*B|Estates: A Quick Look at 2022 State Races

Finally: Democrats made a furious play for state-level races, retaking lost ground in state legislatures and winning several key Governor races, as well ... (*as of 11.11.22)

We’ve been saying it all along: State capitols are critical. Indeed, you can make the argument that they are more important than presidential and Congressional elections. Yet, for far too long, they have been the most underreported and underappreciated of spaces on the political calendar and the policymaking table. The lack of public awareness around what state-level legislators do and who they are has given Republican white nationalists enormous and destructive control over issues ranging from voting rights, election process, climate crisis, education, criminal legal reform, gun control and a wide range of others.

That’s clearly changed in 2022 as Democrats put up a major national-map fight to retake lost ground. Now’s the time not to lose focus.

Pre-Election Map …

This B|Estates brief gives a quick synopsis of what just happened and what to continue paying attention to. Here’s the current *Official Pre-Election Composition of All State Legislatures, per Ballotpedia and NCSL …

Ballotpedia offers a great, accessible overview of what those state legislative chambers looked like before 2022 and what they’re about to look like heading into 2023 …

State Legislature Maps …

Based on these results, this is what the State House map looks like at the moment. States colored in tan are currently in “to be determined” status …

This is what the State Senate map looks like currently, as of today …

Axios offers a really good, must-read explainer on why these latest developments are so cruical and to keep paying attention …

Governor Maps …

Quite a bit took place at the gubernatorial level, too, including Democrats taking up what are called “trifectas” or total state government control in states such as Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon. Here are current results in Governor races so far, according to NPR …

Based on current results, here’s what the partisan composition map for Governor seats looks like at the moment. States in tan are still undetermined, but it could soon mean that Democrats will have control of more Governors seats than Republicans for the first time in more than a decade …

More B|Estates updates will arrive as the news cycle evolves. We will make any corrections or adjustments depending on any major developments.