Midterm voters ended the long-running GOP dominance in state legislatures

Georgia state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, the party's nominee for speaker of the state House, speaks in front of members of the Democratic caucus Thursday in the capitol. Sarah Kallis/GPB News hide caption

Sarah Kallis/GPB News

The midterm elections saw historic changes in state legislatures.

Pennsylvania voters elected a Democratic majority in the state Senate for the first time since Jimmy Carter was president. Democrats in Texas will run the state House there for the first time in 24 years. The Georgia House will have a Democratic majority for the first time in more than 20 years.

The results reversed a GOP dominance in legislatures that began in 2010 and had solidified since.

Going into the midterms, Republicans controlled legislatures in 28 states and Democrats held 18. The remaining few were divided. Now, with some votes still being counted, it looks likely the Democrats will hold a 24-to-22 lead with others divided.

So far, Democrats have picked up seats in nearly every state that held legislative elections, according to data compiled by NPR. Democrats gained significant ground in unexpected, reliably Republican states, like Texas, Utah and Florida.

The shift could mean real change in people's lives as legislatures rewrite laws on taxes, reproductive rights, access to health care, school funding and other issues. Legislatures have also been important in promoting or blocking President Trump's agenda.

New Democratic 'trifectas,'  controlling the legislature and governor's office

The Republican State Legislative Committee, which coordinates support for GOP candidates, blamed the losses on the national anti-incumbent mood and heavy spending for Democrats. "Ultimately, the results of this cycle underscore both the challenges Republicans face and the importance of maintaining a strong, sustained presence in the states," the group's president. Edith Jorge-Tuñón, wrote.

The president of their rival organization, Heather Williams of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said their wins "proved what is possible when you put statehouses at the center of a national strategy."

Some of the biggest changes could come in states where Democrats now control both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office. They gained six new "trifectas."

In Arizona, Democrats will have the majorities in the state House and Senate and hold the governor's office — a trifecta — for the first time since 1966.

One possible policy change could be on school vouchers. Gov. Katie Hobbs has repeatedly tried to reform and limit the state's billion-dollar voucher program, which provides public money for private school tuition regardless of family income. But the Republican-run legislature had blocked her. Arizona Democrats have said they also hope to provide financial relief on rent, utilities and childcare.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has promised to work with a newly Democratic legislature to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, strengthen abortion rights and increase affordable housing.

Democrats also won trifectas in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and in Nevada, where they won the governor's office. They broke Republican trifectas in Georgia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas.

Going into the midterms, Republicans had a few more trifectas than the Democrats. Now Democrats will likely have 22 and the Republicans 17, with 10 other states divided, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. (That doesn't include Nebraska, with a Republican governor and a unicameral legislature controlled by Republicans.)

Democrats can break Republican momentum in some states

In some states, including Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, Democrats have turned Republican-controlled legislatures into divided legislatures.

Georgia Democrats won the House and came close in the Senate. On their agenda, they could try to win over a few GOP lawmakers and pass Medicaid expansion to provide health care to more low income residents. There could also be an effort by House Democrats to repeal that state's six-week abortion ban, but that could be a tough sell in the Senate.

Democrats won control the North Carolina state House. As for the state Senate, a Republican is leading the race for one seat by just over a couple hundred votes and it is likely headed to a recount. It will determine if Republicans have a one-seat majority or if the chamber will be tied. If it is tied, the Democratic lieutenant governor would be the tie-breaker.

North Carolina Democrats are expected to try and roll back some abortion restrictions. And Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has called on both parties to work on addressing affordability concerns once the legislature convenes.

In several states, Democrats fell short of flipping some Republican-held chambers but won enough seats to end Republican supermajorities. The Multistate government relations firm says that happened in six states that had GOP, veto-proof supermajorities.

That will matter most where there are Democratic governors, who now have leverage to veto GOP initiatives, like in North Carolina, Ohio and Kansas.

Colin Campbell of WUNC, Sarah Kallis of Georgia Public Broadcasting, Carmen Russell-Sluchansky of WHYY and Wayne Schutsky of KJZZ, contributed to this story.