Article by Lorenzo Levy, TPT Staff Writer

Democrats across all 50 states have lots to be happy about this year. Here is a state-by-state breakdown of one piece of good Democratic news from each state in the union:

Alabama

State Amendment 10 passed 74.5% to 25.5%, rewriting Alabama’s 1901 constitution to remove racist language and notably to forbid slavery as punishment for a crime.

Alaska

Democrat Mary Peltola was elected to her first full term as the representative for Alaska’s at-large district in the House of Representatives. She is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. Alaska’s at-large district had been represented by Republican Don Young from 1973 until August 2022, when Peltola won the special election to replace him. Peltola also defeated Sarah Palin, 2008 nominee for Vice President and former Republican governor of Alaska, in both the special and general elections.

Photo via High North News/Mary Peltola for Congress

Arizona

Democrat Katie Hobbs flipped the governor's seat in Arizona, previously held by Republican Doug Ducey. She will be Arizona’s first Democratic governor since 2009. Hobbs defeated Trump-endorsed conspiracy theorist Kari Lake by over 17,000 votes.

Photo via Wall Street Journal/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Arkansas

Voters in Arkansas overwhelmingly voted “no” on Arkansas Issue 2, which would have instituted a requirement of 60% of the popular vote to pass ballot initiatives and amendments to the state constitution. In other words, Arkansans voted against filibustering themselves.

California

California voters passed Proposition 1, which codified a right to abortion and contraception into the state constitution in response to the Dobbs ruling in June of 2022.

Colorado

Colorado voters voted “yes” on Colorado Proposition 123, which will allocate tax revenue to provide for affordable housing.

Connecticut

Connecticut voters overwhelmingly voted “yes” on Question 1, which would allow the state legislature to establish early voting, a welcome victory in the face of a nationwide Republican crusade against the right to vote.

Delaware

Lydia York was elected to become Delaware’s first Black state auditor.

Florida

Democrat Maxwell Frost was elected to Florida’s 10th Congressional District, becoming the first member of Gen-Z elected to Congress. Frost served as the national organizing director for the youth-led nationwide gun violence prevention organization March for Our Lives. 25-year-old Frost just meets the Constitution’s minimum age requirement to serve in the House.

Photo via NPR/Giorgio Viera/Getty Images

Georgia

The Reverend Doctor Raphael Warnock was re-elected to the US Senate after a runoff election against Republican Herschel Walker. He will be the first Black person to be elected to a full term in the Senate from Georgia.

Hawaii

Democrat Rose Martinez was elected to represent District 40 in the Hawaii House of Representatives, a seat previously held by Republican Bob McDermott.

Idaho

Voters in Idaho overwhelmingly voted “yes” on an advisory question that would allocate over $400,000,000 for education spending.

Illinois

Voters in Illinois voted to pass Illinois Amendment 1, which will create a right of collective bargaining for workers in the state constitution.

Indiana

Democrat Andrea Hunley was elected to represent District 46 in the Indiana State Senate, a seat previously held by Republican Kevin Boehnlein.

Iowa

Voters in Polk County, which is the most populous county in Iowa and that which contains Iowa’s most populous city, Des Moines,, elected progressive county attorney Kimberly Graham. Graham campaigned on not prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses and curtailing cash bail.

Kansas

Voters in Kansas, a state that Trump won in 2020 by over 14 percentage points, re-elected Democratic governor Laura Kelly by over 2 percentage points, which amounts to over 20,000 votes.

Kentucky

Voters in Kentucky, a state that voted for Trump by over 25 percentage points in 2020, voted “no” on Constitutional Amendment 2, which would have established that there was no right to abortion in the state constitution.

Louisiana

Voters in Louisiana overwhelmingly voted “yes” on Louisiana Amendment 2, which will expand exemptions for disabled veterans’ property taxes.

Maine

Democrat Jared Golden won re-election in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a district that Trump won in 2020 by over 7 points.

Maryland

Democrat Wes Moore flipped the governor's seat in Maryland, previously held by Republican Larry Hogan. He will be Maryland’s first Black governor.

Massachusetts

Democrat Maura Healey flipped the governor's seat in Massachusetts, previously held by Republican Charlie Baker. She will be Massachusetts’ first openly lesbian governor, and she and Democrat Tina Kotek in Oregon will be the first openly lesbian governors elected in all of the United States.

Michigan

Democrats flipped both the state house and state senate. This will be the first time in 40 years where Democrats have a trifecta, controlling the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.

Minnesota

Democrat Jeff Brand defeated incumbent Republican Susan Akland in District 18A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Mississippi

Democrat Bennie Thompson, the Chair of the House’s January 6th Committee, handily won re-election over far-right Republican Brian Flowers, who calls Thompson a “Black Nationalist.”

Missouri

Voters in Missouri, a state that voted for Trump by over 15 percentage points, voted “yes” on Amendment 3, legalizing recreational marijuana and allowing for people previously convicted on marijuana charges to petition for their release and to have their records expunged.

Montana

Voters in Montana, a state that voted for Trump by over 16 percentage points, voted “no” on Legislative Referendum 131, which would have granted legal personhood to fetuses born “alive” after an abortion.

Nebraska

Voters in Nebraska, a state that voted for Trump by over 19 percentage points in 2020, voted “yes” on Nebraska Initiative Measure 433, increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Nevada

Voters in Nevada voted “yes” by over 17 percentage points on Nevada Question 1, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin.

New Hampshire

Democrat Shannon Chandley defeated incumbent Republican Gary Daniels in District 11 of the New Hampshire State Senate.

New Jersey

Voters in Trenton, the capital of New Jersey, overwhelmingly voted “yes” on the Trenton Board of Education Measure, which among other things will make the members of the Board of Education elected by voters, not appointed by the mayor.

New Mexico

Democrat Gabriel Vasquez defeated incumbent Republican Yvette Herrell in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District.

New York

Voters in New York overwhelmingly voted “yes” on New York Ballot Proposal 1, which will authorize bonds for projects to address climate change, water infrastructure, and land conservation.

North Carolina

Democrat Ray Jeffers defeated incumbent Republican Larry Yarborough in District 2 of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

South Carolina

Democrat Heather Bauer won in District 75 of the South Carolina House of Representatives, defeating incumbent Republican Kirkman Finlay III.

North Dakota

Democrat Lisa Finley-DeVille defeated incumbent Republican Terry B. Jones in District 4A of the North Dakota House of Representatives.

South Dakota

Voters in South Dakota voted “yes” on South Dakota Amendment D, which will expand access to Medicaid to adults below 65 who earn no more than 133% of the federal poverty level.

Ohio

Even in a state where Republicans arguably drew a gerrymandered map, Democrat Greg Landsman defeated incumbent Republican Steve Chabot in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District.

Oklahoma

Democrat Suzanne Schreiber was elected to represent District 70 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, a seat previously held by Republican Carol Bush.

Photo via Suzanne Schreiber for State Rep

Oregon

Voters in Oregon voted “yes” on Oregon Measure 111, which codifies a right to affordable healthcare in the state constitution.

Pennsylvania

Even after suffering a stroke, Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman flipped Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat, previously held by Republican Pat Toomey. Fetterman defeated Trump-endorsed TV charlatan Dr. Oz by nearly 5 percentage points.

Rhode Island

Voters in Rhode Island overwhelmingly voted “yes” on Rhode Island Question 3, which will authorize $50,000,000 in bonds towards environmental projects.

Tennessee

Tennessee Amendment 3 passed 79.5% to 20.5%, banning slavery as punishment for a crime.

Texas

Democrat Vincente Gonzalez defeated incumbent Republican Mayra Flores in Texas’ 34th Congressional District.

Utah

Democrat Nate Blouin, an advocate for renewable energy, was elected to District 13 of the Utah State Senate, a seat previously held by Republican Jake Anderegg.

Vermont

Becca Balint was elected to represent Vermont’s at-large Congressional District. She will be the first woman and first openly LGBTQ person to be elected to Congress from Vermont. Vermont was the last state to send a woman to Congress, so once Balint is sworn in, every state will have officially been represented by a woman in Congress.

Virginia

Out of the three “bellwether” House districts (VA-2, VA-7, VA-10) in Virginia, which are often considered good indicators of nationwide trends in House elections, Democrats won two out of three.

Photo via NBC News/Samuel Corum/Getty Images

West Virginia

Democrat David Pritt, a US Air Force veteran and educator, defeated incumbent Republican Austin Haynes in District 50 of West Virginia’s House of Delegates.

Washington

Democrat Marie Glusenkamp-Perez defeated Republican Joe Kent in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District. This seat was previously held by Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler.

Wisconsin

In a state that went to President Biden by less than 1 percentage point, incumbent Democratic governor Tony Evers won re-election by over 3 percentage points.

Wyoming

Voters in Wyoming overwhelmingly voted “no” on Wyoming Amendment B, which would increase the mandatory retirement age of State Supreme Court justices and district judges.

District of Columbia

Look how many amazing new political leaders you will have in your town!

Good Political News From Each State: 2022 Midterms