One big midterm result was overlooked by many - and it might have the biggest impact

Democrats celebrated turning Congress blue after storming to victory in the 2026 midterm elections. But as the dust began to settle, another result came into view.

The party made enormous gains in state legislatures across the country, handing them power not seen in some parts of the nation for decades.

Democrats have formed trifectas in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, meaning that come January, the party will control the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers. In Arizona, the first trifecta in 60 years was described by campaigners as a “political earthquake.”

By taking control of state legislatures, the party can now have a huge influence on everyday life for Americans. State legislatures can set school curriculums, decide which infrastructure projects to tackle, ban abortion, among a host of other changes. Democrats will not lead those groups that set many of the laws.

The Democratic Party’s comeback arrived after Americans went to the polls Tuesday to deliver a damning verdict to President Donald Trump and the Republicans after two years in power.

What does this mean for Americans?

State legislatures wield more than six times the power of the federal government, according to The States Project nonprofit, allowing state lawmakers to push policy on healthcare, abortion, education, redistricting, data centers and more. While Trump still has two more years in the White House, he has no jurisdiction to veto legislation in individual states.

Democrats have now flipped at least 500 state legislative seats, including picking up Democratic majorities in at least 12 chambers and breaking at least 11 GOP supermajorities, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said, hailing it a “monumental shift in power.”

“The path to the presidency and federal power runs through our statehouses, and our sweeping victories tonight lay the foundation for 2027, 2028, and beyond,” said its president, Heather Williams. Democrats now control more than half the legislative chambers in the country - their most since the Watergate scandal, the group said.

“Our work to flip these crucial chambers gives state legislative Democrats more power to push back against Republicans’ MAGA agenda in the last two years of the Trump Administration and to lead the fight for progress on behalf of millions of Americans,” Williams added.

Democrats in trifecta states say they plan to prioritize affordability

Pennsylvania Democrats have a trifecta for the first time in 20 years. Before Tuesday night, policies on paid family leave and increasing the minimum wage stalled in a Republican-majority state Senate.

At a press conference Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was comfortably reelected, and Pennsylvania Democrats outlined their legislative priorities for 2027. Their plans include protecting abortion rights, raising the minimum wage, increasing funding for mass transit, and building more housing, Axios reported.

In Minnesota, in the aftermath of the Trump administration’s immigration surge that claimed the lives of two Americans, state lawmakers in both chambers introduced policies to hold federal agents accountable.

One policy passed by the Minnesota Senate allowed residents to sue federal agents in state court, but it failed in the House because power was tied between Republicans and Democrats, meaning lawmakers couldn’t get the bill to the desk of outgoing Gov. Tim Walz.

After Tuesday’s result, Democrats have majorities in both chambers and Democrat Amy Klobuchar is set to succeed Walz as governor after beating the GOP’s Lisa Demuth. Klobuchar campaigned on a platform to lower costs for Minnesotans and pledged to expand access to childcare.

Both House and Senate legislative leaders said voters’ concerns about the cost of living, including healthcare, would be priorities, per Axios.

In Michigan, the state Senate passed policies that sought to lower the cost of living, including bills that would lower the cost of healthcare for public workers. But the legislation failed to pass the Republican-controlled statehouse. “Speaker Matt Hall has led the least productive sessions in decades, sending just seven policies to the Governor’s desk in the first three months of 2026,” The States Project said.

Michigan Democrats have already signaled that they plan to prioritize policies to make life more affordable for Michiganders, pursue guardrails on data centers, and restore voting rights protections that were taken away by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Detroit Free Press.

State Democrats in Nevada previously held both chambers, but outgoing Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed 87 bills last year that would have helped Nevadans access affordable healthcare and raise the minimum wage, according to The States Project. Lombardo lost his bid for reelection after Democrat Aaron Ford won with 51.5 percent of the vote.

Wisconsin Democrats have secured a trifecta for the first time in more than 16 years after flipping the state Assembly and Senate. Governor-elect David Crowley, who will become Wisconsin’s first Black governor in January, promised to tackle affordability.

“We’re gonna lower costs for housing, utilities, healthcare, and childcare,” Crowley said. “We’re gonna deliver real meaningful property tax relief that doesn’t place the burden on our local communities. We’re gonna expand access to quality affordable healthcare that offers real options for our families, our children, our seniors, and people with disabilities.”

Warning for Democrats with their newfound power

With newfound power at the federal and state level, a Republican strategist had a warning for Democrats who “overreach.”

“This is not a mandate for Democrats — this is a mandate about one guy,” Barrett Marson told The Washington Post, referring to Trump. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board also cautioned Democrats about repeating the same mistakes “of the Biden era that cost them so dearly in 2024.”

“Voters weren’t endorsing the Democratic Party,” the board wrote. “Voters also weren’t embracing a Democratic policy agenda, since the party didn’t offer one.”

But Williams, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee president, said that “no one is under any illusion that governing is going to be easy,” and Democrats must use their power wisely.