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The Republican party roared back into political power after last week’s election by winning the White House, Senate, House and the popular vote. This
election also produced
interesting results, from progressive measures winning on the ballot in red states to voting anomalies that might translate to party realignments in the future.
The Chambers of Power
- The U.S. Senate: Republicans have won a majority by picking up four seats in the states of West Virginia, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
- The U.S. House: The Republicans secured enough seats (218) to maintain control of the House but there are a few races yet to be called. The margins will remain razor thin, much like the current 118th
Ballot Takeaways
Below are a few examples of state outcomes that defied conventional political thinking.
- Worker’s rights in red states: The electorate in states like Missouri, Alaska and Nebraska voted to increase the minimum wage or guarantee paid sick leave. To achieve the ballot win, advocates utilized the initiative petition process—a technique increasingly being used to advance policies at odds with the more traditionally-held beliefs of states’ Republican dominated legislatures.
- Some Republican states supported extending abortion rights: Many voters decided to extend abortion rights in states like Arizona, Missouri and Nevada, to overturn their state’s abortion bans. While Florida didn’t pass a similar ballot measure, approximately 57% of the electorate did vote in favor of adding abortion rights as a constitutional amendment – just shy of the 60% required threshold.
- Blue States are now less blue: Kamala Harris has won every traditionally blue state by a noticeably smaller margin than President Biden did four years ago.
- The Republican party is more diverse: The GOP also made big gains with nonwhite voters. Among Black voters, Trump roughly doubled his support among Black men under 45 compared to 2020. The shift contributed to Trump's improved margins in battleground states like North Carolina and Georgia. There was a similar jump with Hispanics; Trump won 45% of the Hispanic vote, a 13-point increase from 2020.
