Thanks to 2024 victories, nearly half of Americans will continue to have their rights protected by at least one Democratic majority in their statehouse
WASHINGTON — The DLCC and state Democrats successfully defended against a red wave in state legislatures – despite a challenging national environment that delivered a federal GOP trifecta. State Democrats clinched major wins that defended our one-seat majority in the Pennsylvania House, broke the GOP supermajority in North Carolina, and made impressive gains in Wisconsin to put majorities in play next cycle. As a red wave swept the top of the ticket – it largely fizzled in the states. DLCC’s victories this year ensure Democratic-controlled legislatures can serve as a firewall against the Trump administration’s toxic agenda – including Project 2025 – and position Democrats to compete and flip chambers in 2026 and beyond.
Check out recent coverage of 2024 state legislative wins:
National Journal: Q&A with Heather Williams
- “I think one of the biggest takeaways for us at this ballot level is that this should have, could have, been different. Republicans took control of the White House and full control of the federal government, but we at DLCC and state Democrats successfully prevented a Republican wave from taking place in our Legislatures. ”
- “I think we created a really strong playbook that sets the stage for us to be able to identify where the greatest opportunities are for power in the elections in front of us and on the way to the 2030 redistricting cycle. So we will be able to identify where the chambers are that have the greatest opportunity to change power or where we need to protect our chambers.”
- “There are also really important places with governor’s races in 2026, so there’ll be a lot of eyes on states, and I think lots of reminders from us that governors are incredibly important and really critical in our overall Democratic path to power, but it is the legislatures that write the laws and protect our rights.”
Politico: Morning Score Newsletter
- “I just can’t recall an election that we have been in the same presidential battlegrounds and have been able to maintain the successes that we did have, and mitigate the losses in the way that we did,” [DLCC President Heather] Williams said. “To be able to hold our own in Pennsylvania and maintain that majority with the losses up-ticket, there’s definitely stuff to learn from that.”
- “We still have a strong firewall of Democratic majorities in the states, and in fact, we currently sit with double the [number of] trifectas that we had when Trump was last in office. So we’ve made a lot of ground over that time. … These chambers are so competitive, they’re competitive into this now-Trump midterm, where Republicans have a federal trifecta, and we are still on the path that we wanted to be as we build out our plans headed into the 2030 redistricting cycle.”
- One of the most notable wins for Democrats was in North Carolina, where they broke Republicans’ supermajority in the state House. And they picked up seats in Wisconsin after new maps broke a solid Republican gerrymander […].
Meidas Touch: State-Level Democrats Pull Off Big Wins in Key States
- Democratic candidates for state legislatures won big in several key swing states last week, showing Democrats voted solidly for down ballot candidates when faced with GOP control at the state level. Despite top of the ticket losses, state Democrats over performed, delivering crucial victories in state Houses where bodily autonomy and voting rights hang in the balance.
- The victories come after record investments in state-level races by the Democratic Party. This summer, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) launched the Summer of the States Program to highlight key races for state houses all over the country.
- “I would say our team, our leaders, our candidates, they were incredible,” [DLCC President Heather] Williams said in an interview with MeidasTouch. “Much of it was the fact that these candidates were just engaging with voters, meeting them where they were having real, honest, authentic conversations.”
Associated Press: New maps help Wisconsin Democrats make legislative gains and set up a push for majorities in 2026
- Democrats came out of Tuesday’s elections with substantial gains in the Wisconsin Legislature under new district boundaries, setting them up for a run for a majority in two years.
- “Thanks to fair maps and a smart strategy, the GOP’s stranglehold on Wisconsin’s legislature is coming to an end,” Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in a statement. The DLCC is the arm of the Democratic Party tasked with building majorities in state legislatures.
Erie Times-News: Pennsylvania Democrats retain state House majority, holding off red wave
- Democrats lauded what they called a “historic win” that would help their lawmakers hold the GOP agenda at bay.
- “Our newly elected and reelected Democratic lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House are posed to move the Commonwealth forward and provide a critical check on Republican extremism,” Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in a prepared statement.
- Democrats in 2022 claimed a majority in the Pennsylvania House for the first time in a decade, and with Republicans in control of the Senate, created the nation’s only divided state legislature.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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