Republicans win 3 more governorships, make legislative gains
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republicans won control of governors’ offices in Missouri, New Hampshire and Vermont on Tuesday, picking up a trio of previously Democratic seats in their quest to expand their statehouse leadership to their strongest levels in decades.
The governors’ contests in a dozen states were part of a battle for statehouse supremacy that also included nearly 6,000 state legislative elections. Heading into Tuesday, Republicans controlled more than two-thirds of the nation’s legislative chambers, as well as 31 of the 50 governors’ offices.
They were inching toward their historical high of 34 governorships sent in 1922, with races in North Carolina and Montana still too close to call early Wednesday.
In a key legislative battle, Republicans also won control of the Kentucky House — the lone remaining Democratic-held chamber in the South — for the first time in nearly a century while defeating Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo. And Republicans reclaimed the Iowa Senate from Democrats, giving them control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office.