Suburban Voters Gave Democrats Their House Majority

Democrats retook the House of Representatives on the back of a suburban surge Tuesday, remaking a once rock-ribbed Republican bastion into a Democratic stronghold.

Though some districts remained undecided Wednesday afternoon, Democrats had picked up at least 33 seats in Congress, almost all of them predominantly suburban. These suburban districts, once closely divided, are now twice as likely to be represented by a Democrat than by a Republican.​​​​​​ Democrats even lost some seats in rural areas, but picked up at least 22 seats that CityLab's Congressional Density Index classifies as "sparse suburban" or "dense suburban." Add that to Democrat gains in almost all of the remaining Republican-held districts with major urban populations and you have a new, blue majority.