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Election results, 2024: State legislative veto-proof majorities
Veto-proof supermajority status changed in seven states as a result of the 2024 elections. Democrats lost supermajority status in New York and Vermont and gained it in Connecticut, while Republicans lost supermajority status in Montana and North Carolina and gained it in Iowa and South Carolina.
Forty-four states held elections for at least one state legislative chamber. In total, there were veto-proof majorities in 29 state legislatures before the election—nine Democratic and 20 Republican. After the election, there were veto-proof majorities in 28 state legislatures—eight Democratic and 20 Republican.
State governors may veto bills advanced by the state legislature. With sufficient support—between one-half and two-thirds of sitting legislators, depending on the state—state legislatures may overturn a gubernatorial veto. When one party controls enough seats to overturn a veto without any support from the other party, a legislature can be said to hold a veto-proof majority. These are most important when the governor belongs to the opposite party as the veto-proof legislature.
Heading into the 2024 elections, four states had a governor of one party and a veto-proof state legislative majority of the opposing party: Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Vermont. After the elections, Kansas and Kentucky maintained that status, North Carolina and Vermont lost that status, and no new state became a veto-proof legislature with an opposing party governor.
Two states—Nevada and Wisconsin—could have switched to having a veto-proof majority and an opposing party governor as a result of the 2024 elections, but neither state's legislative majority reached its supermajority threshold. Click here to learn more about potential supermajorities.
Status of veto-proof majorities following the 2024 elections
Of the 44 states that held elections in at least one legislative chamber, eight state legislatures had Democratic supermajorities before the election, 18 had Republican supermajorities, and 18 did not have a supermajority. After the elections, seven had Democratic supermajorities, 18 had Republican supermajorities, and 19 did not have a supermajority. The table below shows the veto-proof majority statuses of those states before and after the elections.
| Partisan breakdown of veto-proof majorities on the ballot | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2024 elections | Net change | After the 2024 elections | |||
 Democratic |
8 | -1 | 7 | |||
 Republican |
18 | 0 | 18 | |||
 No veto-proof majority |
18 | +1 | 19 | |||
Across all 50 state legislatures, there were nine Democratic supermajorities, 20 Republican supermajorities, and 21 states without a supermajority before the elections. After the elections, eight state legislatures had Democratic supermajorities, 20 had Republican supermajorities, and 22 did not have a supermajority. The table below shows the veto-proof majority statuses of all 50 states before and after the elections.
| Partisan breakdown of veto-proof majorities across all 50 states | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2024 elections | Net change | After the 2024 elections | |||
| Democratic |
9 | -1 | 8 | |||
| Republican |
20 | 0 | 20 | |||
| No veto-proof majority |
21 | +1 | 22 | |||
The map below shows the veto-proof majority status across all 50 states after the 2024 elections.
Veto-proof majorities and opposing-party governors
Veto-proof majorities are most important when the other party controls the governorship. This creates more opportunities for legislatures to override gubernatorial vetoes. Heading into 2024, the 29 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof majority in both chambers included four states where the governor was a member of a different political party than the veto-proof majority: Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Vermont. Kansas and Kentucky maintained that status, while North Carolina and Vermont lost it.
Two states—Nevada and Wisconsin—had the potential to have veto-proof majorities and opposing party governors as a result of the 2024 elections. Neither state acquired that status following the elections.
The table below shows the status of the four states that had veto-proof majorities and opposing party governors and the two states that had the potential to acquire that status before and after the 2024 elections.
| Veto-proof majorities and opposing party governors | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 2024 elections | After 2024 elections | |||||
| Legislative control | Gubernatorial control | Veto-proof legislature and opposing party governor? | Legislative control | Gubernatorial control | Veto-proof legislature and opposing party governor? | |
| Kansas | Supermajority |
 Democratic |
Yes | Supermajority |
Democratic |
Yes |
| Kentucky | Supermajority |
Democratic |
Yes | Supermajority |
Democratic |
Yes |
| North Carolina | Supermajority |
Democratic |
Yes | No supermajority |
Democratic |
No |
| Vermont | Supermajority |
 Republican |
Yes | No supermajority |
Republican |
No |
| Nevada | No supermajority |
Republican |
No | No supermajority |
Republican |
No |
| Wisconsin | No supermajority |
Democratic |
No | No supermajority |
Democratic |
No |
States with veto-proof majorities and opposing-party governors
Kansas and Kentucky both maintained their veto-proof status and remained Republican supermajorities with Democratic governors as a result of the 2024 elections. Vermont lost its veto-proof majority status. Before the election, Democrats in Vermont held one more than the 20 Senate seats required and seven more than the 100 House seats required for supermajority control. As of Nov. 18, Democrats won 16 Senate seats and 78 House seats, with five races uncalled.[1] North Carolina Republicans also lost their supermajority status following a key Democratic pickup in the House.[2] Republicans needed to maintain all 72 of their House seats to keep their veto-proof majority.
The map below shows the states that have a veto-proof legislature and opposing party governor after the 2024 elections.
States with potential for veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
Ballotpedia identified two states with state legislative elections in 2024 that had the potential to gain a veto-proof majority of the party opposite the governor: Nevada and Wisconsin. Neither state became a veto-proof legislature and opposing party governor as a result of the 2024 elections.
- Nevada: Heading into the 2024 elections, the governor of Nevada was Joe Lombardo (R). In Nevada, two-thirds of the state legislature is required to override a gubernatorial veto. Before the election, the Democratic Party held majorities in both chambers of the legislature that were below the threshold for a veto-proof majority. Democrats had 26-14 majority in the Nevada State Assembly (a two-thirds majority would require 28 seats) and a 13-7 majority in the Nevada State Senate (a two-thirds majority would require 14 seats). After the 2024 elections, Democrats had a 27-15 majority in the Assembly and a 13-8 majority in the Senate.
- Wisconsin: Heading into the 2024 elections, the governor of Wisconsin was Tony Evers (D). In Wisconsin, two-thirds of the state legislature is required to override a gubernatorial veto. Before the election, the Republican Party reached the two-thirds threshold in the Wisconsin State Senate with its 22-10 majority but was short of this threshold in the Wisconsin State Assembly with its 64-35 majority. Republicans would need to control 66 Assembly seats to reach the two-thirds threshold. Republicans won 54 Assembly seats and 18 Senate seats. Accordingly, Wisconsin did not become a veto-proof supermajority with an opposing party governor as a result of the 2024 elections.
Summary of election outcomes
The following table includes state legislatures that gained, lost, or maintained veto-proof majority status in the 2024 elections.
| Veto-proof majority status by state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Party of governor (2024) | Party of legislative majority | Pre-election veto-proof majority? | Post-election veto-proof majority? | ||
| Montana | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | No | ||
| New York | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | No | ||
| North Carolina | Democratic |
Republican |
Yes | No | ||
| South Carolina | Republican |
Republican |
No | Yes | ||
| Vermont | Republican |
Democratic |
Yes | No | ||
| California | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Idaho | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Utah | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Wyoming | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| North Dakota | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| South Dakota | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Nebraska | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Kansas | Democratic |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Oklahoma | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Missouri | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Arkansas | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Louisiana | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Illinois | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Indiana | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Kentucky | Democratic |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Tennessee | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Alabama | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Florida | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Maryland | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Delaware | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Massachusetts | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Rhode Island | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Hawaii | Democratic |
Democratic |
Yes | Yes | ||
| West Virginia | Republican |
Republican |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Connecticut | Democratic |
Democratic |
No | Yes | ||
| Iowa | Republican |
Republican |
No | Yes | ||
Analysis for 2022
Heading into the 2022 elections, there were four states with a governor of one party and a veto-proof state legislative majority of the opposing party: Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, and Massachusetts. There are three states—North Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin—that could have switched to having a veto-proof majority and an opposing party governor as a result of the 2022 elections.
State legislatures with veto-proof majorities
After the November 2022 elections, there were 27 state legislatures where one party held a veto-proof majority in both legislative chambers.[3] The number grew to 29 in 2023 due to legislators who switched parties. Republicans controlled twenty of the veto-proof legislatures, and Democrats controlled nine.
State legislatures with veto-proof majorities and governor of the opposing party
Two of four states heading into the 2022 elections that had a veto-proof legislative majority and governor of the opposing party—Kentucky and Kansas—maintained that status after the elections. The other two states—Maryland and Massachusetts—no longer have that status since the party that held veto-proof legislative majorities also gained control of the governor's office in the 2022 elections.
Vermont became a state with a veto-proof legislative majority and opposing-party governor as a result of the 2022 elections.
See also
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors in the 2024 elections
- Veto overrides in state legislatures
- State legislative elections, 2024
- Election results, 2024
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Times, "Vermont Election Results," accessed November 18, 2024
- ↑ Axios Raleigh, "NC Democrats break GOP legislative supermajority," November 6, 2024
- ↑ Even though Nebraska has a unicameral state legislature, it is included in this figure.
