State legislative elections, 2021
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|---|---|
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Three of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regularly scheduled elections in 2021. Elections in those three chambers represented 220 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (2.9%).
General elections in New Jersey and Virginia took place on November 2, 2021.
States also held special state legislative elections in 2021 to fill vacant seats. Click here for more.
Click on the links below to navigate to election pages for each chamber.
- New Jersey State Senate elections, 2021
- New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021
- Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2021
Election results, 2021: Party control of state legislatures
Partisan control of one state legislature changed as a result of the 2021 elections, while control of a second state legislature remained the same. Republicans will control 30 state legislatures in 2022, Democrats will control 17, and 3 will be under divided party control.
In the Virginia House of Delegates, Democrats lost their 55-45 majority in the chamber. Republicans won 52 seats, and Democrats won 48 seats. The majority-Democratic Virginia State Senate was not up for election, meaning the state legislature was under divided party control in 2022.
Democrats maintained their majorities following New Jersey's General Assembly and State Senate elections. Prior to the election, Democrats had a 52-28 majority in the Assembly and a 25-14 majority in the Senate. After the 2021 elections, there were 46 Democratic wins and 34 Republican wins in the Assembly, and 24 Democratic wins and 16 Republican wins in the Senate.
Change in seats
Democrats lost a net 14 seats in the three state legislative chambers that held regularly-scheduled elections on November 2, 2021. Republicans gained a net 14 seats. There was no change in the number of seats held by minor-party and independent legislators.[1]
Overall, Democrats lost one seat and Republicans gained one seat in state senates. In state houses, Democrats lost 13 seats and Republicans gained 13.
The tables below show the total changes in state legislative seats, state senate seats, and state house seats, respectively. Totals shown below include partisan data only from the three chambers that held regularly-scheduled elections in 2021.
| Change in state legislative partisan composition, 2021 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before | After | Net[2] | ||||
| Democratic | 132 | 118 | -14 | |||
| Republican | 88 | 102 | +14 | |||
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 220 | 220 | - | |||
| State-specific data | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total seats | Pre-election | Post-election | Net change | |||||||||||||||
| Dem. | Rep. | Oth. | Vac. | Dem. | Rep. | Oth. | Vac. | Dem. | Rep. | Oth. | |||||||||
| New Jersey | 120 | 77 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 50 | 0 | 0 | -7 | +7 | 0 | |||||||
| Virginia[3] | 100 | 55 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 52 | 0 | 0 | -7 | +7 | 0 | |||||||
Flipped seats
As a result of the elections, control of 16 seats (7.3%) flipped from one political party to another. Control of nine seats flipped in New Jersey, while the control of the other seven flipped in Virginia.
The table below shows the total number of state legislative seats that changed partisan control during the 2021 state legislative elections. Columns show the number of seats that changed to the given partisan affiliation listed in the top row. Rows show the number of seats that changed from the given partisan affiliation listed in the leftmost column. The bottom two rows show net changes: 2021, based on the data in the table, and 2019, as a comparison.
| Partisan flips of state legislative seats, 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To Democrats | To Republicans | To Independent/ minor parties |
Total | ||||
| From Democrats | - | 15 | 0 | 15 | |||
| From Republicans | 1 | - | 0 | 1 | |||
| From Independent/ minor parties |
0 | 0 | - | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 15 | 0 | 16 | |||
| Net change, 2021 | -14 | +14 | 0 | - | |||
| Net change, 2019 | -2 | +6 | -4 | ||||
List of seats that changed party control
Each state legislative district that changed partisan control in regularly scheduled elections in November 2021 is listed below. Multi-member districts in which multiple seats changed hands are listed once for each seat. The 16 flipped seats include:
- Democrat to Republican: 15
- Republican to Democrat: 1
Margin of victory
Across all 220 seats up for election, the average margin of victory was 23.6%. An electoral margin of victory (MOV) is the difference between the share of votes cast for the winning candidate and the second-place candidate in an election. Only races with more than one candidate were included in this average. The chart below displays the breakdown of races by the winner's partisan affiliation and margin of victory for each state legislative chamber with single-member districts which held elections in 2021. A darker shade of red or blue indicates a larger margin for that party. The table below displays how many seats were up for election in each chamber and how many seats each party won. It also includes a breakdown of how many seats Democrats and Republicans won by 10% or less and without opposition in each chamber, as well as the average margin of victory for each party. Click on a particular header to sort the table.
| Average MOV for state legislative elections, 2021 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber | Seats up for election |  Seats won by Democrats
|
Seats won by Democrats by margins of 10% or less
|
Seats won by unopposed Democrats
|
Average margin of victory for Democrats
|
 Seats won by Republicans
|
Seats won by Republicans by margins of 10% or less
|
Seats won by unopposed Republicans
|
Average margin of victory for Republicans
|
 Seats won by independent and minor-party candidates
|
| New Jersey State Senate | ||||||||||
| New Jersey General Assembly[4] | ||||||||||
| Virginia House of Delegates | ||||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||
State legislative races decided by 0.5% or less
In 2021, there were three races decided by margins of 0.5% or smaller.
| State legislative races decided by 0.5% or less, 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Winner | Runner-up | Margin (%) | Margin (number of votes) |
| New Jersey General Assembly District 11 | Kim Eulner |
Joann Downey |
||
| Virginia House of Delegates District 91 | Aijalon Cordoza |
Martha Mugler |
||
| Virginia House of Delegates District 85 | Karen Greenhalgh |
Alex Askew |
||
State government trifectas
Heading into the 2021 state legislative elections, New Jersey and Virginia were Democratic trifectas.
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
Glenn Youngkin (R) won election as governor of Virginia, breaking the state's Democratic trifecta. Democrats also lost control of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Incumbent Phil Murphy (D) won the election for governor of New Jersey, preserving Democrats' trifecta in the state.
Heading into the 2021 elections, there were 38 state government trifectas. Republicans had 23 trifectas and Democrats had 15. The other 12 states had divided government, meaning neither party had a trifecta.
After the 2021 elections, the country will have 23 Republican-held trifectas, 14 Democratic-held trifectas, and 13 divided governments.
| Change in state government trifectas, 2021 elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trifecta status | Before | After | Net | |
| Democratic trifectas |
15 | 14 | -1 | |
| Republican trifectas |
23 | 23 | - | |
| Divided government | 12 | 13 | +1 | |
Incumbents defeated in 2021 elections
Out of the 220 state legislative seats up for election in 2021, incumbents ran for re-election to 203 of them.
Between the primary and general elections, incumbents lost in 22 races (10.8%). The 10.8% percent of incumbents losing was the highest such percentage the last six odd-year election cycles.
Incumbents defeated in primary elections
Challengers defeated incumbents in eight primary elections or party nominating conventions. Five of those legislators were Democrats and three were Republicans. Click [show] below to see a full list of incumbents defeated in primary elections.
| Incumbents defeated in 2021 state legislative primary elections | ||
|---|---|---|
| Incumbent | Party | District |
| New Jersey | ||
| Serena DiMaso |  Republican |
New Jersey General Assembly District 13 |
| BettyLou DeCroce | Republican |
New Jersey General Assembly District 26 |
| Nicholas Chiaravalloti |  Democratic |
New Jersey General Assembly District 31 |
| Virginia | ||
| Charles Poindexter | Republican |
Virginia House of Delegates District 9 |
| Mark Levine | Democratic |
Virginia House of Delegates District 45 |
| Lee Carter | Democratic |
Virginia House of Delegates District 50 |
| Steve Heretick | Democratic |
Virginia House of Delegates District 79 |
| Ibraheem Samirah | Democratic |
Virginia House of Delegates District 86 |
Incumbents defeated in general elections
Challengers defeated incumbents in 14 general elections. All of those legislators were Democrats. Click [show] below to see a full list of incumbents defeated in general elections.
Elections by state
New Jersey
New Jersey's state senators serve four-year terms, except in the first term of a new decade, which only lasts for two years. Assembly members are elected to a two-year term. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon on the second Tuesday in January following the election.[5]
State Senate
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2021
New Jersey State Senate Party Control
| New Jersey State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2, 2021 | After November 3, 2021 | |
| Democratic Party | 25 | 24 | |
| Republican Party | 14 | 16 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
State House
New Jersey General Assembly Party Control
| New Jersey General Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2, 2021 | After November 3, 2021 | |
| Democratic Party | 52 | 46 | |
| Republican Party | 28 | 34 | |
| Total | 80 | 80 | |
Virginia
Virginia's state representatives are elected to a two-year term. Virginia legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.[6][7]
State House
Virginia House of Delegates Party Control
| Virginia House of Delegates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2, 2021 | After November 3, 2021 | |
| Democratic Party | 55 | 48 | |
| Republican Party | 45 | 52 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
Battleground chamber
Virginia House
Republicans won 52 races and Democrats won 48. Republicans flipped seven seats, one more than the six needed to give them control of the chamber. Democrats would have needed to hold at least 51 seats to maintain their majority. On November 16, Alex Askew (D) in District 85 and Martha Mugler (D) in District 91 announced they would request a recount, and both filed court petitions for recounts on November 17.[8][9] Officials declared Karen Greenhalgh (R) the District 85 winner on December 3, and Aijalon Cordoza (R) the District 91 winner on December 8.[10][11] With the recounts completed, Republicans secured a 52-48 majority in the House after the 2021 election.
All 100 seats were up for election, and, heading into the election, Democrats held a 55-seat majority to Republicans' 45 seats. This was the first election cycle since 1999 with Democrats defending a majority in the House. Democrats won control in the 2019 elections after Republicans had controlled the chamber since 2000.
The outcome of these elections, in addition to the state's gubernatorial election, also determined Virginia's trifecta status. Virginia became a Democratic trifecta in 2019 for the first time since 1994. Republicans won control of the House and the governorship in 2021, ending Democrats' trifecta control of the state.
Five of the ten preceding elections in the chamber saw net shifts of six seats or more: twice in Republicans' favor and three times in Democrats'. On average, 6.6 seats shifted control per election cycle during that same time frame. During Donald Trump's (R) presidency, Republicans lost 21 net seats (21% of the chamber) in the House, the most in any state legislative chamber in the country.[12]
Ballotpedia identified 25 of the races as battlegrounds. Democrats held 19 of the battleground districts and Republicans held six. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly lead to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance.
Commentators described the House of Delegates elections as a gauge of political sentiment following Joe Biden's (D) election as president in 2020.[13][12][14][15] The presidential election winner's party lost seats in the House of Delegates in five of the seven state election years following a presidential election between 1993 and 2017.
The House of Delegates was one of three state legislative chambers holding elections in 2021. Redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census will not affect this election, which will be held using districts drawn after the 2010 census.
Battleground races
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia identified 22 battleground races in the 2021 Virginia House of Delegates elections. Sixteen were in Democrat-held districts, and six were in Republican-held districts. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance.
To determine state legislative battleground races in 2021, Ballotpedia looked for races that fit one or more of the four factors listed below:
- In the last state legislative election, the winner received less than 55% of the vote.
- The presidential candidate who won the district in 2020 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and the most recent state legislative election winner won by a margin of 10 percentage points or less.
- The presidential candidate who won the district in 2020 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and the incumbent is not on the ballot this year.
- The presidential candidate who won the district in 2020 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and that presidential candidate won the district by a margin of 20 percentage points or more.
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 tables detail the data collected from regularly scheduled state legislative elections between 2010 and 2019. They feature the total number of seats up for election, open seats, races that included only one major party candidate, term-limited incumbents, incumbents who faced primary challengers, and incumbents who were defeated. 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.
During odd years, state legislative elections have had an average of 419 seats up for election. Of those seats, an average of 67 have been open, meaning an incumbent was not seeking re-election.
| Competitiveness in state legislative elections (2010-2019) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | No major party challengers |
Term limited incumbents |
Primaries featuring incumbents |
Incumbents defeated |
| Odd-year elections | ||||||
| 2019 | 538 | 103 (19.1%) | 299 (55.6%) | 47 (8.7%) | 129 (24.0%) | 17 (3.2%) |
| 2017 | 220 | 20 (9.1%) | 42 (19.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 32 (14.6%) | 14 (6.4%) |
| 2015 | 538 | 75 (13.9%) | 330 (61.3%) | 21 (3.9%) | 101 (18.8%) | 27 (5.0%) |
| 2013 | 220 | 15 (6.8%) | 58 (26.4%) | 0 (0.0%) | 15 (6.8%) | 6 (2.7%) |
| 2011 | 578 | 105 (18.6%) | 246 (42.6%) | 16 (2.8%) | 95 (16.4%) | 28 (4.8%) |
| Even-year elections | ||||||
| 2020 | 5,875 | 877 (14.9%) | 2,051 (34.9%) | 211 (3.6%) | 1,017 (18.5%) | 371 (7.4%) |
| 2018 | 6,073 | 1,181 (19.5%) | 2,017 (33.2%) | 271 (4.5%) | 1,064 (17.5%) | 469 (7.7%) |
| 2016 | 5,923 | 1,040 (17.6%) | 2,477 (41.2%) | 253 (4.3%) | 1,005 (17.0%) | 358 (6.0%) |
| 2014 | 6,057 | 1,030 (17.0%) | 2,606 (43.0%) | 223 (3.7%) | 1,009 (16.7%) | 397 (6.6%) |
| 2012 | 6,015 | 1,277 (21.2%) | 2,307 (38.4%) | 255 (4.2%) | 1,175 (19.5%) | 488 (8.1%) |
| 2010 | 6,125 | 1,140 (18.6%) | 2,000 (32.7%) | 375 (6.1%) | 1,133 (18.5%) | 614 (10.0%) |
Partisan competitiveness
The following table provides more detailed information about partisan competitiveness in state legislative elections since 2010. During odd years, state legislative elections have had an average of 195 races where there is no major party opposition. This means that, on average, during odd years, 46.5% of races feature only one major party.
| Partisan competitiveness in state legislative elections (2010-2019) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | No major party challengers |
No major party challengers (%) |
| Odd-year elections | |||
| 2019 | 538 | 299 | 55.6% |
| 2017 | 220 | 42 | 19.1% |
| 2015 | 538 | 330 | 61.3% |
| 2013 | 220 | 58 | 26.4% |
| 2011 | 578 | 246 | 42.6% |
| Even-year elections | |||
| 2020 | 5,875 | 2,051 | 34.9% |
| 2018 | 6,073 | 2,017 | 33.2% |
| 2016 | 5,923 | 2,477 | 41.2% |
| 2014 | 6,057 | 2,606 | 43.0% |
| 2012 | 6,015 | 2,307 | 38.4% |
| 2010 | 6,125 | 2,000 | 32.7% |
Open seats overview
- See also: Open seats in the 2019 state legislative elections
- See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2019
The table below provides more detailed information about open seats in state legislative elections since 2010. During odd years, state legislative elections have had an average of 67 open seats, meaning races where an incumbent was not seeking re-election. 15 state legislatures subject legislators to term limits. On average, during odd years, 28 incumbent legislators cannot run for re-election due to term limits.[16]
In 2021, no incumbents were impacted by term limits. Virginia and New Jersey do not use term limits in state legislative elections.
| Open seats in state legislative elections (2010-2020) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Open seats (%) | Term limited incumbents |
Term limited incumbents (%) |
| Odd-year elections | |||||
| 2019 | 538 | 103 | 19.1% | 47 | 8.7% |
| 2017 | 220 | 20 | 9.1% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 538 | 75 | 13.9% | 21 | 3.9% |
| 2013 | 220 | 15 | 6.8% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 578 | 105 | 18.6% | 16 | 2.8% |
| Even-year elections | |||||
| 2020 | 5,875 | 877 | 14.9% | 211 | 3.6% |
| 2018 | 6,073 | 1,181 | 19.5% | 271 | 4.5% |
| 2016 | 5,923 | 1,040 | 17.6% | 253 | 4.3% |
| 2014 | 6,057 | 1,030 | 17.0% | 223 | 3.7% |
| 2012 | 6,015 | 1,277 | 21.2% | 255 | 4.2% |
| 2010 | 6,125 | 1,140 | 18.6% | 375 | 6.1% |
Incumbency competitiveness
- See also: Incumbents defeated in 2019's state legislative elections
- See also: 2019 primary election competitiveness in state government
The chart below provides more detailed information about races where an incumbent was challenged in state legislative elections since 2010. During odd years, state legislative elections have had an average of 74 races where an incumbent was challenged by somebody in their own party in a primary election. On average, 7 incumbents have been defeated in odd-year primaries and 12 defeated in general elections.
| Competitiveness in state legislative elections (2010-2020) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Primaries featuring incumbents |
Primaries featuring incumbents (%) |
Incumbents defeated in primary election |
Incumbents defeated in general election |
Total incumbents defeated |
Total incumbents defeated (%) |
| Odd-year elections | |||||||
| 2019 | 538 | 129 | 24.0% | 9 | 8 | 17 | 3.2% |
| 2017 | 220 | 32 | 14.6% | 0 | 14 | 14 | 6.4% |
| 2015 | 538 | 101 | 18.8% | 14 | 13 | 27 | 5.0% |
| 2013 | 220 | 15 | 6.8% | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2.7% |
| 2011 | 578 | 95 | 16.4% | 8 | 20 | 28 | 4.8% |
| Even-year elections | |||||||
| 2020 | 5,875 | 1,017 | 18.5% | 154 | 227 | 371 | 7.4% |
| 2018 | 6,073 | 1,064 | 17.5% | 147 | 322 | 469 | 7.7% |
| 2016 | 5,923 | 1,005 | 17.0% | 123 | 235 | 358 | 6.0% |
| 2014 | 6,057 | 1,009 | 16.7% | 131 | 266 | 397 | 6.6% |
| 2012 | 6,015 | 1,175 | 19.5% | 194 | 294 | 488 | 8.1% |
| 2010 | 6,125 | 1,133 | 18.5% | 112 | 502 | 614 | 10.0% |
Impact of term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
At the time of the 2021 elections, legislators in New Jersey and Virginia were not subject to term limits.
Election dates
The following table details 2021 state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates in each state. The signature filing deadline was the date by which candidates had to file nominating signatures with election officials in order to have their names placed on the ballot.
| 2021 election dates | ||
|---|---|---|
| State | Filing deadline | Primary election |
| New Jersey | April 5 | June 8 |
| Virginia | March 25 | June 8 |
Political context
The 2021 elections occurred in the aftermath of Republican gains in the 2020 elections, which itself followed Democratic gains in the 2019 elections, 2018 elections, and 2017 elections. In the 2020 elections, Republicans flipped both chambers in the New Hampshire State Legislature. In 2019 elections, Democrats flipped both chambers in the Virginia State Legislature.
Changes in chamber partisan control, 2010 to 2020
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.
As a result of the 2019 and 2020 elections, Democrats and Republicans each flipped the control of two chambers.
From 2010 to 2020, there were 65 instances where a state legislative chamber changed partisan control. Of these 65 changes, 42 involved a chamber changing from Democratic to Republican control and 19 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.[17]
From 2010 to 2020, 42 chambers switched control: 25 switched control once, 11 switched control twice, two switched control three times, two switched control four times, and one—the New Hampshire House of Representatives—switched control five 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.[18]
| Chamber changes in partisan control: 2010-2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Party changes in 2020 | |
| Alabama Senate | Louisiana Senate[19][20] | Alaska Senate | Colorado Senate | Alaska House | Washington Senate | Alaska House[21] | Virginia Senate | New Hampshire Senate | |
| Alabama House | Mississippi Senate[22][23] | Arkansas Senate | Maine Senate | Iowa Senate | Colorado Senate | Virginia House | New Hampshire House | ||
| Colorado House | Mississippi House | Arkansas House | Minnesota House | Kentucky House | Maine Senate | ||||
| Indiana House | Virginia Senate[24] | Colorado House | Nevada Senate | Minnesota Senate | Minnesota House | ||||
| Iowa House | Maine Senate | Nevada House | Nevada Senate | New Hampshire House | |||||
| Louisiana House[25][26] | 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[27] | ||||||||
| Minnesota House | Washington Senate | ||||||||
| Montana House[28] | |||||||||
| New Hampshire Senate | |||||||||
| New Hampshire House | |||||||||
| New York Senate | |||||||||
| North Carolina Senate | |||||||||
| North Carolina House | |||||||||
| Ohio House | |||||||||
| Oregon House[29] | |||||||||
| 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 | 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 2020 | 37 | 61 | 1 | ||
Trifectas from 2010 to 2020
- 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. Democrats picked up six trifectas in the 2018 elections, and Republicans lost four trifectas. Following the 2020 elections, Republicans had a net gain of two trifectas, both of which were previously states with divided governments.
This chart shows the number of trifectas each party held heading into elections from 2010 to 2020, and the number of trifectas following the 2020 elections.
| Trifectas by year: 2010-2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Pre-2020 elections | 15 | 21 | 14 | ||
| Post-2020 elections | 15 | 23 | 12 | ||
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Analysis of state elections
In 2021, six states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for three of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers, 15 appellate court seats, and two gubernatorial offices.
Footnotes
- ↑ Net change figures were calculated by assembling total partisan data for all seats in any chamber that held regularly-scheduled elections in 2021. This includes seats in such chambers that were not up for regularly-scheduled elections so long as other seats in the given chamber were holding regularly-scheduled elections. Pre-election figures were then compared to post-election figures to determine the net change.
Due to the presence of pre-election vacant seats, net changes do not reflect a one-to-one representation of partisan shifts. For example, if a candidate won a pre-election vacant seat, that contributes to the candidate's party's overall gain, but does not equal another party's loss, inversely. - ↑ Due to the uncalled races, the before, after, and net numbers in the first table will not add up exactly. The net change in seats is calculated here, while the differences between before and after may not equal net because of the outstanding races.
- ↑ The Virginia State Senate did not hold regularly-scheduled elections in 2021. Only partisan information from the state's House elections is shown here.
- ↑ For the purposes of this study, the margin of victory was calculated by comparing the winner with the least votes to the loser of the opposite party with the most votes. Therefore, the numbers will total up to half the seats won for each party since we can only compare MoV for one of the two seats in each district.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Washington Post, "Virginia Democrats seek recounts in two close House of Delegates races," November 17, 2021
- ↑ The Hill, "Virginia Democratic lawmakers request recounts in two House of Delegates races," November 16, 2021
- ↑ 13 News Now, "Karen Greenhalgh wins District 85 House of Delegates race," December 3, 2021
- ↑ Washington Post, "With judges’ ruling in recount, GOP cements two-seat majority in Virginia House of Delegates," December 8, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 CBS News, "The tight battle for control of Virginia's House of Delegates," May 4, 2021
- ↑ The Atlantic, "The Democrats’ New Trump Problem," May 26, 2021
- ↑ Virginia Mercury, "Trump has been a gift to Va. Democrats for years. Now can they win without him in the White House?" June 14, 2021
- ↑ Inside NoVa, "Kerr: Democratic majority may be in jeopardy," April 1, 2021
- ↑ Because Virginia and New Jersey do not use term limits in state legislative elections, years where those two states are the only ones holding elections are not included in this average
- ↑ 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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