Democrats will control both legislative chambers and the governor's office in 22 states starting in January, the party's strongest hold on state government since before 1984, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Republicans, who held 23 of those single-party trifectas going into Tuesday's midterm elections, will be left with 17. Katy Owens Hubler, who directs the elections and redistricting program at the nonpartisan group, called the Democratic total a high point stretching back more than four decades.
The swing in legislative chambers was just as sharp. Republicans controlled 28 chambers before the vote and Democrats 18; Democrats are now set to hold 24 and Republicans 21. The conference described it as the largest shift for Democrats since 2010.
Democrats flipped or are expected to flip the state House in Alaska, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas, along with the Pennsylvania Senate. In Arizona, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, they took both chambers.
That leaves split control in Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, where Republicans previously ran both chambers. Some races in Alaska and North Carolina are still too close to call, and all results remain unofficial until they are certified in the coming weeks.
The gains break a long Republican lock on the South. Owens Hubler said that since 2012, every Southern state had both legislative chambers in Republican hands, and that the new map departs sharply from the trend of the past dozen years.
Democrats also took at least five governor's offices from Republicans: Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada and Texas. The conference's team said Alaska is expected to elect a Democratic governor once all ballots are counted.
If that happens, Democrats would hold 30 governorships to Republicans' 20, Owens Hubler said. She noted the party has not held a majority of governors' mansions since before 2010.
