MultiState Insider

Elections & Campaigns

How Do New Trifectas Impact Policymaking?

May 25, 2023 | Bill Kramer

Michigan and Minnesota flipped political control this year and lawmakers are taking advantage of their new power. Democrats flipped both legislative chambers in Michigan and won a majority in the Minnesota Senate, giving Democrats single-party control over the policymaking process (referred to as a “trifecta”) in both states for the first time in decades. As a result, lawmakers in these states quickly worked their way through a list of progressive priorities as legislative sessions got started this year. Both states enacted new gun control rules and codified protections for abortion procedures, among other policies. While Republicans failed to gain any new trifectas after last year’s elections, they retained their lead of 22 trifectas, compared to 17 Democratic trifectas. Consequently, red states are following their own legislative priority lists. But these legislative victories represent a more gradual trend compared to the sudden rush of major bills out of the new trifectas in Michigan and Minnesota.