Democrats seized more power over state governments than the party has had in years after the party swept races up and down the ballot in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Republicans have held a majority of state legislatures and governorships since 2010. But that reign appears over as Democrats swept a majority of governorships and state legislative chambers.

Tracking from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee on Wednesday showed the party had flipped 12 chambers so far, winning the most chambers since 2008 and putting Democrats in control of more than half the nation’s state legislative chambers.

“With this sweep, Democrats have achieved their best performance since the Watergate scandal,” the committee, which works to elect Democrats at the state level, said in a news release Wednesday.

Unofficial results show Democrats will control the Arizona legislature for the first time in 60 years. Building off a historic sweep of statewide races, Democrats are poised to take control of the Texas House for the first time in over 20 years. In North Carolina, Democrats flipped several House seats held by influential, veteran Republicans to give the party control of the lower chamber for the first time since 2010.

“We have the power to make this state better,” state Rep. Robert Reives, who was introduced as the next House speaker, said Tuesday night.

Many legislative races had yet to be called by midday Wednesday. But the National Conference of State Legislatures said current results showed Democrats would secure new trifectas – control of both chambers and the governor’s office – in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Democrats also broke Republican trifectas in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas.

Additionally, Democratic wins crushed GOP supermajorities in several states. In Florida, the loss of the Republican supermajority takes away the party’s power to override rules regarding procedure and debate and override the governor’s veto.

Democratic gains also ended supermajorities in the Indiana state House, the Kansas House, both of Missouri’s legislative chambers, the Ohio House, and the South Carolina House.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Republican State Leadership Committee, which works to elect Republicans at the state level, cited an “historically difficult political environment” facing the party.

“Democrats made state legislative races a national priority, pouring unprecedented resources into these contests because they understand the power state legislatures hold in shaping policy and building the pipeline for the next generation of leaders,” President Edith Jorge-Tuñón said in the statement. “In many key battleground states, the national political environment and the impact of top-of-the-ticket races significantly affected our candidates’ ability to defy historical trends.”

Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@stateline.org.

Democrats have won the majority of governor’s offices for the first time in 16 years after the GOP racked up major losses across the country.

Democrats flipped governorships in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas and defended competitive races in Maine, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to unofficial results from The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ.

As of 10 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, Democrats were set to hold 28 governor’s offices compared with Republicans’ 20. Races in Alaska and Kansas have not yet been called.

In a historic night, voters elected a record number of four Black governors, including the first Black woman and first Black Republican ever elected governor.

Midterms are always tough for the party that holds the White House, but high prices and growing disapproval of President Donald Trump delivered even stronger than expected results for Democrats Tuesday.

“It’s a blue wave that was bigger than anyone had expected, and it’s having consequences across the country, including here in Texas,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. “Overall, Donald Trump has single-handedly turned many red states blue — or at least purple.”

By late Tuesday, Democrats had won races for attorney general and lieutenant governor for the first time in decades and flipped the Texas House.

“One of the real questions will be what do Democrats do with this power, and will they be able to retain it,” he said. “This has effectively opened a door for Democrats across the country.”

Gubernatorial races proved historic for both Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday with the election of the nation’s first Black woman governor and the first Black Republican governor.

But the Democratic party made major gains coast to coast, particularly in reliably conservative states, that could reshape state policy for years to come.

In Iowa, the election of Democrat Rob Sand ends more than a decade of Republican control of the legislature and the governor’s office.

In Ohio, Democrat Dr. Amy Acton’s win marks the first time in 20 years that Ohio voters have selected a Democrat to lead the Buckeye State.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will become Georgia’s first Democratic governor since 2002 and the nation’s first Black woman governor.

While governors were on ballots in 36 states, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter had only identified a dozen races for governor as competitive. Those included: Alaska, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin.

Republicans have controlled a majority of state governments since 2010. Before Tuesday’s election, Republicans boasted a 26-24 gubernatorial advantage over Democrats. But the GOP’s state legislative advantage was even stronger, with Republicans controlling 28 state legislatures and Democrats controlling 18 with divided control of chambers in three states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

By Wednesday morning, Democrats had notched major legislative wins. Democrats broke the GOP supermajority in Florida, flipped control of the Wisconsin state Assembly and Senate, and flipped the North Carolina state House.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats won the GOP-held state Senate, seizing  a trifecta – control of the governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature – in Harrisburg.

“Tonight’s earth-shattering victory is undeniable proof that voters are fed up with the MAGA agenda,” Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in a news release.

In Arizona, Democrats declared victory in a yearslong effort to win control of the legislature, proclaiming that Republicans would be in the minority at the state Capitol for the first time in 60 years.

Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@stateline.org.