LEGISLATURES: Democrats on Tuesday captured control of at least 12 Republican-held legislative chambers, winning a majority in at least 51 of the nation’s 99 chambers — their first majority since before the 2010 Republican wave. Democrats flipped at least 300 state legislative seats previously held by the GOP, out of the more than 6,000 seats up for election.
Democrats won control of both chambers in Arizona, Wisconsin and New Hampshire. The party won control of the state House in Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, and the state Senate in Pennsylvania. The wins, plus Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s (D) victory in the gubernatorial race, give Democrats trifecta control of Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
ENERGY: Voters on Tuesday approved 28 local ballot measures aimed at restricting the expansion or growth of data centers. At the same time, voters in 12 other municipalities rejected measures meant to welcome data centers. Voters in Ohio, the epicenter of the anti-data center push, approved every effort to pause the development of data centers.
MORE: Newly elected governors in five states campaigned on reining in data center development. The governors-elect, all Democrats, pushed to repeal tax subsidies for data center development or moratoriums to block data center development altogether in Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado and Ohio.
EVEN MORE: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has warned 12 energy companies that operate out of private ports and terminals not to accept imported Russian fuel. Sherrill told the companies that accepting imports would violate federal law and incur millions in penalties. The Trump administration made a deal last month to buy potentially millions of tons of Russian diesel in a bid to lower gas prices.
ABORTION: Texas Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson (D) will end incumbent Ken Paxton’s (R) practice of suing doctors in other states for sending abortion medication to patients. Johnson said he did not believe Texas law barring doctors from mailing abortion medication to patients had “extra territorial effect.”
TAXES: Voters sent mixed messages on property tax cuts on Tuesday. Florida voters approved a ballot measure to slash property tax bills. North Carolina voters approved a measure to curtail property tax growth. But Oklahoma voters rejected new limits on property tax growth, while Wyoming voters appear poised to reject deep tax cuts.
Voters in Missouri approved an initiative to prohibit the legislature from repealing or amending initiatives unless 80% of lawmakers approve. Voters in Montana approved a measure enshrining the right to the initiative process in the state’s Declaration of Rights.
ELECTIONS: Voters in eight states approved ballot measures tightening requirements on voting access. Measures in Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia approved measures banning noncitizens from voting in local elections. Measures requiring voters to show identification at the polls won approval in Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio. Voters in Arizona and California rejected measures that blended noncitizen voting and voter ID requirements.
REDISTRICTING: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) wants the legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map lines, after voters approved a constitutional amendment granting lawmakers the right to conduct mid-decade redistricting without certain restrictions enshrined in the constitution. The measure would allow lawmakers to redistrict without consideration of contiguity or compactness.
More than 641,625: The number of New Hampshire voters who cast a ballot this year, a new midterm election record. Turnout stood at 66.8% of registered voters.
14.7%: The decline in new car sales in Colorado during the first nine months of 2026, after the end of federal subsidies for the purchase of new electric vehicles. That’s more than triple the slowdown in car sales nationwide.
