WASHINGTON — Voters took a wrecking ball to the traditional map of political battlegrounds, electing Democrats in states that were long considered reliably Republican.
Kansas, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Iowa, all states Republican Donald Trump easily won two years ago in the presidential election, backed Democrats for the U.S. Senate and occasionally governor, too, on Tuesday.
Now the question is whether the results represent a durable tectonic shift — one that could reshape the path to the presidency — or a fluke stemming from Trump's deep unpopularity and voters' unhappiness with the rising cost of living.
”We’re in a very volatile political era," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is finishing his second term.
DeSantis will be replaced by Rep. Byron Donalds, a fellow Republican who was only narrowly elected as his successor despite the state's recent reputation as a conservative stronghold.
“Things shift quickly, and leaders just got to recognize that,” said DeSantis, "and don’t act like whatever worked even two years ago in a campaign is necessarily going to work today or would work going forward.”
Republicans are reeling from losses they never expected at the start of this election year.
Kansas backed a Democratic senator for the first time since 1932 as Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor, defeated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
South Carolina rejected Republican Sen. Darline Graham in favor of pediatrician Annie Andrews, the first Democrat to win a Senate seat there since 1998.
Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called it a “generational remake of the Senate map.”
The Democratic victories went even deeper in Texas. James Talarico beat Ken Paxton for Senate, Gina Hinojosa ousted Gov. Greg Abbott, Vikki Goodwin dislodged Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Nathan Johnson defeated Mayes Middleton for attorney general.
Until Tuesday, no Democrat had won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.
“This was a wave election in Texas and across the country," Patrick acknowledged in a statement.
Democrats also swept to power in states that were once battlegrounds but were more recently viewed as out of reach.
Iowa chose Rob Sand for governor and Josh Turek for senator, and Ohio backed Amy Acton for governor and Sherrod Brown for senator.
Brown is a former senator who lost his seat just two years ago, defeated by Republican Bernie Moreno. This time, he beat Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
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