Massachusetts Republicans were taking a lengthy victory lap Wednesday after flipping three seats in the state Legislature, including by unseating a 12-term Democrat who once served as a top leader in the chamber and claiming a district that long resided with the left.

It was the first time since the 1984 presidential election that more than one Republican managed to flip a local legislative seat from Democratic control, according to the Massachusetts Republican Party, which proclaimed that “the days of ‘business as usual’ are over.”

MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said it is “pretty rare” for the Massachusetts Republican Party to make gains in a presidential election year.

“I think it really speaks to the messages that the Republican candidates were talking about,” she told the Herald after the polls closed Tuesday. “Many of those messages are similar to the messages that we’re seeing at the federal level — immigration, lack of transparency on Beacon Hill and lack of accountability, and really the budget crunch that we’re under as a result of some of the policies.”

But Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan said his party won two of the three “top targeted” state Senate seats, including the contests involving Rep. Dylan Fernandes, a Falmouth Democrat, and Sen. John Cronin, a Fitchburg Democrat.

The MassGOP’s “desperate efforts to conjure up some mythical statewide trend simply does not hold water,” Kerrigan said in a statement to the Herald.

“The facts are, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly re-elected Elizabeth Warren, an entirely Democratic congressional delegation and maintained wide majorities in both houses of the state Legislature,” he said. “And the Republican nominee for president once again failed badly here. Massachusetts Republicans cannot admit they are not competitive at the federal level or across broad swaths of the state.”

In a small shot across the bow to the Democratic super-majority in the House, Justin Thurber, a Somerset Republican, unseated Rep. Patricia Haddad, a Democrat from the same town who assumed office in 2000 and previously served as the speaker pro tempore of the chamber.

Thurber pulled in 12,329 votes, or 52% of all ballots counted, compared to Haddad’s 11,371, or 48% of ballots tallied, according to the Associated Press, which said 100% of precincts in the district had reported their results.

In a nearby Senate district, Taunton City Councilor Kelly Dooner, a Republican, declared victory over Raynham Selectman Joe Pacheco, a Democrat.

Dooner had 39,450 votes compared to 37,476 ballots cast for Pacheco as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. More than 85% of precincts in the district had reported their results.

The race was cast by top officials at the MassGOP as one of their best shots at picking up a seat in the Senate because of the changes made to the district in 2021 that shifted the constituency to a brighter shade of purple.

Wendy Wakeman, a Republican strategist in Massachusetts, said Dooner came to the race “with credibility in terms of her personal resume, having served as a city councilor.” She is also the first Republican woman elected to the chamber since the early 2000s.

“She came with political credit because she’s worked with a lot of activists in the state on other things, and then just worked the heck out of the race,” Wakeman told the Herald. “Kelly Dooner, in many ways, I mean, she’s the candidate that we want to see in every district.”

Dooner was projected to assume an office that stretches from Seekonk to Marion and was held for 31 years by the retiring Marc Pacheco, a Taunton Democrat of no relation to Joe Pacheco.

And Ken Sweezey, a Republican from Pembroke, bested Rebecca Coletta, a Democrat from the same town for the House seat that was vacated by Rep. Josh Cutler, a Democrat who went to work for the Healey administration earlier this year.

Sweezey secured 14,783 votes compared to Coletta’s 12,955 ballots cast in her favor, according to Associated Press tallies last updated at noon Wednesday.

Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Sutton Republican who helps out in many local races, said the conservative gains in the Legislature expose “the dysfunction of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts and the disillusioned policy agenda that they have.”

“I think they’re really out of touch with certain pockets of Massachusetts. Of course, you’re going to always have your Cambridges and your Bostons and Republicans aren’t going to do well there, but like in places like Taunton and Middleborough and Pembroke there’s a lot of middle-class families and people that are like, ‘what is going on with the Democratic Party?’” he told the Herald.

Democrats were not without victories Tuesday evening and Republicans did lose key matchups in the Massachusetts Senate.

Rep. Matt Muratore, a Plymouth Republican, conceded to Fernandes, the Falmouth Democrat, in a race for a South Shore and Cape Cod Senate seat that saw the two men collectively spend more than $511,000 since the start of the year, according to state data.

Wakeman, the Republican strategist, said a “tough” Republican primary between Muratore and Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae could have played into Muratore’s defeat.

“A bruising primary is a double-edged sword,” she said. “On the one hand, it gives you a little more visibility in those summer months when nobody’s really looking at the races. But on the other hand, he kind of wasted resources and wasted time talking to voters who you should naturally just have.”

Sen. Cronin, the Fitchburg Democrat, also beat Nick Pirro, a Lunenburg Republican who was arrested three times over the past two decades.

Democrats notched a flipped seat with Michelle Badger, the chair of the Plymouth School Committee who declared victory over Republican Jesse Brown for the House seat that Muratore was vacating to run for Senate.

Badger earned 14,980 votes compared to Brown’s 13,776, according to Associated Press data last updated just before noon Wednesday with 100% of precincts reporting their data.

Democrats also handily delivered Massachusetts’ 11 Electoral College votes to Vice President Kamala Harris and beat back a Republican attempt to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Kerrigan, the chair of MassDems, said Republicans were “forced to run” a candidate from Rhode Island, John Deaton, against Warren. Deaton has so far pulled in roughly 40% of the vote, which outperformed former President Donald Trump in Massachusetts, according to Associated Press tallies.

“We take no elections for granted and have great respect for the faith Massachusetts voters have shown in Democratic leadership and ideas. Massachusetts Democrats will continue to compete in races everywhere and at all levels,” Kerrigan said.

Republican John Deaton may have lost his bid to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but with 40% of the vote, he outperformed Donald Trump in Massachusetts. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)