More than 300 districts moved to the left in the midterms this year


Districts across the country are looking a lot bluer after this year's midterms compared to two years ago.
A total of 312 districts voted more Democratic in the 2018 midterm elections than in the 2016 presidential election, The New York Times reports. With all 435 House seats on Tuesday's ballots, and 414 having reported results, that means more than 70 percent of them moved to the left.
On average, districts across the country became 10 points more Democratic this year. In districts that flipped from Republicans to Democrats, the shift was 22 percentage points on average. But even in districts where Republicans won, 169 of them experienced a Democratic shift.
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That's certainly great news for the left, although districts didn't move towards the Democrats nearly as much as they did toward Republicans in 2010, when the average district shifted 19 percentage points to the right. That was the year that Republicans gained a total of 63 seats in the House; Democrats this year, meanwhile, are likely to wind up gaining around 30 seats. Check out the fascinating infographic on how House districts have shifted at The New York Times.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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