A blue tsunami swept across the country Tuesday, dragging state legislatures and ballot measures with it.
California's proposed wealth tax remained in limbo, Idaho rejected giving the Legislature sole control over drug laws, and progressives got three Constitutional amendments passed in Virginia, while Republican legislators in Ohio and Texas may attempt to limit the powers of incoming Democratic governors.
Here’s what you need to know this week from outside the Beltway:
Where the states stand
Democrats are on track to control a majority of state legislative chambers, winning the most since 2008, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Republicans have held a 16-year grip on state legislatures following Project REDMAP, their effort to capture downballot offices that soon after President Obama took office. Notably, Democrats took control of the North Carolina state House for the first time since 2010, flipped the Pennsylvania state Senate with a one-seat majority, and flipped the Texas state House. The DLCC has claimed flips of the Georgia House and the New Hampshire Legislature, though all three chambers remain too close to call. Democrats secured trifectas in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Democrats also broke GOP supermajorities in the Nebraska Legislature, the Kansas House, the Missouri Legislature, the Ohio House, the Indiana House, the South Carolina House, and the Florida House, according to AP and the DLCC.
California
The fate of Proposition 40, California’s wealth-tax initiative, is still too close to call. Among the 62 percent of the vote that has been counted, 55 percent voted against the tax. As of publication, the current 45 percent favoring the tax seem concentrated in the Los Angeles area and the Bay Area. That’s also where the uncounted votes are concentrated, along with San Diego. Given how slowly California counts its votes, it may take a week to have a call on this measure.
Idaho
By a vote of 66.3 percent to 33.7 percent, Idaho voters rejected a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would have given the Legislature sole authority to legalize any drug or psychoactive substance. The amendment would have removed citizens’ ability to run ballot initiatives aiming to legalize medical or recreational drugs. Ballot initiatives were used in several states across the country to legalize marijuana—a drug that remains illegal in Idaho. Critics of the proposal cautioned that it could be a slippery slope to removing citizens’ right to the ballot-initiative process.
Nebraska
In the Cornhusker State, voters rejected a proposal to lengthen term limits in the state Senate. The measure would have raised the state Senate limit from two consecutive terms to three. Proponents of the measure sought to decrease turnover. Given how the national environment treated incumbents this year, and the increased discussion around aging elected officials, the measure’s failure, by a whopping 81.45 percent to 18.55 percent, came as no surprise.
New Mexico
In a change to the state Constitution, New Mexico state lawmakers will now have the option to receive a salary. Voters decided on Tuesday, by a vote of 63.4 percent to 36.6 percent, to allow state lawmakers to receive compensation equal to the state’s median household income, which is currently $67,800, according to U.S. Census figures. The annual cost for taxpayers is estimated to be about $7.6 million.
Ohio
Ohio Republicans lost their supermajority in the state House, and they’ll soon have to negotiate with a Democratic governor, Amy Acton. Before she takes office, however, state lawmakers may try to take away or diminish the governor’s powers—as the North Carolina Legislature did to then-Gov. Roy Cooper in 2024. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine indicated Thursday that he wouldn’t sign any efforts from the Legislature to do so.
Texas
Some GOP lawmakers are also calling on outgoing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to limit the governor's powers before Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa is sworn in next year. Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison asked Abbott to call a special session to restrict the office’s emergency powers and prohibit the governor from changing statutes. Abbott has yet to respond to the request, which is much like the one in Ohio.
Virginia
Three state Constitutional amendments passed Tuesday night. Measures to enshrine reproductive rights, protect same-sex marriage, and return voting rights for former felons passed with 61 percent, 56 percent, and 55 percent, respectively. Both the reproductive-rights and same-sex marriage amendments face legal challenges, with a conservative advocacy group claiming the ballot language was misleading.
What’s to come
In the states with new Democratic majorities or Democratic trifectas, expect to see a flurry of legislation—and disagreement—in the new year. Many states hit by the blue wave have not seen a Democratic majority or Democratic trifecta in decades, and the new leadership may not necessarily be prepared to wield power effectively. Many of these states could find themselves in a similar situation to Onondaga County, New York, last year, when Democrats unexpectedly flipped the county board for the first time in nearly 50 years, handing them power they weren’t necessarily sure what to do with.
