By Peter Szekely
(Reuters) – Democrats entered the 2020 U.S. elections looking to roll back much of the commanding presence Republicans had in state governments, but instead wound up losing ground as votes were counted on Wednesday.
Republicans won majorities in both chambers of the New Hampshire State House and took back the Montana governor’s mansion, which had been held by a retiring Democrat.
Greg Gianforte’s win in Montana over Democrat Mike Cooney gave Republicans 27 of the country’s 50 governorships.
Republicans will wind up with at least the 59 state legislative chambers they held going into Election Day, but the final tally depends on Arizona where the results are still incomplete, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) said.
Democrats, who began with only 39 chambers, jacked up their spending this year on campaigns in eight states, including Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas.
In 35 states, the prize that comes with controlling legislatures is the ability to design congressional districts for partisan advantage, as Republicans did before 2012 when they widened their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Here are this year’s results for states whose lawmakers draw congressional boundaries, as well as the results of this year’s 11 gubernatorial contests, based on data from the NCSL:
ARKANSAS
No election for governor
Governor: Asa Hutchinson, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
CONNECTICUT
No election for governor
Governor: Ned Lamont, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
DELAWARE
Governor: Incumbent Democrat John Carney defeats Republican Julianne Murray
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
FLORIDA
No election for governor
Governor: Ron DeSantis, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
GEORGIA
No election for governor
Governor: Brian Kemp, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
ILLINOIS
No election for governor
Governor: J.B. Pritzker, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
INDIANA
Governor: Incumbent Republican Eric Holcomb defeats Democrat Woody Myers
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
IOWA
No election for governor
Governor: Kim Reynolds, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
KANSAS
No election for governor
Governor: Laura Kelly, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
KENTUCKY
No election for governor
Governor: Andy Beshear, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
MAINE
No election for governor
Governor: Janet Mills, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
MASSACHUSETTS
No election for governor
Governor: Charlie Baker, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
MINNESOTA
No election for governor
Governor: Tim Walz, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Republican
MISSOURI
Governor: Incumbent Republican Mike Parson defeats Democrat Nicole Galloway
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
MONTANA
Governor: Republican Greg Gianforte defeats Democrat Mike Cooney to succeed retiring Democratic incumbent Steve Bullock
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
NEVADA
No election for governor
Governor: Steve Sisolak, Democrat
State Assembly: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Governor: Incumbent Republican Chris Sununu defeats Democrat Dan Feltes
House of Representatives: Flips to Republican
Senate: Flips to Republican
NEW MEXICO
No election for governor
Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
NEW YORK
No election for governor
Governor: Andrew Cuomo, Democrat
State Assembly: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
NORTH CAROLINA
Governor: Incumbent Democrat Roy Cooper defeats Republican Dan Forest
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
NORTH DAKOTA
Governor: Incumbent Republican Doug Burgum defeats Democrat Shelley Lenz
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
OHIO
No election for governor
Governor: Mike DeWine, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
OKLAHOMA
No election for governor
Governor: Kevin Stitt, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
OREGON
No election for governor
Governor: Kate Brown, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
PENNSYLVANIA
No election for governor
Governor: Tom Wolf, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
RHODE ISLAND
No election for governor
Governor: Gina Raimondo, Democrat
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
SOUTH CAROLINA
No election for governor
Governor: Henry McMaster, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
TENNESSEE
No election for governor
Governor: Bill Lee, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
TEXAS
No election for governor
Governor: Greg Abbott, Republican
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
UTAH
Governor: Republican Spencer Cox defeats Democrat Chris Peterson to succeed retiring Republican incumbent Gary Herbert
House of Representatives: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
VERMONT
Governor: Incumbent Republican Phil Scott defeats Democrat David Zuckerman
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
WASHINGTON
Governor: Incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee defeats Republican Loren Culp
House of Representatives: Stays Democratic
Senate: Stays Democratic
WEST VIRGINIA
Governor: Incumbent Republican Jim Justice defeats Democrat Ben Salango
House of Delegates: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
WISCONSIN
No election for governor
Governor: Tony Evers, Democrat
State Assembly: Stays Republican
Senate: Stays Republican
(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Additional reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Peter Cooney)
