MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� The bluntest assessment of Republicans’ failures during this week’s elections in Wisconsin came from one of their own.
鈥淲e got our butts kicked,鈥� said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor.
He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the and the mayor’s office in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee. But some Republicans were also rattled by , where their candidate to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress won by a much slimmer margin than the party enjoyed in the past.
Taken together, the swings added more data points to an increasingly clear picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November midterms, when control of Congress and state governments is up for grabs.
鈥淚n rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere,鈥� said Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance Bottoms, a candidate for Georgia governor. 鈥淭hat is a significant canary in the coal mine about what November of 鈥�26 is going to look like.鈥�
Some Republicans insisted there was no need to panic, and than Democrats’. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said 鈥渢he sky is not falling.鈥�
But he also said his party is running behind where it has been in the past, and Republicans need to be 鈥渓ooking at these results carefully.鈥�
鈥楢 red alarm for Republicans鈥�
Special elections are no guarantee about the future, but Democrats are showing surprising strength. They flipped . They won in a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
Then they gained ground Tuesday in the election to replace Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with Trump.
Republican Clay Fuller, who won by 12 percentage points, 鈥淐RUSHED鈥� his opponent in a race that 鈥渨asn’t close,鈥� according to a social media post by Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.
But two years ago, Greene won by 29 percentage points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a red alarm for Republicans,鈥� said Democratic strategist Meredith Brasher.
Democrat Shawn Harris plans to challenge Fuller again in November.
Jackie Harling, the district’s Republican chairwoman, said she believed that Greene鈥檚 resignation energized Democrats while her party is suffering from 鈥渆lection fatigue.鈥�
鈥淢arjorie Taylor Greene was like a freight train that you couldn鈥檛 stop, and when she pulled out, it gave Democrats hope and it gave them a shot at winning something they believed was unwinnable,鈥� Harling said.
鈥楽lightly bluer side of purple鈥�
Georgia has key races this year, including an open contest for the governor’s office. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is trying to defend his seat as well.
There’s reason to think that simmering discontent could boomerang on Republicans just two years after Trump harnessed voters’ anger with his comeback presidential campaign.
In November, Democrats defeated two Republican incumbents in statewide races for seats on , which regulates utilities. Rising electricity rates have been a fault line in recent campaigns, especially as are built to power artificial intelligence.
But Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey is trying to maintain modest expectations.
鈥淲e could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of purple,鈥� he said. 鈥漌e鈥檙e not going to overnight turn into Colorado.鈥�
鈥楢 very clear sign of momentum鈥�
Wisconsin holds statewide elections for Supreme Court seats, and liberals expanded their majority with a 20-percentage-point blowout victory on Tuesday.
Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties when compared with another judicial race last year, which was also .
鈥淭his to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall,鈥� said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker.
The state has its own open race for governor this year, and Democrats are hoping to take control of the state Legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time for us to put this thing in overdrive,鈥� said Mandela Barnes, a Democratic former lieutenant governor who is running for governor.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, another Democratic candidate for governor, said it鈥檚 clear that 鈥減eople are really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now.鈥�
鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean that they鈥檙e automatically going to come over to the Democrats,鈥� Crowley said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why we have to continue to focus on the issues and speak to the values of all the voters here in the state of Wisconsin.鈥�
鈥楢 lot of anxiety鈥�
Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, cautioned against reading too much into Tuesday鈥檚 results.
He said 鈥渆very election is unique,鈥� and he wasn鈥檛 making any changes to his campaign. He said the key to winning will be to 鈥減aint that clear contrast of how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites.鈥�
But Democrats seemed to be making inroads, including in Waukesha, in a county that’s a Republican.
Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city鈥檚 Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the state Assembly.
She said Trump came up 鈥渁 lot鈥� when she was campaigning, although she thinks her victory came down to local issues and how the state legislature wasn’t addressing them.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much uncertainty at the national level,鈥� Halvensleben said. 鈥淚 think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way down to the local level.鈥�
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Amy reported from Atlanta and Cooper from Phoenix.
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