State Legislatures

Democrats did not win overwhelmingly but there are many bright spots for both parties. Republican gains were surprising and mostly concentrated in the South.

Democrats won the biggest prize of the night, taking control of the New York Senate for the first time since 1966 -- and gaining control of the entire New York State government for the first time since the Depression. They now hold at least 32 seats in the 62-seat chamber.

Update: They also gained control of the Ohio House for the first time since 1994, gaining seven seats (they needed four to win). And they took the Wisconsin House, gaining overall control of state government for the first time in more than two decades.

In Nevada, Democrats gained a veto-proof majority in the Assembly and won the Senate for the first time since 1991.

But Republicans pulled off the biggest surprise of the cycle, taking the Tennessee House for the first time since 1971. They also broke a tie in the Tennessee Senate, winning a solid majority that gives them total control of the legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.

Republicans also broke a tie in the Oklahoma Senate, taking control of that chamber for the first time ever.

Continuing GOP inroads in Southern legislatures were offset by growing Democratic strength in the Northeast. Democrats added to their majority in the Delaware Senate, while taking control of the state House. Six incumbent House Republicans went down to defeat, including Terry Spence, the longest-serving House Speaker in the nation.

The Pennsylvania Senate is now the only Republican-controlled chamber north of Virginia.

Democrats appear to have held onto the Pennsylvania House, which they had held by a one-vote majority. They also preserved narrow control of the Maine Senate and the Indiana House.

They fell short in their hopes of capturing other chambers, including the Texas House, the Arizona House and the North Dakota Senate. It also did not look like Democrats were going to make much of a net gain in overall legislative seats nationwide.