The presence on the ballot of multiple allies of Mr. Trump — all whom had falsely claimed that the 2020 election was in some way rigged or stolen — elevated the stakes of these once quiet, bureaucratic races. Democrats and outside groups poured millions into the contests, outspending Republicans 18 to one in Michigan, Nevada and Arizona, according to Ad Impact, an ad-tracking firm.
“In a midterm election in which the out-of-power party should by every measure of normal political dynamics have had a tremendous night, the single reason they didn’t is because they hitched their wagon to a fundamentally un-American, anti-democratic demagogue,” said Ian Bassin, the executive director of Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan group.
Democratic money also poured into races for state legislatures, which have gained prominence as they steer policy on issues like abortion rights and voting access. Two Democratic super PACs pledged to invest more than $80 million in six battleground states; there was no similar organized effort on the Republican side.
And in Michigan, Democrats appeared likely to flip both chambers of the Legislature, winning the State Senate for the first time since 1983 and potentially bringing the state under total Democratic control. That apparent success was the result of newly drawn districts by an independent commission that untangled decades of Republican gerrymandering.
Though issues in state legislative races can be driven by hyperlocal conflicts — over issues like traffic, roads or garbage pickup — Republican candidates who supported false claims about the 2020 election fared poorly.
“The candidates obsessed with conspiracy theories and a national narrative were telling the voters in their district, I’m not going to serve you,” said Daniel Squadron, a former Democratic state senator from New York and a founder of the States Project, a Democratic super PAC focused on state legislatures. “Candidates focused on what voters were concerned about — and sometimes that was democracy — were communicating that they were going to spend their time trying to improve lives.”
Despite the Democratic victories, Republicans maintain control of both chambers of the Legislature in Wisconsin and may still hold the General Assembly in Pennsylvania, and dozens of legislators who have used the power of their office to discredit or try to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election won re-election on Tuesday.
