The Republican Party’s Incredible Year, by the Numbers

Yesterday, we recounted how terrible the year’s been for Democrats. They were dealt a terrible blow in Donald Trump’s election to the White House, and despite guarantees to the contrary, they failed abysmally at retaking the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

2016 brought some tremendous successes for Republicans across the country. Here they are, by the numbers:

241 –Republicans in the 115th Congress

Democrats spent a lot of time trying to convince the media and their donors that they stood a chance to reclaim their majority from Republicans. They believed Donald Trump would be a disaster for down ballot conservatives unable to shake his controversial reputation. They were wrong.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives will ring in the 115th Congress with a 241 Members – a 47-seat majority. Despite the tumultuous year, the GOP lost only 6 seats in total, sparing many Members experts considered long gone, such as Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.) and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.).

52 – Senate Republicans as of 2017

With a slew of terrible candidates across the country, Democrats vastly overestimated their chances at winning back the U.S. Senate. With failed challenges in swing states from politicians like former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) to Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), they failed to capitalize on the promises they made to take the upper chamber.

Republicans now have 52 seats in the U.S. Senate (53, if you include tie-breaking Vice President-elect Mike Pence) and, to make things even more satisfying, a favorable electoral map in 2018. The GOP is well positioned to expand their majority in the next Senate elections two years from now, especially if they deliver policies the American people like and need.

25 – Republican State Trifectas

A “state trifecta” occurs when both bodies of a bicameral legislature (or, more inclusively, one in a unicameral legislature) and that state’s governor belong to the same party. Republicans enter 2017 with executive and legislative control of half of all states. By comparison, Democrats have just six. Republicans now control four additional state governments: Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and New Hampshire. These trifectas are critical to passing conservative policy priorities, ranging from lowering taxes to easing union control.

This is a dramatic departure from when President Obama first took office. In early 2009, Democrats had 17 state trifectas. They have nearly cut this number in half in just eight years.

33 – Republican Governors

As of January 2017, Republicans will have 33 governorships, tying a 94-year record for the party.. These GOP governors span the country, from conservative strongholds like Texas and North Dakota to swing states like Florida and Ohio to blue states like New Mexico and even Vermont, Republican gubernatorial candidates have thrived in the Obama Era.

In fact, when President Obama took office in 2009, Democrats controlled 28 governors’ mansions. Today, they have just 18.

69 – State Legislative Chambers with Republican Majorities

2016 brought more legislative seat swapping that benefitted the GOP. Republicans now control the vast majority of state legislative chambers, many of them with massive margins. Two states have a tied chamber – including, remarkably, Connecticut – and show signs of improving outlooks for Republicans.

33 – States with Both Legislative Chambers Controlled by GOP

In 2009, Republicans had total control of just 15 state legislatures. As of January 2017, Republicans will control both legislative chambers in 33 states. That means that the Republican Party has a total legislative majority in two-thirds of all states – a 55 percent increase in representation at that level since President Obama was inaugurated.

45 – States Led Entirely or Partially by the Republican Party

When combining all the aforementioned accounting, this means the GOP leads 45 states, either entirely or partially. This statistics is nothing short of incredible, especially given how far behind Republicans were when President Obama took office. According to Americans for Tax Reform, this means that roughly 80 percent of America’s population lives in a state either all or partially controlled by the GOP.

31 – GOP Lieutenant Governors

Republicans enter 2017 with 31 lieutenant governors from every part of the U.S., compared to just 14 Democrats. In a few states, the governor and lieutenant governor run as a ticket (e.g., Virginia), so a Democratic governor would automatically mean a Democratic lieutenant governor.

2018 poses an optimistic outlook for Republicans, with lieutenant governors in red states like Montana, Alaska and Wyoming up for re-election.

31 – Republican Secretaries of State

After the 2008 general election, Democrats held 27 of the Secretary of State positions across America. As of 2017, Republicans will control 31 and Democrats will maintain just 17. This position is yet another astonishing down ballot catastrophe for Democrats in the Obama Era, as they’ve lost 10 important executives in this position in swing states like Ohio and Missouri, as well as their deep blue strongholds of Delaware, Oregon and Maryland.

Ellen Carmichael is a senior writer for Opportunity Lives. Follow her on Twitter @ellencarmichael.