Madison, Wisconsin: Democrats Flip Statehouses Across the Country and Take Full Control in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Democrats made sweeping gains in state governments in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, taking control of several legislatures and shifting the balance of power in battleground and Republican leaning states, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

The party took full control in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the AP said. Full control, called a trifecta, means one party holds both chambers of a state legislature and the governor's office. The National Conference of State Legislatures counted five new Democratic trifectas in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and said Democrats had also broken Republican trifectas in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas.

Chambers that changed hands

In Wisconsin, both chambers of the legislature flipped from Republican to Democratic control for the first time since 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The governor's office stayed in Democratic hands, completing the trifecta.

In Minnesota, the state House flipped to Democrats after the chamber had been tied between the two parties since the 2024 election, restoring the Democratic trifecta there. In Michigan, the state House flipped to Democrats. The Michigan Senate and the governor's office were already in Democratic hands, so the party regained the trifecta it lost in 2024.

In Pennsylvania, the state Senate flipped to Democrats for the first time since before the 1994 elections, giving the party a trifecta in Harrisburg. In North Carolina, the state House flipped to Democrats. Republicans had gone into the election one seat short of a supermajority in that chamber.

Two more chambers were still in play on Wednesday. Democrats held an edge in the Arizona Senate, where a win would be their first in that chamber since the 2000 election, and led in the Georgia House, which they last held before the 2004 election. The Texas House was too early to call.

Governors and the wider map

Voters in 46 states chose 6,139 state legislators on Nov. 3, deciding more than 83 percent of all legislative seats in the country, the conference said.

Democrats also moved ahead in governorships. The party now holds 28 governor's offices to 20 for Republicans, with two races yet to be called, the first Democratic majority since before 2010. Republicans entered Election Day with a 26 to 24 advantage. Democrats flipped governor's races in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas.

Why state control matters

State governments shape policy that reaches daily life directly. The AP listed tax rates and abortion rights, school choice and education funding, and data center development among the issues statehouses decide.

The state wins put pressure on Democrats to answer an electorate the AP described as angry over the price of gas, inflation, affordable housing and the rising cost of living. Results remain unofficial, and several races had yet to be called on Wednesday, the conference said.