Last week, Democrats notched a number of big victories in elections across the country, with important wins in states like New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and California.

And while Wisconsin did not have an election on November 4 of this year, these results can tell us something about November 3 of next year, the day the 2026 midterm elections will be held. 

While races like the one for mayor of New York City grabbed more headlines, it’s the elections that happened in the Virginia House of Delegates that could tell us more about what might be coming in Wisconsin next year. There, Democrats went from a slight majority of 51 of 100 seats to a near supermajority with 64 seats.

Those kinds of downballot results could suggest that Democrats are poised for a big breakthrough in the Wisconsin State Legislature, which will have its first election held fully under new maps next year. Democrats will have their first realistic chance to flip the legislature in more than a decade. A lot could happen over the next year, of course, but results like the ones in Virginia have to be encouraging for Democrats in Wisconsin. 

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