Nobody predicted the stunning sweep and depth of Democratic gains in last week’s midterm elections. More than a wave, it was an avalanche that revealed new contours in America’s political geography.
It’s probably time to toss those red-blue election maps we’ve become so used to since 2000. They show the main parties hunkered down behind static battle lines, with serious electoral competition confined to a dwindling number of swing states and districts.
The post-midterm map looks strikingly different. In addition to giving Democrats imposing majorities in Congress, U.S. voters in nearly every county in the country shifted in a blue direction. They won federal and state races across the upper and deep South and the broad middle from Ohio to Iowa and Kansas, enlarging the political battlefield and potentially adding a slew of new swing states.
Democrats scored big down ballot gains. They’re poised to control 30 governor’s mansions, up from 24, and have 22 trifecta wins — governors plus both legislative houses — to the Republicans’ 18.
