Democrats Secure Full Control of Five State Governments in Midterm Sweep

Democrats took complete control of at least five state governments on Tuesday, securing a degree of power the party has not enjoyed in some of those states in years.

According to The Associated Press, the party captured trifectas, meaning the governor's office plus both legislative chambers, in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The results mark the latest evidence of an overwhelmingly successful midterm for Democrats, who swept both chambers of Congress and won a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years, ending a long stretch of Republican dominance at the state level. The party can now reshape the local policy agenda in several presidential battleground states.

"This was the most significant night for state legislatures since the seismic Republican wave in 2010," said Mandara Meyers, executive director of The States Project, a Democratic-aligned group that was among several organizations spending millions to build the party's strength in state legislatures.

Wisconsin Democrats reclaimed full control of state government for the first time in 16 years, flipping both the Assembly and Senate while keeping the governor's office. The gains followed new legislative maps imposed after the state Supreme Court struck down Republican-drawn lines in 2024. Democrats needed two seats for a Senate majority and five in the Assembly but won far more in each chamber.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats flipped well beyond the three seats required to retake the state Senate and expanded a one-seat edge in the Assembly, giving re-elected Gov. Josh Shapiro a powerful advantage for his second term. It is the party's first trifecta there since 1993.

Michigan Democrats regained a trifecta two years after losing it, flipping the state House and adding to a slim Senate majority, while Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson won the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In Minnesota, the party built sizable majorities in both chambers, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar will become governor, replacing Tim Walz. In Nevada, Democrats kept both legislative chambers and flipped the governorship as Attorney General Aaron Ford defeated GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Arizona could deliver a sixth trifecta, where Democrats have not held full control in 60 years. Party leaders said they were on track to win both chambers, though the AP has not projected control, and Gov. Katie Hobbs won re-election.

Democrats also broke through in Republican strongholds. In Texas, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming the state's first Democratic governor since 1995 after Republicans had held complete control since 2003. As of Wednesday morning, Texas Democrats had made significant state House gains, with party leaders saying control was within reach, though the AP has not called the chamber and Republicans kept the state Senate.

In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governorship, flipping the office blue for the first time in 24 years, while Democrats made major state House gains. The AP projected Republicans would hold the state Senate and has not called the House; the GOP had held a Georgia trifecta since 2005. Democratic governor wins in Iowa and Ohio broke up total GOP control there, Democrats flipped the North Carolina state House for the first time in 16 years while narrowly missing a Senate majority, and the party said it gained enough seats to break Republican supermajorities in chambers in South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio.