2026 Look Ahead: The Wins Carrying Us Into the New Year

Here’s what we’ve seen that gives us hope in swing states and beyond

For as hard as 2025 has been, we’ve seen so many signs that 2026 will continue to swing towards democracy. Here are a few wins from this year that are keeping our spirits up.

• Democrats flipped 21% of GOP-held seats in state legislatures, including special election victories in Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

• A special election in Tennessee 7, a district Trump won by 22 points in 2024, saw a 13-point swing toward Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn.

• Every county in Virginia – including bellwether Loudoun County – shifted away from extremists as Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger cruised to a 15-point victory.

• Moms for Liberty candidates won only 17 school board seats out of 22,000 races nationwide. Meanwhile, RWB-backed candidates won 10 times as many seats in the competitive elections we targeted.

• Bucks County, PA, replaced its sheriff for cooperating with ICE, while Central Bucks School District elected four common-sense candidates to the school board, securing a 9-0 pro-public school majority.

• Three Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices fought off billionaire, anti-public school extremist Jeff Yass to retain their seats.

• There are more Democratic women in the Virginia House of Delegates than there are Republican members overall. Women of color now hold 25% of seats in the statehouse.

We’re ending the year celebrating major election wins, with even more ahead in 2026. The year to come will bring real challenges, from critical elections to renewed attacks on reproductive rights, but we’re ready. Together, we’ll continue to build power, show up, and win.