State legislative elections, 2019
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On November 5, 2019, Democrats won majorities in the Virginia State Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates, while holding their majority in the New Jersey General Assembly. The victories in Virginia made the state a Democratic state government trifecta. Republicans held their majorities in the Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Seven of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regular elections in 2019. These seven chambers represented 538 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (7.3%). This page contains information about regularly scheduled state legislative elections; click here to read about state legislative special elections in 2019.
Heading into the November 2019 general elections, Republicans held six of the seven chambers and 292 of the 538 seats (54.3%). Democrats held one chamber and 240 seats (44.6%).[1] Overall, Republicans controlled 61 of 99 legislative chambers (61.6%) and 3,863 of 7,383 state legislative seats (52.3%). Democrats controlled 37 chambers (37.4%) and 3,467 seats (47.0%).[2]
Click on the links below to navigate to election pages for each chamber.
- Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019
- Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019
- Mississippi House of Representatives elections, 2019
- Mississippi State Senate elections, 2019
- New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019
- Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019
- Virginia State Senate elections, 2019
General elections in Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia took place on November 5, 2019. Louisiana also held a primary election on October 12, where candidates could win an election outright. In cases where no candidate won the primary outright, general elections in Louisiana took place on November 16, 2019. Louisiana and Mississippi held gubernatorial elections in 2019 as well.
These were the final elections in each of these state legislatures before the 2020 redistricting process. The legislators elected in 2019 will be responsible for the redistricting scheduled to occur after the 2020 census.
A Ballotpedia analysis of trifecta vulnerability in 2019 found the following:
- Louisiana (Divided government) had a slight chance of becoming a Republican trifecta and a low chance of becoming a Democratic trifecta.
- Mississippi (Republican trifecta) was a moderately vulnerable Republican trifecta.
- New Jersey (Democratic trifecta) was a non-vulnerable Democratic trifecta.
- Virginia (Divided government) had a moderate chance of becoming a Democratic trifecta and a moderate chance of remaining under divided government.
Keep reading to learn more about:
- Flipped chambers
- Change in seats
- Trifecta status
- Elections by state
- Battleground chambers
- State legislative special elections in 2019
- Competitiveness
- Historical competitiveness data
- Odd-year elections since 2009
- Impact of term limits
- Context of state legislative elections since 2010
Flipped chambers in the 2019 elections
This table lists state legislative chambers where party control changed as a result of the November 5, 2019, elections.
Flipped state legislative chambers, 2019 elections | ||||
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State | Chamber | Pre-election control | Post-election control | |
Virginia | Senate | Republicans | Democrats | |
Virginia | House | Republicans | Democrats |
Change in seats
Across the chambers holding legislative elections in 2019, Democrats gained one seat and Republicans gained 12 seats. The charts below show the total change and the change broken down by chamber type. The "other/3rd parties" category includes vacant seats.
Change in state legislative partisan composition, 2019 elections | ||||
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Total | Before | After | Net | |
Democrats | 236 | 237 | +1 | |
Republicans | 286 | 298 | +12 | |
Other/3rd parties | 16 | 3 | -13 | |
Total | 538 | 538 | -- |
Change in state senate partisan composition, 2019 elections | ||||
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Total | Before | After | Net | |
Democrats | 51 | 49 | -2 | |
Republicans | 76 | 82 | +6 | |
Other/3rd parties | 4 | 0 | -4 | |
Total | 131 | 131 | -- |
Change in state house partisan composition, 2019 elections | ||||
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Total | Before | After | Net | |
Democrats | 185 | 188 | +3 | |
Republicans | 210 | 216 | +6 | |
Other/3rd parties | 12 | 3 | -9 | |
Total | 407 | 407 | -- |
State government trifectas
Heading into the 2019 state legislative elections, Mississippi was a Republican trifecta, New Jersey was a Democratic trifecta, and Louisiana and Virginia were both under divided government. Kentucky was also a Republican trifecta but only held a gubernatorial election. The 2019 elections resulted in one additional Democratic trifecta and one fewer Republican trifecta—Virginia became a Democratic trifecta, while Kentucky became under divided government.
A trifecta is when one political party holds these three positions in a state's government:
- The governorship
- A majority in the state senate
- A majority in the state house
The concept of the trifecta is important in state lawmaking because in many states, the governor, senate majority leader, and house majority leader play decisive roles in the legislative process.
Heading into the 2019 elections, 36 states were controlled by a trifecta. States with a trifecta included:
As a result of the 2019 elections, there were 21 Republican trifectas and 15 Democratic trifectas.
Elections by state
Elections are being held for seven legislative chambers in the following four states:
- Louisiana (State House and State Senate)
- Mississippi (State House and State Senate)
- New Jersey (State House only)
- Virginia (State House and State Senate)
State legislative special elections were also held in 2019. Click here to read more.
Elections summary
State legislative chambers up in 2019 | |||||||
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Chambers | Seats up | Post-election partisan control | Term length | Term limits? | |||
Louisiana Senate | All 39 | 27-12 | 4 years | Yes (3 terms) | |||
Louisiana House | All 105 | 68-35 | 4 years | Yes (3 terms) | |||
Mississippi Senate | All 52 | 36-16 | 4 years | No | |||
Mississippi House | All 122 | 75-46 | 4 years | No | |||
New Jersey General Assembly | All 80 | 52-28 | 2 years | No | |||
Virginia Senate | All 40 | 21-19 | 4 years | No | |||
Virginia House | All 100 | 55-45 | 2 years | No |
Louisiana
Louisiana's state legislators serve four-year terms. Both chambers have term limits which prevent a state legislator from serving for more than three terms, or twelve years, in a particular chamber. Louisiana legislators assume office at noon on the second Monday in January after their election.[3][4]
The Louisiana State Senate and the Louisiana House of Representatives last held elections in 2015.
- Candidate filing deadline: August 8, 2019
- Jungle primary election: October 12, 2019
- General election:[5] November 16, 2019
State Senate
- See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019
Louisiana State Senate Party Control
Louisiana State Senate | |||
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Party | As of November 16, 2019 | After November 17, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 14 | 12 | |
Republican Party | 25 | 27 | |
Total | 39 | 39 |
Click here to see the results of Louisiana's state senate races since 1991. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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State House
Louisiana House of Representatives Party Control
Louisiana House of Representatives | |||
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Party | As of November 16, 2019 | After November 17, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 39 | 35 | |
Republican Party | 60 | 68 | |
Independent | 5 | 2 | |
Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 105 | 105 |
Click here to see the results of Louisiana's state house races since 1991. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mississippi
Mississippi's state legislators serve four-year terms. Mississippi legislators assume office the Tuesday after the first Monday of January.[10]
The Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives last held elections in 2015.
- Candidate filing deadline: March 1, 2019
- Primary election: August 6, 2019
- Primary runoff election: August 27, 2019
- General election: November 5, 2019
State Senate
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2019
Mississippi State Senate Party Control
Mississippi State Senate | |||
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Party | As of November 5, 2019 | After November 6, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 18 | 16 | |
Republican Party | 31 | 36 | |
Vacancies | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 52 | 52 |
Click here to see the results of Mississippi's state senate races since 1991. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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State House
Mississippi House of Representatives Party Control
Mississippi House of Representatives | |||
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Party | As of November 5, 2019 | After November 6, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 44 | 46 | |
Republican Party | 74 | 75 | |
Independent | 2 | 1 | |
Vacancies | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 122 | 122 |
Click here to see the results of Mississippi's state house races since 1991. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New Jersey
New Jersey's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon on the second Tuesday in January following the election.[15]
The New Jersey General Assembly last held elections in 2017. The New Jersey State Senate did not hold elections in 2019. Senators began four-year terms after being elected in 2017.
- Candidate filing deadline: April 1, 2019
- Primary election: June 4, 2019
- General election: November 5, 2019
State House
New Jersey General Assembly Party Control
New Jersey General Assembly | |||
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Party | As of November 5, 2019 | After November 6, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 54 | 52 | |
Republican Party | 26 | 28 | |
Total | 80 | 80 |
Click here to see the results of New Jersey's state house races since 1991. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Virginia
Virginia's state senators are elected to four-year terms and state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Virginia legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.[16][17]
- Candidate filing deadline: March 28, 2019
- Primary election: June 11, 2019
- General election: November 5, 2019
State Senate
- See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2019
Virginia State Senate Party Control
Virginia State Senate | |||
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Party | As of November 5, 2019 | After November 6, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 19 | 21 | |
Republican Party | 20 | 19 | |
Vacancies | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 40 | 40 |
Click here to see the results of Virginia's state senate races since 1991. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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State House
Virginia House of Delegates Party Control
Virginia House of Delegates | |||
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Party | As of November 5, 2019 | After November 6, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 49 | 55 | |
Republican Party | 51 | 45 | |
Total | 100 | 100 |
Click here to see the results of Virginia's state house races since 1991. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Battleground chambers
- See also: Battlegrounds
Ballotpedia tracked three state legislative battleground chambers in 2019—the Louisiana House of Representatives, Virginia State Senate, and Virginia House of Delegates.
Party control of eight seats in the Louisiana state House was on the ballot in the November 16, 2019, general election. Had Republicans won all seven races where they were on the ballot, the party would have won a supermajority in the chamber.
Heading into the election, Republicans held a two-seat majority in both Virginia chambers. The Virginia State Senate has had a 2-seat or smaller majority (including several years as a tied chamber) since 2007. In the Virginia House of Delegates, Democrats picked up 15 seats in 2017, and only a Republican win in a tiebreaker of random chance in District 94 kept Republicans from losing control of the chamber.
Battlegrounds were chambers that we anticipated would be, overall, more competitive than other chambers and have the potential to see significant shifts in party control in the 2019 general elections.
Criteria for identification as a battleground chamber included the majority party's share of seats, the number of competitive races, and more. Read the complete list of criteria here.
The columns in the chart below list the following information:
- Seats up in 2019: This was the number of seats in the chamber that were up for election in 2019.
- Margin: This was the difference in seats between the majority and minority parties.
- Majority share of seats: This was the percentage of the chamber's total seats controlled by the majority party.
- Last time party control changed?: This was the election where the party in power before the 2019 elections took control of the chamber.
2019 battleground chambers | |||||||||
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Chamber | Seats up in 2019 | Margin | Majority share of seats | Last time party control changed? | Did it flip? | ||||
Louisiana House of Representatives | All 105 | R+21 | 57 percent | 2010 | No | ||||
Virginia State Senate | All 40 | R+2 | 53 percent | 2015 | Yes | ||||
Virginia House of Delegates | All 100 | R+2 | 51 percent | 2000 | Yes |
State legislative special elections
In 2019, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 47 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 21 due to a retirement
- 6 due to the death of the incumbent
- 1 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
- 2 due to an election being rerun
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 39 Democratic seats
- 38 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2019. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2018, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2017 and 2018, Democrats had a net gain of 19 seats.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2019) | |||
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Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 39 | 36 | |
Republican Party | 38 | 40 | |
Independent | 0 | 1 | |
Total | 77 | 77 |
Flipped seats
In 2019, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats flipped from D to R
- Minnesota State Senate District 11 (February 5)
- Connecticut State Senate District 6 (February 26)
- Connecticut House of Representatives District 99 (February 26)
- Kentucky State Senate District 31 (March 5)
- New Jersey State Senate District 1 (November 5)
Seats flipped from R to D
- Pennsylvania State Senate District 37 (April 2)
- Missouri House of Representatives District 99 (November 5)
Seats flipped from R to I
Electoral competitiveness
Ballotpedia's 9th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzes the features of all 538 state legislative elections taking place in November 2019. Key findings include:
Only four states hold state legislative elections during odd-numbered years: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia. This year, both chambers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia were up for election, along with the New Jersey General Assembly. The last time all of these chambers were up for election at the same time was 2015. The table below shows competitiveness statistics for each odd-year election dating back to 2011.
Competitiveness between years: 2011 - 2019 (odd years) | |||||
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2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | |
% Open seats | 18.2% | 6.8% | 13.9% | 8.6% | 19.1% |
% Incumbents facing primary | 20.1% | 12.2% | 21.8% | 16.0% | 30.1% |
% Races with both major parties | 57.4% | 73.6% | 38.7% | 80.9% | 44.4% |
% Defeated incumbents | 5.9% | 2.9% | 5.8% | 7.0% | 3.9% |
Seats without major party opposition
When a candidate from only one of either the Democratic or Republican parties runs for a state legislative seat, the seat is all but guaranteed to be won by that party. In 2019, 299 state legislative seats do not feature major party competition.
- 158 state legislative elections (29.4 percent of all state legislative elections) did not feature a Democratic candidate and were likely to be won by a Republican. In other words, Democrats were contesting 70.6 percent of all state legislative seats.
- 141 elections (26.2 percent of all state legislative elections) did not feature a Republican candidate and were likely to be won by a Democrat. In other words, Republicans were contesting 73.8 percent of all state legislative seats.
- In two states, more than half of all candidates did not face major party competition.
Open seats
In districts where the incumbent legislator does not file for re-election, the seat is guaranteed to a newcomer.
- 103 state legislative incumbents are not running for re-election. In other words, nearly 20 percent of all state legislative seats won in the 2019 cycle were guaranteed to be held by a newly elected state legislator, the most since 2012.
- 39 Democratic state legislators (37.9 percent of the total) did not seek re-election.
- 62 Republican state legislators (60.2 percent of the total) did not seek re-election.
- Two Independent state legislators did not seek re-election.
Primary competitiveness
As the chart below shows, 2019 has the highest rate of contested primaries in any odd-year election since 2015, and also the highest rate of incumbents contested in primaries. To learn more about competitiveness in state legislative primaries in 2019, visit this page.
Primary election competitiveness, 2015-2019 (odd years) | ||||||||
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Year | Total seats | Open seats | Total candidates | Democratic primaries contested | Republican primaries contested | Total contested | Incumbents contested in primaries | % of incumbents contested in primaries |
Defeated incumbents
As the chart below shows, 2019 only had a higher rate of defeated incumbents than 2013 across the last five odd-year election cycles. The statistics from the five previous cycles are available below.
Defeated incumbents, 2011-2019 (odd years) | ||||||||
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Year | Total seats | Incumbents running | Incumbents defeated in primary | Incumbents defeated in general | Incumbents defeated total (percent) | |||
Historical competitiveness data
In 2010, Ballotpedia began using official candidate lists from each state to examine the competitiveness of every state legislative race in the country. Three factors are used in the analysis: the number of incumbents who do not seek re-election, the number of races that feature only one major party candidate, and the number of incumbents who draw primary challengers.
The following table details the data collected from regularly scheduled state legislative elections between 2010 and 2018. It features the total number of seats up for election, open seats, races that included only one major party candidate, and incumbents who faced primary challengers. The table is organized by even-year elections and odd-year elections because years that have the same number of seats up for elections are similar in terms of their competitiveness.
Competitiveness in state legislative elections (2010-2018) | ||||
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Year | Total seats | Open seats | No major party challengers |
Primaries featuring incumbents |
Odd-year elections | ||||
2017 | 220 | 20 (9.1%) | 42 (19.1%) | 32 (16.0%) |
2015 | 538 | 75 (13.9%) | 330 (61.3%) | 101 (21.8%) |
2013 | 220 | 15 (6.8%) | 58 (26.4%) | 25 (12.2%) |
2011 | 578 | 105 (18.2%) | 246 (42.6%) | 95 (20.1%) |
Even-year elections | ||||
2018 | 6,073 | 1,181 (19.5%) | 2,017 (33.2%) | 1,064 (21.8%) |
2016 | 5,923 | 1,040 (17.6%) | 2,477 (41.8%) | 1,005 (20.6%) |
2014 | 6,057 | 1,030 (17.0%) | 2,606 (43.0%) | 1,009 (20.1%) |
2012 | 6,015 | 1,227 (20.4%) | 2,409 (40.0%) | 1,175 (24.5%) |
2010 | 6,125 | 1,140 (18.6%) | 2,000 (32.7%) | 1,133 (22.7%) |
Odd-year elections since 2009
Four states hold state legislative elections in odd-numbered years: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia. In the last 10 years, there have been between two and eight state legislative chambers up in an election cycle. Only two chambers--the New Jersey General Assembly and the Virginia House of Delegates--hold regular elections every two years. The other six chambers hold elections every two to four years, depending on when the last round of redistricting took place.
The chart below details the results of state legislative elections from 2009 to 2017. During that period, two chambers flipped party control--both in 2011.[18] Partisan changes ranged from a Republican gain of 27 seats in 2011 to a Democratic gain of 18 seats in 2017.
Odd-year elections since 2009 | |||||||
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Year | Chambers up | Flipped chambers | Seats up | Total Democratic seats pre-election | Total Democratic seat change | Total Republican seats pre-election | Total Republican seat change |
2017 | 3[19] | None | 220 | 110 | +18 | 110 | -18 |
2015 | 7[20] | None | 538 | 230 | 0 | 302 | +4 |
2013 | 3[21] | None | 220 | 104 | +1 | 113 | -2 |
2011 | 8[22] | 2[18] | 578 | 287 | -24 | 285 | +27 |
2009 | 2[23] | None | 178 | 92 | -6 | 86 | +6 |
Impact of term limits
In 2019, 47 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. Louisiana was the only state holding elections for a term-limited legislature in 2019.
Of the 15 state legislatures with term limits, Louisiana is the only state where term limits were imposed by the state’s lawmakers, rather than through the ballot initiative process. Under Louisiana’s term limits, state lawmakers can serve no more than three four-year terms. The state’s term limits law was enacted in 1995. The first year that term limits impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2007.
Incumbents
The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2019 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.
2019 term-limited incumbents | |||
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Party | # of termed senators | # of termed representatives | Total |
Democratic | 4 | 13 | 17 |
Republican | 12 | 17 | 29 |
Independent | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 16 | 31 | 47 |
Political context
The 2019 elections occurred in the aftermath of significant Democratic gains in the 2018 elections and 2017 elections. In the 2018 elections, Democrats flipped a net 308 legislative seats and picked up six legislative chambers, reversing some of the Republican gains made from 2010 to 2016.
Changes in chamber partisan control, 2010 to 2018
Prior to the 2010 elections, Democrats controlled 60 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers, Republicans controlled 37, and two chambers were not controlled by either party. In the six years that followed, Republicans made significant gains and took control of many of the chambers that were previously held by Democrats. After the 2016 elections, Democrats controlled 31 chambers and Republicans controlled 68.
In the 2017 and 2018 elections, Democrats increased their number of state legislative chambers to 37, and Republicans saw their number of chambers fall to 61. Control of one chamber, the Alaska House of Representatives, was split between the parties.
From 2010 to 2018, there were 61 instances where a state legislative chamber changed partisan control. Of these 61 changes, 40 involved a chamber changing from Democratic to Republican control and 17 involved a chamber changing from Republican to Democratic control. The other four involved chambers that were split between the two parties (Oregon House in 2010 and 2012; Montana House in 2010; Alaska House in 2018).
Most of the changes came during major elections but some also came through special elections (Louisiana House in 2010; Washington Senate in 2017) and party switching (Louisiana House in 2010; Mississippi Senate in 2011). In some cases, the party that gained control did not have a numerical majority but instead controlled the chamber through a bipartisan coalition (i.e., Alaska House in 2016). This table does not account for changes in party control or ties in a chamber that lasted for less than one year and were not the result of a regularly scheduled election. An example of this is the brief period of Democratic control in the Virginia State Senate in 2014.[24]
From 2010 to 2018, 39 chambers switched control: 24 switched control once, 11 switched control twice, one switched control three times, and three switched control four times.
For this chart, a red box indicates that the chamber flipped from Democratic to Republican control, and a blue box indicates that the chamber flipped from Republican to Democratic control.[25]
Chamber changes in partisan control: 2010-2018 | |||||||||
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Party changes in 2010 | Party changes in 2011 | Party changes in 2012 | Party changes in 2014 | Party changes in 2016 | Party changes in 2017 | Party changes in 2018 | Party changes in 2019 | ||
Alabama Senate | Louisiana Senate[26][27] | Alaska Senate | Colorado Senate | Alaska House | Washington Senate | Alaska House[28] | Virginia Senate | ||
Alabama House | Mississippi Senate[29][30] | Arkansas Senate | Maine Senate | Iowa Senate | Colorado Senate | Virginia House | |||
Colorado House | Mississippi House | Arkansas House | Minnesota House | Kentucky House | Maine Senate | ||||
Indiana House | Virginia Senate[31] | Colorado House | Nevada Senate | Minnesota Senate | Minnesota House | ||||
Iowa House | Maine Senate | Nevada House | Nevada Senate | New Hampshire House | |||||
Louisiana House[32][33] | Maine House | New Hampshire House | Nevada House | New Hampshire Senate | |||||
Maine Senate | Minnesota Senate | New Mexico House | New Mexico House | New York Senate | |||||
Maine House | Minnesota House | West Virginia Senate | |||||||
Michigan House | New Hampshire House | West Virginia House | |||||||
Minnesota Senate | Oregon House[34] | ||||||||
Minnesota House | Washington Senate | ||||||||
Montana House[35] | |||||||||
New Hampshire Senate | |||||||||
New Hampshire House | |||||||||
New York Senate | |||||||||
North Carolina Senate | |||||||||
North Carolina House | |||||||||
Ohio House | |||||||||
Oregon House[36] | |||||||||
Pennsylvania House | |||||||||
Wisconsin Senate | |||||||||
Wisconsin House | |||||||||
Total changes: 22 | Total changes: 4 | Total changes: 11 | Total changes: 9 | Total changes: 7 | Total changes: 1 | Total changes: 7 | Total changes: 2 |
The chart below shows how many chambers each party controlled after the November elections in a given year.
Partisan control of state legislative chambers: 2010-2018 | |||||
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Election | Democratic chambers | Republican chambers | Other | ||
Before 2010 | 60 | 37 | 2 | ||
2010 | 38 | 59 | 2 | ||
2011 | 35 | 60 | 4 | ||
2012 | 41 | 56 | 2 | ||
2013 | 41 | 56 | 2 | ||
2014 | 30 | 68 | 1 | ||
2015 | 30 | 68 | 1 | ||
2016 | 31 | 68 | 0 | ||
2017 | 32 | 67 | 0 | ||
2018 | 37 | 61 | 1 | ||
2019 | 39 | 59 | 1 |
State legislatures and presidents
First two years in office
Heading into the 2019 election, the Republican Party was coming off a substantial loss of seats during a major election for the first time in more than a decade. Republicans across the country collectively lost 345 seats in 2017 and 2018, marking the third time during the last four presidencies that the party of the sitting president--Donald Trump (R) in this case--lost seats during that president's first midterm election. Democrats lost 702 seats during Barack Obama's (D) first two years in office and 488 seats during Bill Clinton's (D) first two years. Only George W. Bush (R) saw a net gain of seats during his first two years with Republicans winning a net 110 seats.
Two-term presidents
It is normal for a party to lose ground in state legislatures when their party controls the presidency for two terms. Between the time of Franklin Roosevelt (D) and George W. Bush (R), the political party of the president lost, on average, 450 state legislative seats while holding the White House. The losses that the Democratic Party sustained under Barack Obama (D), however, were exceptional, rivaled only by the terms of Richard Nixon (R) and Dwight Eisenhower (R), when Republicans lost 800 and 843 seats, respectively.
Trifectas from 2010 to 2018
- See also: State government trifectas
A state government trifecta occurs when one political party controls the primary levers of power in a state: the governor's office, the state Senate, and the state House. From 2010 to 2018, the Republican Party increased its number of trifectas and the Democratic Party saw a decline in its trifectas. However, Democrats picked up six trifectas in the 2018 elections, and Republicans lost four trifectas.
This chart shows the number of trifectas each party held heading into elections from 2010 to 2018, and the number of trifectas following the 2018 elections.
Trifectas by year: 2010-2018 | |||||
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Election | Democratic trifectas | Republican trifectas | States under divided government | ||
Pre-2010 elections | 17 | 10 | 23 | ||
Pre-2012 elections | 11 | 22 | 17 | ||
Pre-2014 elections | 12 | 24 | 14 | ||
Pre-2016 elections | 7 | 23 | 20 | ||
Pre-2018 elections | 8 | 26 | 16 | ||
Post-2018 elections | 14 | 22 | 14 |
Analysis of state elections
In 2019, eight states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for seven of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers and for three gubernatorial seats.
Footnotes
- ↑ The remaining six seats were either vacant or held by independent legislators.
- ↑ The 99th chamber was controlled by Democrats and Republicans through a power-sharing agreement. The remaining were either vacant or held by independent legislators.
- ↑ Louisiana Constitution, "Article 3, Section 5," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Louisiana Constitution, "Article 4, Section 3," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Held if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.
- ↑ Louisiana Republican Legislative Delegation, "Republican Delegation Welcomes Senator Norby Chabert to the Republican Party," accessed October 5, 2017
- ↑ Four state senators switched their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican and Republicans flipped two seats in special elections.
- ↑ Nola, "Senate election completes Republican takeover of Louisiana government," February 21, 2011
- ↑ NOLA, "Louisiana Republicans take first House majority since Reconstruction with latest party switch," December 17, 2010
- ↑ Mississippi Constitution, "Article 4, Section 36," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Google Books, "Crossing the Aisle: Party Switching by U.S. Legislators in the Postwar Era," accessed August 31, 2017
- ↑ Jackson Free Press, "Dems Bolster Power in Legislature," November 14, 2007
- ↑ Natchez Democrat, "State Sen. Mettetal joins Republican Party," January 30, 2008
- ↑ The Dispatch, "Brown chosen as No. 2 in Senate," January 3, 2012
- ↑ New Jersey Constitution, "Article IV, Section II (2.)," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Virginia Legislative Information System, "Code of Virginia - § 24.2-214. Election and term of Senators." accessed January 6, 2022
- ↑ Virginia Legislative Information System, "Code of Virginia - § 24.2-215. Election and term of members of the House of Delegates." accessed January 6, 2022
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Mississippi House flipped from Democratic to Republican control, and the Virginia Senate flipped from Democratic control to split control.
- ↑ NJ Senate and House; VA House
- ↑ LA Senate and House; MS Senate and House; NJ House; VA Senate and House
- ↑ NJ Senate and House; VA House
- ↑ LA Senate and House; MS Senate and House; NJ Senate and House; VA Senate and House
- ↑ NJ House and VA House
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Virginia Republicans snatched control of the state Senate, ended budget-Medicaid impasse," June 9, 2014
- ↑ 2015 and 2013 are not included because no chambers flipped those years.
- ↑ The chamber first changed from Democratic to Republican control in a February 2011 special election. Republicans increased their majority to 24-15 in the 2011 elections.
- ↑ Fox News, "GOP Candidate Wins Lousiana [sic] Senate Special Election, Shifting Majority," February 20, 2011
- ↑ Chamber went from being controlled by a Democratic-led bipartisan coalition to being led by a coalition with power split between the parties.
- ↑ The chamber changed partisan control prior to the 2011 elections due to Democrats switching to the Republican Party and special election wins by Republicans. Republicans increased their majority in the 2011 elections to 31-21.
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Southern Democrats in dire straits; 2011 looms large," January 11, 2011
- ↑ In the 2011 elections, the chamber changed from a 22-18 Democratic advantage to a 20-20 tie. Republicans effectively controlled the chamber because Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling (R) could cast tie-breaking votes.
- ↑ This chamber did not hold elections in 2010. It switched partisan control in December 2010 when Democrat Noble Ellington changed his party affiliation to Republican. In the regularly-scheduled 2011 elections, Republicans increased their majority to 58-45.
- ↑ Nola.com, "Louisiana Republicans take first House majority since Reconstruction with latest party switch," December 17, 2010
- ↑ In this election, the Oregon House changed from a 30-30 tie to a 34-26 Democratic advantage.
- ↑ This chamber went from a 50-50 tie to a 68-32 Republican advantage in the 2010 elections.
- ↑ This chamber went from a 36-24 Democratic advantage to a 30-30 tie in the 2010 elections.
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