State legislative elections, 2017

2017 State Legislative Elections
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2017 elections
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2017 Elections
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In the 50 states, there are 99 state legislative chambers altogether. The general state legislative elections for 2017 took place on November 7, 2017.

A total of 40 of the country's 1,972 state senate seats and 180 of the country's 5,411 state house seats were up for a vote. Altogether, 220 (3.0 percent) of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats had regularly scheduled elections. Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia hold elections in odd-numbered years. Legislators in Louisiana and Mississippi are elected to four-year terms, with elections scheduled for 2019.

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

New Jersey

• New Jersey State Senate elections, 2017

Senate partisan breakdown: (24) (16)

• New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2017

Assembly partisan breakdown: (52) (28)

New Jersey's state senators serve four-year terms, except in the first term of a new decade, which only lasts for two years. State assembly members are elected to a two-year term. Legislators in New Jersey are not subject to term limits. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon on the second Tuesday in January following the election.

Virginia

Virginia did not hold any state senate elections in 2017.

• Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017

House partisan breakdown: (34) (66)

Virginia's state delegates are elected to two-year terms. Virginia legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.

State legislatures during the Trump presidency

Heading into the 2017 election, the Republican Party was in a position of dominance in state legislatures. Apart from individual special elections held throughout 2017, the November general elections were the first test of the impact a Donald Trump presidency would have on down ballot races. Up for election in 2017 were the blue chambers of the New Jersey Legislature and the red Virginia state House. Which direction these three chambers move might have offered some insight for what to expect in 2018. The 2018 elections set the stage for the 2020 elections; which will determine which party controlled the redistricting process in many states. This process establishes congressional and legislative district lines, which can influence the competitiveness of those elections in favor of one political party or another until the following census in 2030.

Since World War II, the political party of an outgoing two-term president or consecutive political party administration has lost an average of 450 state legislative seats, excluding President Barack Obama. During President Obama's (D) two terms in office, Democrats experienced a net loss of 958 state legislative seats, the largest net loss of state legislative seats in this category since World War II. The second-largest loss occurred following Dwight D. Eisenhower's two terms in office, when Republicans were handed a net loss of 843 state legislative seats. President Ronald Reagan (R) was the only president to increase his party's number of state legislative seats over his two terms in office, gaining six total seats across all 50 state legislatures.

Click here to read more about changes in state legislative seats during the Obama presidency »

What was at stake

Partisan balance

Heading into the 2017 elections, Republicans held a majority of state legislative chambers. Sixty-eight chambers were under GOP control, while Democrats held majorities in 31 chambers.

The following table details partisan balance in all 99 chambers.

Partisan Control of All 99 State Legislatures
	Pre-election		Post-election
Legislative Chamber
State senates	13	37	14	36
State houses	18	31	18	31
Total:	31	68	32	67

The following table details partisan balance of all 7,383 state legislative seats.

Partisan Balance of All 7,383 State Legislative Seats
	Pre-election			Post-election
Legislative Chamber
State senates	803	1,150	19	805	1,139	28
State houses	2,317	3,030	64	2,320	3,013	78
Total:	3,120	4,180	83	3,125	4,152	106

State government trifectas

See also: Gubernatorial and legislative party control of state government

Gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia have the opportunity of being competitive races, leaving the possibility of a new trifecta in both states. New Jersey and Virginia were both under divided government heading into the 2017 election. In New Jersey, both legislative chambers are controlled by Democrats and the outgoing Governor Chris Christie (R) is term limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Virginia's Legislature is controlled by Republicans and the outgoing Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) is also prevented from running for re-election due to term limits. It was unlikely that any of the three legislative chambers up for election could have seen a flip in partisan control.

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 2017 elections, 31 states were controlled by a trifecta. States with a trifecta included:

• 6 Democratic trifectas
• 25 Republican trifectas