Democrats rode a blue wave. Can they ever keep up momentum in Missouri and Kansas?
Democrats made massive gains in Missouri and Kansas , states where Republicans have dominated state politics for more than a decade. Now, they’ll have to defend those gains. In Missouri, Democrats flipped 16 seats in the Missouri House and two seats in the Missouri Senate, shattering the Republican supermajority that had been in place since 2012. Voters also shot down a proposed abortion ban , a top priority of state Republicans. Kansas elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and appears poised to have elected Democrats as governor and attorney general. In the statehouse, Democrats are on track to flip as many as 20 seats, breaking the Republican supermajority. Democrats in both states have long held the goal of ending Republicans’ veto-proof majorities. The party was bolstered by a favorable national environment as President Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to historic lows. The blue wave raises questions about whether Democrats can build on their success in 2026 or whether it was an anomalous event spurred on by favorable national conditions. “It’s important for Democrats now, and it was important for Republicans in 2024, to think about why you won and what voters actually want,” said Matt Harris, a political science
