State government triplexes
| Party Control of State Government |
|---|
 |
| Trifectas |
| A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house in a state's government. |
| Current trifecta status Party control of state government Historical and potential changes in trifectas |
| Triplexes |
| A triplex is when one political party holds the positions of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state in a state's government. |
| Current triplex status Conflict between governors and AGs Conflict between governors and SoS |
| Analysis |
| Trifecta vulnerability in the 2020 elections Trifectas and triplexes Trifectas and legislatively referred constitutional amendments Who Runs the States report |
A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.[1] In states where the attorney general or secretary of state are appointed by the governor, Ballotpedia considers the office to be held by the governor's party for the purposes of defining triplexes.[2]
Currently, there are 20 states with a Republican triplex, 18 states with a Democratic triplex, and 12 states that are under divided control.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources to explain the status of state government triplexes before and after the 2020 elections:
- An overview of state government triplexes by state in 2020;
- List of states with divided control;
- List of states with single-party control; and
- An overview of state government triplexes by the numbers.
Contents
Overview of state government triplexes by state
States with divided control
This table contains states where control of the top executive positions is split between the parties or one or more of the positions are held by independent or nonpartisan officers not appointed by the governor.
States with single-party control
Democratic
Republican
By the numbers
Single party control
In 38 states, the top executive offices are controlled by a single party. Republicans control the top executive offices in 20 states.
*Utah does not have a secretary of state.
Democrats control the top executive offices in 18 states.
Same party for governor and attorney general
There are 43 states where the governor and the attorney general are from the same party. In 23 states there is a Republican serving as governor and as attorney general.
In 20 states there is a Democrat serving as governor and as attorney general.
Same party for governor and secretary of state
There are 37 states where the governor and the secretary of state are from the same party. In 20 states there is a Republican serving as governor and as secretary of state.
In 17 states there is a Democrat serving as governor and as secretary of state.
Different party for governor and attorney general
There are seven states where the governor and the attorney general are not from the same party. In four states there is a Republican serving as governor but not as attorney general.
In three states, there is a Democrat serving as governor but not as attorney general.
Different party for governor and secretary of state
There are 10 states where the governor and the secretary of state are not from the same party. In five states there is a Republican serving as governor but not as secretary of state.
In five states there is a Democrat serving as governor but not as secretary of state.
Changes in triplex status
Changes in 2020
The 2020 state executive elections led to the following results:
- The Republican Party gained a triplex in Montana.
- The Democratic Party gained a triplex in Oregon
| Triplex changes as a result of the 2020 elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election triplex status | Post-election triplex status | |||
| Montana | Divided control | Republican | |||
| Oregon | Divided control | Democratic | |||
Changes in 2019
The 2019 state executive elections led to the following results:
- The Republican Party gained a triplex in Mississippi.
| Triplex changes as a result of the 2019 elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election triplex status | Post-election triplex status | |||
| Mississippi | Divided control | Republican | |||
Changes in 2018
The 2018 state executive elections led to the following results:
- The Democratic Party gained a net six triplexes, while the Republican Party lost a net four triplexes.
- Five states (Colorado, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, and Wisconsin) that had been under divided control gained Democratic triplexes.
- Four states (Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, Nevada) that previously had Republican triplexes lost those triplexes.
- Alaska's independent triplex was replaced by a Republican triplex.
- Michigan's Republican triplex was replaced by a Democratic triplex.
| Triplex changes as a result of the 2018 elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election triplex status | Post-election triplex status | |||
| Alaska | Independent | Republican | |||
| Arizona | Republican | Divided control | |||
| Colorado | Divided control | Democratic | |||
| Illinois | Divided control | Democratic | |||
| Kansas | Republican | Divided control | |||
| Maine | Divided control | Democratic | |||
| Michigan | Republican | Democratic | |||
| North Dakota | Republican | Divided control | |||
| Nevada | Republican | Divided control | |||
| New Mexico | Divided control | Democratic | |||
| Wisconsin | Divided control | Democratic | |||
Changes in 2017
The 2017 state executive elections led to the following results:
- The Democratic Party gained a triplex in New Jersey, which had previously been a Republican triplex.
| Triplex changes as a result of the 2017 elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election triplex status | Post-election triplex status | |||
| New Jersey | Republican | Democratic | |||
Non-election changes in 2017
On August 3, 2017, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican, giving the Republican Party a triplex in the state.
| Non-election triplex changes in 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Old triplex control | New triplex control | |||
| West Virginia | Divided control | Republican | |||
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia chose to highlight these offices because they are typically the most visible positions in states and serve important administrative functions.
- ↑ This is because it is very uncommon for an attorney general or secretary of state appointed by a governor to often be in direct conflict with that governor.
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