.

Which states changed hands?

According to the Guardian, Democrats are positioned to hold full control of government — governor's office plus both legislative chambers — in Arizona for the first time in roughly 60 years, and in Pennsylvania for the first time since the 1990s. In Wisconsin, the party has not held a full trifecta since Republicans swept the state in 2010. Michigan and Minnesota, which lost their Democratic trifectas after the 2024 election, regained them Tuesday, the outlet reported. Ballots in several states were still being counted as of the Guardian's report.

How does this compare with past elections?

"This was the most significant night for state legislative power since the seismic Republican wave in 2010," said Mandara Meyers, executive director of the States Project, a group that backs Democratic state legislative candidates, in remarks reported by the Guardian. Meyers described Tuesday's results as the inverse of 2010, when Republicans won control of statehouses and then redrew congressional and legislative district maps that have shaped American politics for more than a decade. "Democrats now have more power in the states than at any other point in the 21st century," Meyers said, adding that the party is looking at "a fundamentally new legislative playing field."

What will Democrats do with the new power?

The Guardian reported that in several states where Democrats have been locked out of power for years or decades, the party is expected to begin "aggressive legislative sprees" with implications beyond state lines. The Guardian did not specify which bills or policy areas Democratic lawmakers intend to prioritize first in states such as Arizona, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania.

How many Americans now live under Democratic governors?

The victories were broad enough that a majority of Americans are set to live in states led by a Democratic governor, the Guardian reported, though the outlet did not provide a specific population figure or state-by-state governor tally beyond the states named above.

By the numbers

• Democrats gained hundreds of state legislative seats nationwide, per the Guardian's report.
• The party's current state-level gains are being compared by the States Project to the 2010 Republican wave, which flipped statehouses and preceded a decade of GOP-drawn redistricting maps, according to Meyers.

Full counting continues in several contested races, the Guardian noted, and final seat totals in some legislatures had not been certified at the time of its report.

Read the original reporting at The Guardian.

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