SALT LAKE CITY — The "blue wave" may have hit Utah's Capitol Hill, breaking the Republican supermajority in the state legislature.
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More than a dozen House seats and some Senate seats may have flipped from Republican to Democrats on Election Night. But House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, told FOX 13 News on Wednesday she was being cautiously optimistic.
There are still more than 100,000 ballots to be counted in Salt Lake County alone. Clerk Lannie Chapman told FOX 13 News that those ballots were dropped off on Election Day by voters and they must be verified (it takes longer because of new requirements the legislature imposed requiring signature and the last four digits of an ID) and processed. Election results from Salt Lake County would not be released until Thursday, Chapman said.
But on Capitol Hill, staffers and politicians all texted and whispered the same refrain on Wednesday: "What just happened?" Early vote results show Democrats leading even in solid Republican districts.
Utah is a solidly Republican state, and even after the election results are canvassed, Republicans will still have a majority in the legislature. But Democrats will have more power in the House and Senate, which could force Republicans to negotiate to get their bills passed, and Democratic priorities may get new life.