Today, at a press conference at Democratic Governors Association headquarters, DGA Chair Jay Inslee (D-WA) announced the results of last night’s historic election. Highlights include flipping SEVEN governor’s seats, representing 38 million more Americans, and potentially expanding health care coverage to 319,000 more people.

 Here are some highlights of Gov. Inslee’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“Last night was a historic night – the biggest Democratic gubernatorial pickup in 36 years. We picked up 7 seats, the largest number for Democrats since 1982.

“One year ago today, Democrats were at an all-time low of 15 governors. Now, we will have 23 governorships.

“After last night’s results, 38 million more Americans will have a Democratic governor. That means that Democratic governors now represent a majority of Americans – more than 175 million people.

“No party has flipped more than six seats in the last 24 years. And yet last night, we flipped SEVEN GOP seats to Democrats—a record.

“We made major strides to rebuild the so-called “blue wall” of Midwestern states that Trump won in 2016. We flipped a critical open seat in Michigan, defeated a well-known incumbent in Wisconsin and re-elected a Democratic incumbent in Pennsylvania.

“Not only does this have huge implications for the people of the Midwest, but it also is a major game-changer looking ahead to 2020’s presidential race.

“This isn’t just about politics either – it’s about policies that impact people’s lives.

“We added Democratic governors in 3 new potential Medicaid expansion states: Kansas, Wisconsin and Maine. That could mean health care for another 319,000 Americans.

“And in the 7 pickup states alone, there are 6,081,000 people with pre-existing conditions who are going to breathe a sigh of relief now that they have a Democratic governor.

“It also means better roads in Michigan, better education funding in Nevada and fiscal sanity in Kansas.

HOLDS:

We went into this cycle defending 9 Democratic seats. Republicans aggressively targeted seats like Connecticut, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

And yet we held all 9 of our seats.

We protected all 5 of our incumbents on the ballot this year.

We also kept every single Democratic open seat.

Republicans at various points had talked a big game about picking up Minnesota, Colorado, and Connecticut, but we kept all of our open seats in the D column for the coming term.

That means we’ll have 11 new Democratic governors who we welcome next year: 7 pickups and 4 open-seat winners.

TRENDS

We ran an incredibly strong class of candidates who are well-matched to the states they will serve.

One of the highlights of the night is that we elected the largest class of Democratic women governors in American history –six.

We also made some historic firsts: Janet Mills will be the first woman governor of Maine, Jared Polis will be the first openly gay man elected governor, and Michelle Lujan Grisham will be the first Democratic Hispanic woman governor in American history.

REDISTRICTING

Last night was also huge for redistricting and unrigging the map.

We have won seven of the ten 2017-2018 Unrig the Map targets: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, and Maine.

Thanks to these wins, these seven states will have fairer maps for a decade to come, helping Democrats pick up around 20 seats once these fair maps are implemented.

SEVEN  FLIPS – ALL TOWARDS DEMS:

• Democrats have flipped 7 governorships: Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nevada, Kansas, New Mexico and Maine.
• During the last two midterm waves, 6 governorships flipped. Republicans picked up 6 governorships in 2010; Democrats picked up 6 governorships in 2006.
• No party has netted more than 6 governorships since 1994.

MAJORITY POPULATION

• Democratic governors now represent a majority of the American population, meaning that more than 170 million Americans will have a governor who’ll protect health care access for people with pre-existing conditions, invest in strong public schools, and fight for an inclusive economy with opportunities for all.
• Some 38 million more Americans will be represented by Democratic governors.

SIX DEMOCRATIC WOMEN

• 6 Democratic women won their races for governor tonight, the most Democratic women governors ever elected on a single day. Women candidates and women voters have been the driving force in this election, and tonight’s gubernatorial races are no exception.
  • Governors Gina Raimondo (RI) and Kate Brown (OR) won their re-elections.
  • Governors-Elect Laura Kelly (KS), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM), Janet Mills (ME), and Gretchen Whitmer (MI) will join them in office next year.
  • Democrats set multiple firsts: Janet Mills will be the first woman governor of Maine, Jared Polis will be the first openly gay man elected governor, and Michelle Lujan Grisham will be the first Democratic Hispanic governor in American history.

FIVE INCUMBENT REELECTED

• All five Democratic incumbents on the ballot this year won their re-election races, including three that were considered at one point to be top Republican targets.
  • Democratic Governors Kate Brown (OR) Andrew Cuomo (NY), David Ige (HI), Gina Raimondo (RI), and Tom Wolf (PA) all won tonight.

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Tonight Democratic Governors Chair Gov. Jay Inslee released the following statement on tonight’s governors’ races up to this point:
“This is a big night for Democratic gubernatorial pickups. So far tonight, Democrats have flipped at least five governorships – including two in states that Donald Trump won just two years ago. And we have many more votes to count.

“After tonight’s progress, at least 30 million more Americans will be represented by Democratic governors. That means they’ll have a governor who’ll protect access to health care, invest in public schools and build a stronger economy for the middle class. I’m especially proud that Democrats re-elected all five of our incumbents and set a new record with six Democratic women elected on a single night. I’m proud to welcome eight new Democratic governors to our ranks: Governors-Elect Gretchen Whitmer (MI), JB Pritzker (IL), Janet Mills (ME), Laura Kelly (KS), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM), Gavin Newsom (CA), Tim Walz (MN) and Jared Polis (CO).”