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2018 election analysis: State government triplexes
A state government triplex is defined as one political party holding the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. In states where these officers are not all from the same party, differing political views often bring them into direct conflict with one another.
Election 2018 gave Democrats a net gain of five state government triplexes and reduced the number of Republican triplexes by four. These 2018 results trim the GOP advantage to 18 triplex states versus 17 for Democrats. Going into the election, Republicans held a 22-12 advantage.
In two states, triplexes were flipped from one party to the other:
Alaska: Republicans picked up their only triplex gain in 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 was 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.
Democratic triplex gains occurred in these five states:
Colorado: Democrats flipped the attorney general and the secretary of state.
- Attorney General: Phil Weiser (D) defeated George Brauchler (R). Incumbent Attorney General Cynthia Coffman (R) did not run for re-election.
- Secretary of State: Jena Griswold (D) defeated incumbent Wayne Williams (R).
Wisconsin: Democrats flipped the governor and attorney general.
- Governor: Tony Evers (D) defeated incumbent Scott Walker (R).
- Attorney General: Attorney Josh Kaul (D) defeated incumbent Brad Schimel (R).
Illinois: Democrats flipped the governor: Businessman J.B. Pritzker (D) defeated incumbent Bruce Rauner (R).
Maine: Democrats flipped the governor: Maine Attorney General Janet Mills (D) defeated businessman Shawn Moody (R). Incumbent Paul LePage (R) was term-limited.[1]
New Mexico: Democrats flipped the governor: U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) defeated U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R). Incumbent Gov. Susana Martinez (R) was term-limited.
Republicans lost triplexes in four states:
Kansas: Democrats flipped the governor: State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) defeated Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R). Incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) took office following former Gov. Sam Brownback’s resignation in January 2018. Colyer ran for a full term but was defeated by Kobach in the August 7 primary, leaving the seat open.
Nevada: Democrats flipped the governor and attorney general.
- Governor: Steve Sisolak (D) defeated Adam Laxalt (R). Incumbent Gov. Brian Sandoval was term-limited.
- Attorney General: State Sen. Aaron Ford (D) defeated former state Assemblyman Wesley Duncan (R). Incumbent Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R), who was first elected in 2014, ran for governor of Nevada rather than seeking re-election.
North Dakota: The incumbent Republican secretary of state won re-election as an independent, breaking the triplex held by Republicans. Incumbent Al Jaeger—now an independent—defeated state Sen. Joshua Boschee (D). Jaeger originally announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018 for the first time in 26 years. His announcement followed the Republican state party deciding to endorse challenger Will Gardner over Jaeger. However, Gardner dropped out of the race in May, two days after a news story was published detailing an incident in 2006 where Gardner was accused of and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
Arizona: Katie Hobbs (D) defeated Steve Gaynor (R) in the general election for secretary of state, thus flipping control of that office to Democrats. The seat was held by Michele Reagan (R), who was defeated in the Republican primary by Gaynor.
See also
- 2018 election analysis: State government trifectas
- 2018 election analysis: Partisan balance of state legislative chambers
- 2018 election analysis: Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections
- 2018 election analysis: State legislative supermajorities
- 2018 election analysis: Partisan balance of governors
- 2018 election analysis: State government triplexes
- 2018 election analysis: Control of the U.S. House
- 2018 election analysis: Control of the U.S. Senate
- 2018 election analysis: Was 2018 a wave election?
Footnotes
- ↑ In Maine, the state legislature—which remained under the control of Democrats following the 2018 election—selects the attorney general and secretary of state, creating a triplex state with the change of party control at the governor’s office.