Democrats who swept into state capitols in Tuesday's midterm wave are pledging to turn their new majorities against rising prices, with a minimum wage hike, rent limits and fuel tax relief among the first ideas on the table.
The party picked up hundreds of legislative seats and took over several chambers Republicans had run. It also dismantled GOP supermajorities that could override vetoes and now holds most of the nation's governorships, a position it had not reached since 2010.
Lawmakers in several states say their agenda centers on rising prices, along with abortion rights, gun safety and housing construction. Marc Farinella, a senior adviser at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, said the results also give state Democrats more room to resist President Donald Trump, whether by opposing his immigration enforcement or spending state money on Medicaid and food stamps after federal cuts.
Full control in six states
Democrats now control both legislative chambers and the governor's office in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where passing bills should be easiest. The National Conference of State Legislatures expects nearly half of all state chambers to have new leaders next session.
In Pennsylvania, the state Senate changed hands for the first time since 1978 as Gov. Josh Shapiro won reelection. He and Democratic lawmakers plan to revive bills that cleared the House but stalled in the Senate, including a $15 minimum wage, codified abortion rights, a path for sexual abuse survivors to sue their abusers and more transit money.
Arizona Democrats will run the Legislature for the first time in 60 years. Assistant House Minority Leader Nancy Gutierrez said her caucus wants to stop grocers from using dynamic pricing to gouge shoppers, limit rent increases, restrict corporate home buying and rein in a program that uses public money for private school tuition.
Gutierrez acknowledged that none of her colleagues has served in a majority before. She said they are seeking advice from Democrats in states such as Colorado that shifted from Republican to Democratic control.
New Hampshire Democrats flipped both chambers and appear to hold veto-proof margins, blunting Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who also won. They also took the state body that approves contracts and vets the governor's nominees, which plans to prioritize Planned Parenthood funding and accountability for the scandal-plagued state Supreme Court.
Split capitols, Republican reassessment
Elsewhere, divided power could stall action. In Texas, Democrats won every statewide office for the first time since 1994 and flipped the House. Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa has promised a high-cost emergency declaration and executive orders suspending gas and diesel taxes and freezing electricity rates, but Republicans kept the Senate and vowed to oppose her.
Texas stands as long as the Texas Senate Republican caucus holds the line,
Charles Schwertner, Republican Texas state senator
North Carolina Democrats, who already held the governor's office, flipped the House while Republicans kept the Senate by two seats. Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper said stalemate is the likelier outcome, noting Gov. Josh Stein has had a dozen vetoes overridden.
In Georgia, Democrats said Wednesday they appear to have won the House, which would end more than two decades of Republican control, with six races undecided as of 5 p.m. House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican, said several seats remain within recount margin.
Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley said she will seek the speakership, which would make her the first woman and first Black person in the job. Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the state's first Democratic governor since 2003, though Republicans are expected to keep a narrow Senate majority.
In Missouri, Republicans kept the House but lost 16 seats and their supermajority, their worst showing since Watergate. Rep. Darin Chappell, chosen as majority leader, said the caucus is in a total reassessment. Farinella said the defeats could free some Republicans to drift back toward the center.
