IN THE STATES: Last Night’s Special Elections Solidify State Democrats’ Overperformance Trend in Special Elections by 9 Points

Last night, Democrats restored a tie in the Minnesota House and swung a GOP Iowa district by a whopping 21 points

WASHINGTON— Democrats in state legislatures have been notching key wins and overperforming in special elections this year – and that trend only strengthened with last night’s special elections as Democrats overperformed in Minnesota and Iowa by significant margins. 

State Democrats are now overperforming by an average of 9 points in state legislative special elections: 

        Source: Nathaniel Rakich

The states are where Democrats are leading and providing an important counterbalance to the Trump Administration  – all eyes should be on these special elections. We’ve already had four majority-deciding special elections in 2025 where Democrats have won, and there’s another on the horizon in Pennsylvania later this month. On March 25, DLCC Spotlight Candidate Dan Goughnour will run to defend Democrats’ 1-seat majority in the House, and we’re tracking dozens more special elections scheduled for 2025.

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams issued the following statement:

“As chaos reigns in Washington, Democrats have a real opportunity to fight back in our state legislatures where there are winnable and chamber-deciding special elections nearly every single week. Our candidates are on the ground, talking directly to voters, and the trend of overperformance so far this year highlights the urgency for continuing to invest in these races to build our foundation of power in the states. There are dozens more special elections on the horizon and DLCC is ready to keep up the fight.”

The DLCC is the official arm of the Democratic Party with the sole mission of building Democratic power in the states and setting the national agenda at the state level. 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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