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Partisan composition of state legislatures

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Partisan composition of state legislatures

Legislatures
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

See also
Historical partisan composition of state legislaturesPartisan composition of state senatesHistorical partisan composition of state senatesPartisan composition of state housesHistorical partisan composition of state houses
See also: Partisan composition of state houses and Partisan composition of state senates

The partisan composition of state legislatures refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in each state Senate and state House. On this page, you will find information on the partisan makeup of every state legislative chamber, including analysis, sortable tables, and interactive maps.

Ballotpedia tracks the partisan composition of each state legislative chamber to help readers understand which states are the most partisan or competitive. For instance, the battle over whether a political party has trifecta control of a state—a term to describe single-party government, when one political party holds the position of governor and majorities in both of the state's legislative chambers—depends on the partisan balance of each chamber. In some states, majority parties are large enough to override gubernatorial vetoes without any votes from members of the minority party.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • As of May 13, 2025, there are 1,973 state senators and 5,413 state representatives.
  • Across the lower chamber of state legislatures, Republicans control 2,985 seats to Democrats’ 2,391.
  • Across the upper chamber of state legislatures, Republicans control 1,124 seats to Democrats 833.
  • Rhode Island and Hawaii have the most Democratic legislatures by percent, with Democrats controlling 85.8% (97 seats) and 84.2% (64 seats) in those states, respectively.
  • West Virginia and Wyoming have the most Republican legislatures by percent, with Republicans controlling 91.8% (123 seats) and 91.4% (85 seats) in those states, respectively.
  • Minnesota and Pennsylvania have the most even legislatures by percent, with Democrats having a 0.5% (one seat out of 201 total) edge in Minnesota and a 1.2% edge (three seats out of 253 total) in Pennsylvania.[1]
  • Click on the following links to jump to:

    Overview

    As of February 4th, 2026, Republicans controlled 55.1% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.83%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.

    Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
    Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
    State senates 836 1,119 6 12
    State houses 2,401 2,951 20 41
    Total: 3,237

    4,070

    26

    53



    The map below shows the partisan composition of each state legislature by percentage Democrat and Republican. The darker the color, the higher the percentage of state legislative seats the majority party has in each state. The lighter the color, the smaller the percent difference in partisan composition. Hover on a state to get the breakdowns in each state.



    The pie chart below shows the overall partisan percentages across all 50 state legislatures.



    The table below shows the aggregate partisan composition of each state legislature.

    Partisan compositions of state legislatures nationwide by percent
    StateDemocraticRepublicanIndependent or minor partyVacancies
    Alabama26.471.42.1
    Alaska38.353.38.3
    Arizona44.455.6
    Arkansas18.581.5
    California75.024.20.8
    Colorado66.034.0
    Connecticut67.932.1
    Delaware67.732.3
    Florida26.970.60.61.9
    Georgia43.655.90.4
    Hawaii84.214.51.3
    Idaho14.385.7
    Illinois66.733.3
    Indiana26.773.3
    Iowa32.067.30.7
    Kansas27.972.1
    Kentucky19.680.4
    Louisiana29.270.10.7
    Maine51.647.30.50.5
    Maryland72.327.7
    Massachusetts83.515.00.51.0
    Michigan48.051.40.7
    Minnesota50.249.8
    Mississippi32.266.11.10.6
    Missouri31.568.00.5
    Montana40.060.0
    Nebraska28.667.34.1
    Nevada63.536.5
    New Hampshire43.655.90.20.2
    New Jersey64.235.8
    New Mexico62.537.5
    New York67.132.40.5
    North Carolina40.659.4
    North Dakota11.387.90.7
    Ohio32.667.4
    Oklahoma17.479.92.7
    Oregon58.940.01.1
    Pennsylvania49.250.40.4
    Rhode Island85.812.40.90.9
    South Carolina27.671.80.6
    South Dakota8.689.51.9
    Tennessee22.777.3
    Texas40.359.7
    Utah19.279.81.0
    Vermont57.238.34.4
    Virginia51.448.6
    Washington59.939.50.7
    West Virginia8.291.8
    Wisconsin45.554.5
    Wyoming8.691.4
    Average43.256.00.40.4

    State senates

    See also: Partisan composition of 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 1,973 state senators.

    Cumulative numbers

    As of February 4, 2026, 1,955 state senators were affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. This total is updated monthly.

    Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
    Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
    State senates 836 1,119 6 12
    State houses 2,401 2,951 20 41
    Total: 3,237

    4,070

    26

    53



    The table below shows the partisan composition of upper legislative chambers in each state.

    Partisan composition of upper legislative chambers nationwide by percent
    StateDemocraticRepublicanIndependent or minor partyVacancies
    Alabama22.974.32.9
    Alaska45.055.0
    Arizona43.356.7
    Arkansas17.182.9
    California75.025.0
    Colorado65.734.3
    Connecticut69.430.6
    Delaware71.428.6
    Florida25.067.52.55.0
    Georgia41.157.11.8
    Hawaii88.012.0
    Idaho17.182.9
    Illinois67.832.2
    Indiana20.080.0
    Iowa32.068.0
    Kansas22.577.5
    Kentucky18.481.6
    Louisiana28.271.8
    Maine57.142.9
    Maryland72.327.7
    Massachusetts87.512.5
    Michigan50.047.42.6
    Minnesota50.749.3
    Mississippi30.869.2
    Missouri29.470.6
    Montana36.064.0
    Nebraska28.667.34.1
    Nevada61.938.1
    New Hampshire33.366.7
    New Jersey62.537.5
    New Mexico61.938.1
    New York63.534.91.6
    North Carolina40.060.0
    North Dakota10.689.4
    Ohio27.372.7
    Oklahoma16.781.32.1
    Oregon56.740.03.3
    Pennsylvania45.152.92.0
    Rhode Island86.810.52.6
    South Carolina26.173.9
    South Dakota8.688.62.9
    Tennessee18.281.8
    Texas35.564.5
    Utah20.775.93.4
    Vermont53.343.33.3
    Virginia52.547.5
    Washington59.238.82.0
    West Virginia5.994.1
    Wisconsin45.554.5
    Wyoming6.593.5
    Average42.256.90.30.6

    State Houses

    See also: Partisan composition of 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.

    Cumulative numbers

    As of February 4, 2026, 5,352 state representatives were affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. This total is updated monthly.

    Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
    Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
    State senates 836 1,119 6 12
    State houses 2,401 2,951 20 41
    Total: 3,237

    4,070

    26

    53



    The table below shows the partisan composition of lower legislative chambers in each state. This table does not include Nebraska since it only has a Senate.

    Partisan composition of lower chamber of state legislatures nationwide by percent
    StateDemocraticRepublicanIndependent or minor partyVacancies
    Alabama27.670.51.9
    Alaska35.052.512.5
    Arizona45.055.0
    Arkansas19.081.0
    California75.023.81.3
    Colorado66.233.8
    Connecticut67.532.5
    Delaware65.934.1
    Florida27.571.70.8
    Georgia44.455.6
    Hawaii82.415.72.0
    Idaho12.987.1
    Illinois66.133.9
    Indiana30.070.0
    Iowa32.067.01.0
    Kansas29.670.4
    Kentucky20.080.0
    Louisiana29.569.51.0
    Maine50.348.30.70.7
    Maryland72.327.7
    Massachusetts82.515.60.61.3
    Michigan47.352.7
    Minnesota50.050.0
    Mississippi32.864.81.60.8
    Missouri31.967.50.6
    Montana42.058.0
    Nevada64.335.7
    New Hampshire44.355.30.30.3
    New Jersey65.035.0
    New Mexico62.937.1
    New York68.731.3
    North Carolina40.859.2
    North Dakota11.787.21.1
    Ohio34.365.7
    Oklahoma17.879.23.0
    Oregon60.040.0
    Pennsylvania50.249.8
    Rhode Island85.313.31.3
    South Carolina28.271.00.8
    South Dakota8.690.01.4
    Tennessee24.275.8
    Texas41.358.7
    Utah18.781.3
    Vermont58.037.34.7
    Virginia51.049.0
    Washington60.239.8
    West Virginia9.091.0
    Wisconsin45.554.5
    Wyoming9.790.3
    Average43.855.40.40.4

    Changes in the number of seats

    2022

    See also: Redistricting

    As a result of redistricting conducted after the 2020 census, the number of state legislative seats in the country changed. Wyoming's new state legislative maps created one new Senate seat and two new House seats, resulting in 31 state Senators and 62 state Representatives. This increased the number nationally to 7,386 legislators—1,973 state senators and 5,413 state representatives.

    It is relatively uncommon for states to change their numbers of legislators during redistricting. New York increased its number of state Senators by one after both the 2010 and 2000 censuses. After the 2000 census, two states—North Dakota and Rhode Island—reduced their number of legislators in both chambers.

    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.

    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 2024 estimates.[2]

    Percent of Americans living under trifectas as of January 2026
    Total U.S. populationDemocratic trifectasRepublican trifectasDivided governments
    339,408,738[3]132,728,858140,863,06565,816,815
    100%39.1%41.5%19.4%
    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.

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. A pair of resignations on July 17, 2024, left Republicans with more seats than Democrats in the chamber. However, a rule adopted in July 2023 defined the majority party as “the political party that won the greater number of elections for the 203 seats in the House of Representatives in the general election preceding the term of service that began on the first day of December next after the general election.” Because of this rule, Democrats maintained their majority.
    2. U.S. Census Bureau, "State Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024," accessed January 7, 2025
    3. Excludes the 702,250 inhabitants of Washington, D.C.