Election 2018 Gains & Losses

Election 2018 gave Democrats a net gain of five state government triplexes and reduced the number of Republican triplexes by at least three. (An additional Republican triplex could be lost, pending the outcome of a runoff election in Georgia). 

A state government triplex is defined as one political party holding the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. These 2018 results trim the GOP advantage to 19 triplex states versus 17 for Democrats. Going into the election, Republicans held a 22-12 advantage. In states where these officers are not all from the same party, differing political views often bring them into direct conflict with one another. 

In two states, triplexes were flipped from one party to the other: 

ALASKA: Republicans picked up their only in triplex gain Alaska—and took one away from the Democrats—with former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy (R) defeating former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D) in the governor’s race. Because the attorney general of Alaska is appointed by the governor, and the state does not have a secretary of state, Ballotpedia considers a triplex in Alaska to be the party controlling the governor’s office. Incumbent Gov. Bill Walker is an independent, but he was endorsed by the Democrats, creating a triplex for Democrats. Walker had been running in a three-way contest for re-election, but he suspended his re-election campaign in October and endorsed Begich. 

MICHIGAN: Democrats flipped all three offices and took a triplex away from the Republicans. 

Governor: Former state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) defeated Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) to become governor. Incumbent Gov. Rick Snyder (R) was term-limited. 

Attorney General: Dana Nessel (D) defeated Tom Leonard (R), the speaker of the House in the Michigan House of Representatives. Incumbent Attorney Gen. Bill Schuette (R) was term-limited. 

Secretary of State: Jocelyn Benson (D) defeated Mary Treder Lang (R). Incumbent Ruth Johnson (R) was term-limited. 

SEE OUR FULL ANALYSIS HERE (https://go.pardot.com/e/481201/SIS-STATE-GOVERNMENT-TRIPLEXES/841wb/117319921) → 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader