2 Governing Trifectas for Dems Following 2017 Election

Tuesday night’s results gave Democrats a pair of new governing trifectas — one in New Jersey and one in Washington. A trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.

The Democrats have long controlled both chambers of the state legislature in New Jersey. Phil Murphy’s widely expected victory in the governor’s race moved the Garden State to trifecta status.

In Washington, a special election flipped control of the closely divided state Senate to the Democrats, completing a trifecta in the Northwest.

The Democrats now have eight trifectas, including all three states on the Pacific Coast. The Republicans added their 26th trifecta in August when West Virginia Governor Jim Justice left the Democratic Party.

It is historically normal for the president’s party to lose power during his time in office. In fact, only four presidents in the last 100 years have seen their party gain power during their tenure.

Given that context, Tuesday’s election has given Virginia a real chance to become a Democratic trifecta in 2019. The Republicans entered the election with a 66-34 seat advantage in the state House.

During the election, the Democrats gained at least 14 seats, and control of the legislature will be determined by several races that are too close to call. The Republicans have a narrow advantage in the state Senate. Both chambers of the legislature will be up for grabs in 2019.

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.