Democrats scored two big special election wins in Oklahoma on Tuesday,
OK-State House, OK State Senate: Democrats scored two big special election wins in Oklahoma on Tuesday, flipping HD-75 and SD-44 from red to blue. State Rep.-elect Karen Gaddis improved on Clinton’s performance in this district by 27 percent to win this House seat 52-48, and state Sen.-elect Michael Brooks-Jimenez outperformed Clinton by 28 percent to win his Senate special 55-45.
These two Democratic upsets in historically Republican districts bring Democrats’ tally of special election pickups of the cycle from two to four (pickups one and two were in the New Hampshire House and New York Assembly in May). Additionally, Tuesday’s wins bring the total number of special elections in which Democrats outperformed Clinton’s 2016 numbers to 19 out of 26 contested legislative and congressional contests.
The GOP faces a problem larger than just seats changing hands (Republicans haven’t flipped any Democratic seats in contested specials yet this cycle). Even when Republicans manage to hold on to seats in these special elections, they’re repeatedly scrambling to cling to historically red seats and eking out tiny wins in previously uncompetitive districts. If these trends continue—and the latest data suggests they're far from abating—Republicans are going to have a difficult time in legislative elections across the country this cycle, and maybe even risk losing their majority in the U.S. House.
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