Democrats see hope in plan to crack GOP supermajorities in state legislatures

The Democratic Party is motivated by a new 2026 election forecast that shows there are more competitive state legislative chambers than in the past two election cycles, giving Democrats hope they can break more GOP supermajorities across the nation this year.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a top election forecaster run by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, projected 15 chambers will be competitive this year. The number of competitive chambers at this time in the 2022 and 2024 election cycles was 10 and 12, respectively.

Of the 15 legislative chambers deemed competitive, eight are held by Republicans and four are held by Democrats. The other three chambers are either controlled by bipartisan, cross-party coalitions or tied between the two major parties.

BYRON YORK: MICHAEL COHEN FLIPS