A “blue wave” could threaten the GOP as “Democrats have flipped 28 Republican-held seats in state legislatures across the country over the past 14 months”
WASHINGTON — Republicans are “ringing the alarm bell” and feeling “uneasy” as Democrats are “trouncing” Republicans in state legislative elections, according to new reporting from Politico. The DLCC is harnessing this down-ballot momentum into “the widest map and largest single-year budget DLCC has ever approved” to transform state legislative power in November.
Unlocking state legislative power will shape everything from “influence over redistricting” to “protecting the veto power of Democratic governors with GOP-led legislatures” and “provid[ing] a launching pad for the next generation of national leaders.”
Republicans are feeling the heat, with one GOP consultant bluntly warning: “I’m ringing the alarm bell.”
Read more below:
Politico: Democrats are trouncing Republicans in state elections since Trump took office
- Democrats have flipped 28 Republican-held seats in state legislatures across the country over the past 14 months, a sign that the GOP is indeed at risk of losing control of the House, and maybe even the Senate, in the midterms.
- Democratic wins have come even in deep red states, including Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, and often by margins that make Republican leaders uneasy.
- “I’m ringing the alarm bell,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas GOP consultant who has run campaigns for Republicans in the state, including Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
- The results of these state-level elections reflect the immediate concerns of the electorate, provide a launching pad for the next generation of national leaders and could influence the future makeup of Congress through redistricting. They may also give both Republicans and Democrats a preview of the midterm battles to come.
- One of the first signs that Democrats were building momentum came in August, when an Iowa Senate district swung more than 20 points to elect Democrat Catelin Drey. It was the second seat Democrats flipped in the state last year, and the moment that broke the Republican Senate supermajority in the General Assembly.
- Then in November, Democrats did it again: They flipped three of the six Republican-held districts in a Mississippi special election, again breaking a GOP Senate supermajority.
- After Democrats flipped 13 Virginia seats and five New Jersey seats in November, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee went back to reassess state races around the country. They expanded their 2026 target map to 42 chambers and invested $50 million in changing the makeup of state legislatures — the widest map and largest single-year budget DLCC has ever approved.
- Legislatures in Arizona and New Hampshire are now on the “flip” list, and the DLCC hopes to break or prevent GOP supermajorities in red states across the South and Midwest. Their success could give Democrats more state power over judicial nominees, protect the veto power of Democratic governors in states with GOP-led legislatures and hand Democrats greater influence over redistricting.
- On March 24, voters will decide in a special election who represents the Florida state House seat that includes Mar-a-Lago. Democrat Emily Gregory, a small business owner who is running against Republican Jon Maples, a businessman, saw her total campaign earnings jump by nearly 75 percent between Jan. 9 and Feb. 12.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) leads the national strategy to secure Democratic power in our state legislatures. We are the campaign arm for more than 3,000 state legislators and thousands of candidates across all 50 states who are advancing Democratic values and standing up to the dangerous MAGA agenda every single day. Over the last decade, our work has flipped 10 new chamber majorities. Those new majorities have ensured Democrats in state legislatures are positioned to protect our democracy and fundamental rights, while addressing the high cost of living and advancing opportunities. The DLCC’s national strategy and target map continue to pinpoint the most efficient paths to Democratic power across all 50 states.
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