Democrats Take Majority of Governorships
For the first time since 1994, Democrats won control of a majority of the nation’s governors’ mansions, wresting away five Republican seats and apparently ousting one GOP incumbent, Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr., who has yet to concede. Unofficial results of the Nov. 7 election put Democrats in charge in 28 states. The party picked up open governor’s seats in Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio, where Republican governors did not run again. The GOP won open seats in Alaska, Florida, Idaho and Nevada, according to CNN and The Associated Press.
Going into the midterm elections, Republicans had commanded a 28-to-22 advantage in the nation’s governor’s suites. Preliminary results from the mid-term Nov. 7 contests showed Democrats flipped those margins. Read the full report at stateline.org. Download a one-page printable PDF guide to all 36 races.
Democratic Wave Washes Over Statehouses
Democratic gains vastly outnumbered Republican gains in the nation’s state legislatures Nov. 7, enough to take control of legislative chambers in at least six states – including the New Hampshire House for the first time since at least 1922. Final results in the 6,119 state legislative races nationwide will tell whether Democrats were able to break a near-even split in partisan control of state legislatures. But the results were true to history: Only once since 1938 has the president’s party won state legislative seats in a midterm election.
In addition to New Hampshire, Democrats took won new legislative majorities in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They also widened their majorities in several other statehouses, including Colorado, Kentucky and North Carolina. The GOP’s only bright spot appeared to be in Oklahoma, where President Bush’s party gained two state Senate seats and left that chamber in a tie. Read the full report at stateline.org.
Winners in ’06 Governors’ Races
Democrats won control of a majority of the governors’ mansions for the first time since 1994, securing wins on Nov. 7 in Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio, where incumbent Republican governors did not run again. View Stateline.org’s state-by-state synopsis of the winners.
