Democrats scored massive midterm wins at every level of the ballot on Tuesday, flipping both chambers of Congress and winning amazing gubernatorial triumphs across the country.
But as consequential as those victories were, the most important wins for Democrats on Tuesday were the less-noticed ones quite a bit further down the ballot. The party made historic progress in state legislative elections in virtually every single chamber that was on the ballot this year.
Democrats secured at least 12 new legislative chamber majorities in the 2026 midterms and captured at least 300 seats previously held by Republicans. Most notably, they picked up enough seats in both statehouse chambers in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to secure trifecta control in those states, some for the first time in decades.
Democrats will use their unified control of these six crucial swing states to show why voters should trust them with the presidency in 2028.
Nevada Democrats added a sixth trifecta to the party’s roster when current state Attorney General Aaron Ford flipped that governorship, to go along with a comfortable majority in the state Senate and a supermajority in the state Assembly.
Democrats now have an unprecedented chance to completely control policymaking across those six states — all of which will likely play essential roles in the 2028 presidential election.
As I wrote for MS NOW before Election Day, these new governing trifectas will mean more for Democrats’ affordability agenda than full majority control of Congress. Many of the changes the U.S. House and Senate will propose on Capitol Hill to improve Americans’ lives will founder against President Donald Trump’s veto power.
Even if Trump were to decide to support specific Democratic bills, the pace of lawmaking on Capitol Hill can be described as snail-like at best. Conversely, any given state’s legislature passes anywhere from dozens to hundreds of new laws each year.
The next major election may be two years away, but it effectively gets underway today. Democrats will use their unified control of these six crucial swing states to show why voters should trust them with the presidency in 2028.
After all, in the run-up to the midterms, downballot Democrats were clear about their plans for power. In Pennsylvania, capturing the state Senate while retaining the governor’s office and House will allow that newly minted trifecta to at last boost the minimum wage past the dismal federal baseline, expand access to budget-friendly childcare and codify reproductive rights into state statute. In Arizona, Democrats are targeting legislative action to curb prescription drug expenses, expand affordable housing options, block runaway utility price hikes and restore public school financing by cracking down on the state’s scandal-plagued voucher scheme.
The power Democrats built at the state level on Tuesday wasn’t confined to traditional swing states.
Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats intend to leverage their governing power to cap medicine prices, outlaw algorithmic rent-gouging schemes and shield local communities from data center fallout such as soaring power and water costs.
The fact that systemic policy shifts at the state level can occur so quickly will let Democrats across all tiers of governance provide proof of concept that inspires voter confidence in the party ahead of 2028.
The power Democrats built at the state level on Tuesday wasn’t confined to traditional swing states. Not only did Georgia voters make Keisha Lance Bottoms the first Black woman to govern any U.S. state, but they handed Democrats the state House for the first time in more than 20 years. Bottoms now has an ally to help her address Georgians’ affordability and corruption concerns while blocking the drawing of new congressional and legislative maps to undermine the voting strength of Black Georgians.
Similarly in Texas, Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa will have a Democratic-majority state House, facilitating her agenda and also preventing further Republican gerrymanders.
North Carolina Democrats needed to flip 12 seats to win a majority in the state House for the first time since 2010; they could be on track to flip as many as 20. Tar Heel Republicans appear on track to keep majority control of that state Senate by a single seat. No longer will Democratic Gov. Josh Stein have to worry that his vetoes will be overturned. As in Georgia and Texas, Republican gerrymandering is on hold.
Elsewhere, Ohio Gov.-elect Amy Acton will be able to exercise her veto power after Democrats broke Republicans’ supermajority in the state House. In Kansas, Democrat Cindy Holscher holds a narrow lead in the governor’s race. If she wins, she will have enough Democrats in the state House to sustain her vetoes — and a Republican caucus in full disarray after losing several members of its leadership. In New Hampshire, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte faces a fully Democratic state House and Senate that will hold her to her promises to govern as a moderate.
The final consequence of Tuesday’s downballot successes is the longest lasting. With so many new state legislators joining the Democratic ranks, the party’s benches in these (and other) states grew spectacularly in a single night. Barack Obama is just one notable example of a state lawmaker who went on to become president, and almost half of our nation’s chief executives previously served in their statehouses.
In other words, the biggest impacts of 2026 may not be seen for years. Tuesday was just the beginning.
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