The Democratic Party is maintaining its winning streak in some state-level legislative districts won by President Donald Trump in 2024, with the latest overwhelming Democratic victory coming in a local Louisiana special election.
Democratic candidate Chasity Verret Martinez handily defeated Republican opponent Brad Daigle by 24 points on Saturday after Trump last won the Louisiana House District 60 by 13 points. Martinez’s win represents a 37-point shift to the left.
Despite Trump’s past three victories in the district, the local seat was held by a Democrat before Martinez. Former state Rep. Chad Brown vacated the seat to fulfill an appointment made by Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) at the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.
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While the special election has no effect at the national level, its results are good news for Democrats as they aim to wrest control of the House from Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.
Other state-level races have seen similarly big swings in favor of Democrats.
Rehmet in Texas
In Texas last weekend, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won the special election for Texas Senate District 9 in the Fort Worth area by outperforming Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss. Rehmet won by 14 points compared to Trump’s 17 points — a 31-point swing in just 15 months.
The results were also notable not only because of Trump’s sweeping win there but because the district was previously held by a Republican. Texas Senate District 9 has historically been a red stronghold, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore after Rehmet’s upset victory.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin personally boasted about the outcome of that particular election.
“It’s clear as day that this disastrous Republican agenda is hurting working families in Texas and across the country, which is why voters in red, blue, and purple districts are putting their faith in candidates like Taylor Rehmet,” Martin said. “This victory is a warning sign to Republicans across the country. In a Trump +17 district, Republicans had to go all out and still lost this race.”
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Meanwhile, Trump said he was not involved in the race despite his endorsement of Wambsganss. Although hopeful, other Republicans did not follow the president’s lead in downplaying their loss.
“Low turnout special elections are always unpredictable. The results from SD 9 are a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas. Our voters cannot take anything for granted,” Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on X. “I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November. We will keep Texas red.”
Hardman in Iowa
Iowa state Sen. Renee Hardman’s performance in a December special election for Iowa Senate District 16 was also significant because it blocked Republicans from regaining a two-thirds supermajority in the state’s upper chamber. Iowa Republicans now need at least one Democratic vote to confirm Gov. Kim Reynolds’s (R-IA) nominees to state agencies, boards, and commissions.
Hardman’s win was decisive, landing roughly 43 points over Republican Lucas Loftin once all the votes were counted.
The DNC congratulated Hardman on her “historic” win as the first black woman ever elected to the Iowa Senate while celebrating 2025 as the “year of Democratic victories and overperformance.”
Now represented by Hardman, the district saw former Vice President Kamala Harris hold a 17-point lead over Trump in 2024. Nonetheless, Trump still won Iowa overall by a 13-point margin.
Clemons in Kentucky
Earlier in December, Kentucky Democratic state Sen. Gary Clemons had a 47-point landslide victory over Republican Calvin Leach in the Kentucky Senate District 37 — one that Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) heralded as a sign of overperformance for Democrats.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee similarly hailed Clemons’s performance in the race at the time as signaling “momentum” for the party heading into the midterm elections.
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Clemons also notably outperformed the top of the party’s 2024 ticket held by Harris by 42 points, according to the DNC.
Though the seat was previously held by a Democrat before Clemons, it is just one of seven controlled by Democrats in the 38-seat Kentucky Senate. Republicans have a controlling supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats are looking to make gains at the state level this year, as all 100 seats in the Kentucky House and 19 seats in the Kentucky Senate are up for grabs.