Partisan composition of state legislatures

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Partisan composition of state legislatures
Legislatures
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See also
Historical partisan composition of state legislatures • Partisan composition of state senates • Historical partisan composition of state senates • Partisan composition of state houses • Historical partisan composition of state houses

The partisan composition of state legislatures refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in the State Senate and State House. Altogether, there are 1,972 state senators and 5,411 state representatives.

The breakdown of chamber control after the November 2021 election is as follows:

  • Democratic Party 36 chambers
  • Republican Party 62 chambers[1]
  • Democratic Party Republican Party One chamber with power sharing between the parties

The breakdown of chamber control prior to the November 2021 election was as follows:

  • Democratic Party 37 chambers
  • Republican Party 61 chambers[1]
  • Democratic Party Republican Party One chamber with power sharing between the parties
See also: Partisan composition of state houses and Partisan composition of state senates

Sixty-one state legislative chambers around the country have an even number of members, raising the possibility of a tie between the two major parties. In some instances, a bipartisan coalition of legislators is formed to act as leadership.[2] This tactic has not been the universal approach, however; some legislative bodies have used a coin toss, gubernatorial choice, shared time, choosing co-leaders, or dividing chairperson positions between the parties.[3]

A state government trifecta is a term to describe single party government, when one political party holds three positions in a state's government.

As of February 13, 2022, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 14 Democratic trifectas, and 13 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.

As a result of the 2021 elections, Democrats lost one trifecta. States with divided government—no trifecta for either major party—increased by one. Republicans neither gained or lost trifectas.

Cumulative numbers

As of February 11, 2022, Republicans controlled 54.4% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 44.3%. Republicans held a majority in 62 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 36 chambers. One chamber (Alaska House) was organized under a multipartisan, power-sharing coalition.[4]

Partisan balance of all 7,383 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Other[5]
State senates 862 1,094 16
State houses 2,409 2,922 80
Total: 3,271 4,016 96

State Senates

The partisan composition of state senates refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in the state senate. Altogether, in the 50 state senates, there are 1,972 state senators.

The breakdown of chamber control after the November 2021 election is as follows:

  • Democratic Party 18 chambers
  • Republican Party 32 chambers[1]

The breakdown of chamber control prior to the November 2021 election was as follows:

  • Democratic Party 18 chambers
  • Republican Party 32 chambers[1]
See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Cumulative numbers

As of February 11, 2022, 1,956 state senators were affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. This total is updated monthly.

Partisan balance of all 7,383 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Other[5]
State senates 862 1,094 16
State houses 2,409 2,922 80
Total: 3,271 4,016 96

Vacancies

As of February 11, 2022, there were eight vacancies in eight states. This total is updated monthly.

State Vacancies
Arkansas 1
Florida 1
Indiana 1
Maine 1
Nevada 1
Pennsylvania 1
South Carolina 1
Tennessee 1

Third Party

As of February 11, 2022, there were eight state senators in six states identifying as independents or parties other than Democratic and Republican. This total is updated monthly.

State Independents/Third Party
Arkansas 1 (Independent)
Minnesota 2 (Independent)
New Mexico 1 (Independent)
Oregon 1 (Independent)
Pennsylvania 1 (Independent)
Vermont 2 (Vermont Progressive Party)

State Houses

The partisan composition of state houses refers to which party holds the majority of seats in the state house or the lower level of each state legislature. Altogether, in the 49 state houses, there are 5,413 state representatives.

The breakdown of chamber control after the November 2021 election is as follows:

  • Democratic Party 18 chambers
  • Republican Party 30 chambers
  • Grey.png One chamber with power sharing between the parties

The breakdown of chamber control prior to the November 2021 election was as follows:

  • Democratic Party 19 chambers
  • Republican Party 29 chambers
  • Grey.png One chamber with power sharing between the parties
See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Cumulative numbers

As of February 11, 2022, 5,331 state representatives were affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. This total is updated monthly.

Partisan balance of all 7,383 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Other[5]
State senates 862 1,094 16
State houses 2,409 2,922 80
Total: 3,271 4,016 96

Vacancies

As of February 11, 2022, there were 47 state house vacancies in 20 different states. This total is updated monthly.

State Vacancies
Alabama 1
California 5
Connecticut 2
Delaware 1
Florida 1
Kentucky 1
Louisiana 1
Maine 3
Massachusetts 2
Michigan 4
Missouri 6
New Hampshire 8
New York 2
Ohio 2
Oklahoma 1
Oregon 1
Pennsylvania 3
South Carolina 1
Texas 1

Third Party

As of February 9, 2021, there were 33 state representatives in 12 states identifying as independents or parties other than Democratic and Republican. This total is updated monthly.

State Independents/Third Party
Alaska 4 (Independent), 1 (Nonpartisan)
California 1 (Independent)
Louisiana 3 (Independent)
Maine 3 (Independent), 2 (Independent for Maine Party), 1 (Libertarian)
Massachusetts 1 (Independent)
Minnesota 1 (Independent)
Mississippi 3 (Independent)
New Hampshire 1 (Independent)
New Mexico 1 (Independent)
New York 1 (Independence)
Vermont 7 (Vermont Progressive Party), 5 (Independent)
Wyoming 1 (Independent), 1 (Libertarian)

Trifectas

See also: State government trifectas

The following table shows the status of state government—divided control, Democratic trifecta, or Republican trifecta—in each state. It also includes the year of the last change to each state's trifecta status.

Trifecta status by state
State Trifecta status Year of last status change
Alabama Republican trifecta 2011
Alaska Divided government 2015
Arizona Republican trifecta 2009
Arkansas Republican trifecta 2015
California Democratic trifecta 2011
Colorado Democratic trifecta 2019
Connecticut Democratic trifecta 2011
Delaware Democratic trifecta 2009
Florida Republican trifecta 2011
Georgia Republican trifecta 2005
Hawaii Democratic trifecta 2011
Idaho Republican trifecta 1995
Illinois Democratic trifecta 2019
Indiana Republican trifecta 2011
Iowa Republican trifecta 2017
Kansas Divided government 2019
Kentucky Divided government 2019
Louisiana Divided government 2016
Maine Democratic trifecta 2019
Maryland Divided government 2015
Massachusetts Divided government 2015
Michigan Divided government 2019
Minnesota Divided government 2015
Mississippi Republican trifecta 2012
Missouri Republican trifecta 2017
Montana Republican trifecta 2021
Nebraska Republican trifecta 1999
Nevada Democratic trifecta 2019
New Hampshire Republican trifecta 2020
New Jersey Democratic trifecta 2018
New Mexico Democratic trifecta 2019
New York Democratic trifecta 2019
North Carolina Divided government 2017
North Dakota Republican trifecta 1995
Ohio Republican trifecta 2011
Oklahoma Republican trifecta 2011
Oregon Democratic trifecta 2013
Pennsylvania Divided government 2015
Rhode Island Democratic trifecta 2013
South Carolina Republican trifecta 2003
South Dakota Republican trifecta 1995
Tennessee Republican trifecta 2011
Texas Republican trifecta 2003
Utah Republican trifecta 1985
Vermont Divided government 2017
Virginia Divided government 2022
Washington Democratic trifecta 2017
West Virginia Republican trifecta 2017
Wisconsin Divided government 2019
Wyoming Republican trifecta 2011

Percentage of Americans living under trifecta government

The chart below shows the percentage of the population living under Democratic trifectas, Republican trifectas, and divided governments. Population figures are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2020 estimates.[6]

Percent of Americans living under trifectas as of January 2022
Total Democratic trifectas Republican trifectas Divided governments
Population 328,771,307[7] 111,520,258 137,479,602 79,771,447
Proportion (%) 100% 33.9% 41.8% 24.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Election breakdowns

See also: Historical partisan composition of state legislatures

Click here for more on changes to partisan control of state legislative chambers over time.

States

See also: Historical partisan composition of state legislatures

Click here for more on the historical partisan composition of state legislatures.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Includes Nebraska, which is officially nonpartisan. For more information on how Ballotpedia determined the partisan affiliation for Nebraska senators, please click here. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "NE" defined multiple times with different content
  2. ↑ Alaska State Senate, "Senate Bipartisan Working Group," accessed June 14, 2012
  3. ↑ Governing, "How Tied Chambers Affect States," June 9, 2011
  4. ↑ Nebraska is officially nonpartisan but was held by a Republican majority. For more information on how Ballotpedia determined the partisan affiliation for Nebraska senators, please click here.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 This tally includes third party incumbents and vacancies.
  6. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "State Population Totals: 2010-2020," accessed January 3, 2022
  7. ↑ Excludes the 712,816 inhabitants of Washington, D.C.
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