Democrats win Senate and governor races in states long seen as Republican strongholds

Democratic candidates won U.S. Senate seats, and in some cases governorships, on Tuesday in Kansas, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Iowa, five states that Republican Donald Trump carried by wide margins in 2024, according to Associated Press coverage carried by News4JAX and KSAT.

Kansas voters ousted Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in favor of Adam Hamilton, a pastor who leads a large Methodist congregation. The AP reported that Kansas had not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.

South Carolina voters replaced Republican Sen. Graham with Annie Andrews, a pediatrician. According to the AP, no Democrat had captured a Senate seat in that state since 1998. WIS reported that Andrews will be the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate, and that the state also elected its first new governor in ten years. The WIS report did not identify the incoming governor.

The Democratic gains were widest in Texas. The AP reported that James Talarico beat Ken Paxton in the Senate race, Gina Hinojosa unseated Gov. Greg Abbott, Vikki Goodwin defeated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Nathan Johnson won the attorney general contest over Mayes Middleton. Before Tuesday, Democrats had gone without a statewide victory in Texas since 1994, the AP said. KSAT reported that Abbott has conceded, and that Talarico is the first Democrat from Texas to win a Senate seat since 1988.

In a statement, Patrick conceded the breadth of the losses. "This was a wave election in Texas and across the country," he said, according to the AP.

Iowa elected Democrats Rob Sand as governor and Josh Turek to the Senate. Ohio chose Amy Acton for governor, while Sherrod Brown returned to the Senate by defeating Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Brown had been voted out two years earlier, losing to Republican Bernie Moreno, the AP reported.

Chuck Schumer of New York, who leads Senate Democrats, called the outcome a "generational remake of the Senate map," according to the AP.

The AP said it is too early to know whether the results mark a lasting change that could reshape future presidential races, or a temporary swing fueled by Trump's unpopularity and public frustration with higher living costs. Republicans had not expected setbacks on this scale when the year began, the AP reported.

Regional broadcasters brought in commentators to interpret the results. WIS interviewed Chase Meyer, who teaches political science at USC in Columbia, about trends among South Carolina voters. In Florida, WPBF 25 News invited two former officials to weigh in: Ron Klein, who served in Congress, and Jeff Atwater, who was previously the state's chief financial officer and led the Florida Senate.

Compiled by True News from reporting by WIS, News4JAX, KSAT and WPBF 25. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/758