The Democrats strong showing in the 2022 midterms extended to state legislatures and saw them picked seats in 21 states and take control of five chambers from the GOP. The power of state legislatures can not be underestimated as they have a direct impact on American lives and heavily influence over abortion laws, voting rules, gun policies and other issues. Overall, Republicans hold more state legislature seats and chambers but Democrats made significant gains in the midterms.
Democrats flipped four chambers in November — both Michigan chambers, the Minnesota Senate and Pennsylvania House.
According to Axios:
Adding in gubernatorial wins, Democrats won state trifectas in Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota. They lost their Nevada trifecta, while Republicans lost their state control in Arizona.
Both parties managed to snag additional veto-proof majorities, which often come with the power to amend state constitutions and overrule governors, as Axios has reported.
Democrats flipped or won vacant seats in 21 states, including nine controlled by Republicans before the election. Republicans also picked up seats in 25 states, but they already controlled legislatures in 20 of them.
Republicans biggest gains on the state level came in Florida and West Virginia. They picked up 14 and 14 seats, respectively and now have supermajorities in both states. They also picked up eight seats in the Wisconsin state legislature, but fell just short of a supermajority.
