2026 election results: The blue wave goes well beyond Congress. Here are other areas where Democrats won big.

For obvious reasons, the Democrats’ complete domination of the congressional race was the main event of the midterm elections. Team Blue has won 252 seats in the House so far and is on track to secure its largest majority since the 1990s. Vote counting continues in U.S. Senate elections in Alaska and Mississippi, but Democrats appear poised to strengthen their party’s newly won majority. In Mississippi, Scott Colom’s lead over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith grew from 65 votes to 1,813 over the past day, according to the Associated Press. So it’s likely that Colom will become the deep red state’s first Democratic senator since the 1980s — and its first black senator since Reconstruction.

However, outside of Washington, the blue tsunami has reached an equally high peak and in a way that could have similar consequences. Let’s take a look at governors’ mansions, state legislatures and other seats Democrats have won so far across the country.

Five new governors (and counting):

At the start of Donald Trump’s first term, Democrats held the governorships of 16 states. They are now on track to control nearly double that number. Most impressively, Democrats took two states, Nevada and Texas, out of Republican incumbents’ hands, while winning open seats in Georgia, Iowa and Ohio. And although two gubernatorial races remain uncalled, in Alaska and Kansas, Democrats are ahead in both.

Governors can make appointments, call special legislative sessions, and sign (or veto) bills that directly affect millions of lives. Democrats are poised to gain power in 13 of the nation’s 14 most populous states. Governors also certify federal election results, which have proven to be a key bulwark against Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. After Tuesday, Democratic governors will be atop every presidential battleground through 2028.

Hundreds of state legislative seats:

Democrats appear to have won as many as 800 additional seats in state legislatures nationwide, although a full accounting could take some time. Starting next year, the party will hold governing trios in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and likely Arizona (which remains unconvened). Democrats also split Republican trios in New Hampshire, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, while ending Republican supermajorities in Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina. Democrats are expected to control the North Carolina state House of Representatives for the first time since 2010, Georgia for the first time since 2004 and Texas for the first time since 2002.

Winning state legislatures is important to Democrats’ ability to turn their campaign promises — from data center moratoriums to expanding access to health care — into law. In most states, legislatures are also responsible for redistricting, meaning newly empowered Democrats could attempt to dismantle Republican-friendly gerrymanders or even restructure districts to take advantage of them. A word of warning here, though: The Republican Party, at Trump’s behest, redrew the maps of the entire country before Tuesday’s election, and it didn’t work the way they planned. The maps flipped against several states and Democrats managed to win several of these redrawn districts in Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

Many, many other races:

Democrats prevailed in key state Supreme Court elections in North Carolina, Ohio and elsewhere.

In another major change, Democrats narrowly took control of the Texas State Board of Education, which sets the curriculum for the state’s 5 million public school students. According to the Texas Tribune, the board’s Republican majority recently pushed through a series of controversial changes, including requiring Bible stories to be taught to young children and removing the requirement that students learn about Muslim contributions to math and astronomy.

Few things in politics are permanent. But after gradually losing ground in many of those states, then paying for those losses at the federal level, Tuesday gave Democrats a chance to make meaningful changes immediately — and set the stage for more to come.

Want even more midterms? Follow the rest of Slate’s election coverage here.

OK, time for a break. Enjoy these fun reads, watches, and listens to help you take your mind off (real life) politics for a little while.

Let yourself be tempted by the fantasy (now reality!) of Blexas: Seven years ago, Texas voting for a Democrat was a plot point in a gay romance novel. Red, white and royal blue. Now what once seemed limited to the realm of fiction has also arrived IRL. Madeline Thames-Ducharme spoke with author Casey McQuiston about their reaction to the blue tsunami.

Turn off and turn all Internet back on: If you’ve heard rumors about the cybersecurity vulnerability threatening the web but don’t know what’s going on, Senior Technical Editor Tony Ho Tran is here to explain. Listen to his conversation with ICYMI host Kate Lindsay about how nervous we should be about a possible digital apocalypse.

Get modern dating help: What do you do when you discover you’re not very good at flirting? Columnist Steffi Cao advises a writer who fears not having a game.

Watch an Oscar-worthy performance: The filmmaker behind The Banshees of Inisherin is back with another dark buddy comedy. In New wild horsetwo CIA agents take a break from their plans to overthrow Chile’s Marxist president to take a vacation on Easter Island. As expected, things go off the rails. Film critic Dana Stevens particularly raves about one actor’s performance.

Easter Island seems to be as far removed from American politics as possible, so I support it! Enjoy your visit and see you soon here tomorrow.