Democrats won a smashing victory in Virginia on election night this month, picking up both the state House and the state Senate from Republicans and taking control of the state’s government for the first time in a quarter-century. But Democrats didn’t just paint Virginia blue: They also elected its first truly progressive legislature—and a key reason they did so was Donald Trump.
In fact, since Trump was first elected, Democrats have now flipped nine state legislative chambers and haven’t lost a single one, as you can see in the map at the top of this post. And while Republicans still hold a sizable edge—thanks in large part to brazen gerrymanders in several large swing states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania—the gap has closed considerably.
Just how much? After 2016, 61% of the U.S. lived in states with Republican-run statehouses, while just 28% resided in states where Democrats held majorities, and 11% lived in states with split control. Now, the divide has been cut in half, to 57% Republican to 41% Democratic, with 2% in divided states.
And in 2020, there’s a good chance Democrats will pick up even more legislatures. Democrats have a shot at winning both chambers in states such as Arizona, Minnesota, and North Carolina, for instance, and they could even break the GOP’s hammerlock in Texas by flipping the closely divided state House. With Trump casting his orange shadow over next year’s elections just as he did over this year’s, more big legislative gains for Democrats are eminently possible.
