Democrats flip Georgia's state House, lifting their gain to at least 12 chambers
HuffPost counts 549 state legislative seats flipped as of late Monday, and the Seattle Times calls it the biggest single-election gain since 2010.
Democrats have won control of the Georgia state House after The Associated Press determined on Monday that enough races had gone their way. As of that day Democrats had 91 seats and Republicans 86, with three not called. One of those involves a secretary of state investigation into the late upload of a memory card with nearly 400 votes.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governorship, so the party holds and the governor's office for the first time in more than 20 years. Republicans kept the Georgia . The flip brings Democrats' gains to at least 12 legislative chambers nationwide, the largest gain in one election since Republicans' 2010 wave.
HuffPost counts 549 state legislative seats flipped as of late Monday, with dozens of races still uncalled. Democrats will hold full control in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Politico reports they also won the Texas House for the first time since 2002.
The AP has not called the North Carolina Senate or either Alaska chamber. In Idaho Democrats gained six seats, but Republicans keep supermajorities in both chambers.
- 549state legislative seats flipped from Republican to Democrat as of late Monday, by HuffPost's countHuffPost
- at least 12new legislative chambers Democrats controlThe Seattle Times
- 22 to 19Democratic versus Republican trifectas nationally, per HuffPostHuffPost
- 91Georgia House seats Democrats had won as of Monday, to Republicans' 86The Seattle Times
- at least 51state legislative chambers Democrats control, according to the DLCCPolitico
Three sides of the story
Liberal2 outlets
Historic Democratic sweep and the agenda it opens
HuffPost's headline reads "540-Plus Seats Flipped," and it calls the scope of the wins "astounding." It adds 12 chambers flipped, 13 Republican supermajorities broken and new trifectas. It quotes Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee spokesperson Will Rusche: "an immense amount of governing power that we won."
It then turns to policy: expansion in Georgia and Texas, a planned voucher repeal in Texas, and a possible push in Wisconsin. Politico opens with a "blue wave" that "crashed through statehouses" and calls the scale historic, citing New York's Senate, Arizona and Georgia. It quotes DLCC president Heather Williams, "We ran the table," and Arizona's Oscar De Los Santos on "sixty years of pent-up ideas."
Politico also quotes Republican strategist Gregg Peppin, who says Minnesota voters were more fed up with Trump than with fraud.
Center2 outlets
Georgia's House flip, plus Idaho's smaller ripple
The Seattle Times leads with the Georgia House flip, built on the Associated Press call. It reports Democrats now control at least 12 new chambers, the biggest gain since Republicans' 2010 wave, and lists the states getting trifectas. It notes Republicans kept the Georgia Senate, so the split government "will likely block Democrats from passing some laws" but opens topics to negotiation.
It also reports North Carolina's Senate and Alaska's chambers are not yet called. Courthouse News turns to Idaho, where a "blue ripple" meant six legislative seats gained while Republicans keep supermajorities. It quotes Boise State's Ross Burkhart, who says the results were "quite a few wavelets," and the University of Idaho's Markie McBrayer, who says the claim that the wave missed Idaho is "not quite true."
It also reports that , which would have restored abortion rights in Idaho, failed with nearly 56% voting against.
Conservative0 outlets
Outlets on this side gave the story little coverage.
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HuffPost reports that Medicaid expansion in Georgia and Texas will top the agenda there. Georgia Democratic Party chairman Charlie Bailey says Keisha Lance Bottoms, who won the governorship, will be able to expand Medicaid with the House majority. The Seattle Times says state control can affect tax bills, data center development and who qualifies for Medicaid. It adds that Georgia's split government will likely block some laws but open topics to negotiation.
All sources: 4 articles from 4 outlets
Liberal (2)
- HuffPost: 540-Plus Seats Flipped, 6 New Trifectas: Dem Wins At The State Level Keep Piling Up
- Politico: Democratic thrashing redraws the map of state power
Center (2)
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