Yesterday, a blue tsunami swamped every corner of the country, wiping out Republicans even in deep-red districts and leading to historic outcomes for women, including the first Black woman elected governor in history.
We’re still waiting on final results in several races, but here’s a recap of the latest outcomes—for Democrats, and women.
🌊 Democrats have flipped the House, winning an astonishing 250+ seats.
These include seats that were almost guaranteed to flip, like NE-02 (won by Denise Powell) and deep red districts that started the cycle fully out of reach, like TX-23 (won by Katy Padilla Stout).
Even Republican wins in the redistricting wars (they ultimately moved 16 seats rightward while Democrats moved 10 seats leftward) could not save them. Some of these new Republican districts—especially in North Carolina—turned into dummymanders, while others simply weren’t stacked with enough Republican votes to outflood the blue wave.
Women drove a lot of these flips, winning an estimated 23 out of the nearly 50 seats likely to change parties next January.
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We project that will bring the number of Democratic women in the House to 117, far beyond the anticipated 100 milestone. Women overall will hit a new record—137. The previous record was 127, set at the end of the 118th Congress (2023-25). That will put women at an all-time high of 32 percent of Congress.
🌊 Democrats have flipped the Senate, winning at least 55 seats.
At the beginning of the cycle, it seemed nearly impossible that Democrats could flip the Senate. Democrats had a retirement in a key swing state (Michigan) and were defending another (Georgia), with only Maine and North Carolina as credible pickups.
Now, Democrats have won all of four of those states and will control the Senate with at least 54 seats, including in red states like Texas and South Carolina (won by Dr. Annie Andrews). That majority could still increase, as we wait for results in Alaska, where former US Rep. Mary Peltola is favored, and Mississippi, where the race is currently tied.
This Democratic rout will not result in an overall increase for women in the Senate, since multiple Republican women are projected to have lost seats. The 120th Congress is likely to start with 25 women in the Senate (there are currently 27). Democratic women, however, will gain seats, going from 16 to 17 and possibly 18 if Peltola wins.
🌊 Democratic women have set a new record for governorships
In some of the biggest news coming out of last night, women have set a new record for governorships, driven by Democratic wins.
Most notably, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in US history. In fact, Black women won every statewide race in Georgia other than US Senate and lieutenant governor. (White Democratic men won those offices.)
There are currently 14 female governors—10 Democrats and 4 Republicans. We project the total number of women governors will rise to at least 18, with 15 of those being Democratic women. This puts women in governorships at an all-time high of at least 36 percent, a massive spike for women in executive office.
Democratic women will maintain control in safe Democratic states like Massachusetts, Maine, New Mexico and New York, and have flipped—for women—Minnesota (Sen. Amy Klobuchar) and Rhode Island (Helena Foulkes). Democratic women also won in swing states like Michigan (Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson) and Ohio (Dr. Amy Acton). Texas, originally seen as marginal, will be a blowout (state Rep. Gina Hinojosa). Democrats even eked out a victory in Kansas (state Sen. Cindy Holscher).
🌊 Some of these women will have governing trifectas.
Many of these races still have outstanding votes to count, but it seems clear that Democrats have flipped both state chambers in Wisconsin, as well as the Michigan House and the Pennsylvania Senate. They’ll also hold onto the Michigan Senate and Pennsylvania House.
Democrats also appear on track to flip both chambers in Arizona, the Georgia House, and the Texas House.
These flips and holds along with gubernatorial wins will give female governors—Gov. Katie Hobbs (AZ), Benson (MI) and Klobuchar (MN)—governing trifecas
Many of the women we supported this year were part of these legislative victories, including: Rockee Armstrong (AZ HD-13), Michelle Kang (GA HD-99), Theresa Brooks (MI SD-9) and Katie O’Brien Duzan (TX HD-94).
🌊 What’s Next?
Results are still being tabulated in key states and districts, and we likely won’t have the full picture for days or maybe weeks.
Be on the lookout for another update then. In the meantime—celebrate!
Thanks for all you do,
The WomenCount team
PS—WomenCount supported these women early and often, and helped many get across the finish line. Help us keep the momentum going by donating to support our work.
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