State legislative elections, 2019

2019 State Legislative Elections
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2019 elections
Louisiana • Mississippi • New Jersey • Virginia 2019 special elections

2019 Elections
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Select an election Louisiana Senate Louisiana House Mississippi Senate Mississippi House New Jersey Assembly Virginia Senate Virginia House 2019 special elections

On November 5, 2019, Democrats won majorities in the Virginia State Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates, while holding their majority in the New Jersey General Assembly. The victories in Virginia made the state a Democratic state government trifecta. Republicans held their majorities in the Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Seven of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regular elections in 2019. These seven chambers represented 538 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (7.3%). This page contains information about regularly scheduled state legislative elections; click here to read about state legislative special elections in 2019.

Heading into the November 2019 general elections, Republicans held six of the seven chambers and 292 of the 538 seats (54.3%). Democrats held one chamber and 240 seats (44.6%). Overall, Republicans controlled 61 of 99 legislative chambers (61.6%) and 3,863 of 7,383 state legislative seats (52.3%). Democrats controlled 37 chambers (37.4%) and 3,467 seats (47.0%).

Click on the links below to navigate to election pages for each chamber.

• Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019
• Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019
• Mississippi House of Representatives elections, 2019
• Mississippi State Senate elections, 2019
• New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019
• Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019
• Virginia State Senate elections, 2019

General elections in Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia took place on November 5, 2019. Louisiana also held a primary election on October 12, where candidates could win an election outright. In cases where no candidate won the primary outright, general elections in Louisiana took place on November 16, 2019. Louisiana and Mississippi held gubernatorial elections in 2019 as well.

These were the final elections in each of these state legislatures before the 2020 redistricting process. The legislators elected in 2019 will be responsible for the redistricting scheduled to occur after the 2020 census.

A Ballotpedia analysis of trifecta vulnerability in 2019 found the following:

• Louisiana (Divided government) had a slight chance of becoming a Republican trifecta and a low chance of becoming a Democratic trifecta.
• Mississippi (Republican trifecta) was a moderately vulnerable Republican trifecta.
• New Jersey (Democratic trifecta) was a non-vulnerable Democratic trifecta.
• Virginia (Divided government) had a moderate chance of becoming a Democratic trifecta and a moderate chance of remaining under divided government.

Read the analysis here.

Keep reading to learn more about:

• Flipped chambers
• Change in seats
• Trifecta status
• Elections by state
• Battleground chambers
• State legislative special elections in 2019
• Competitiveness
• Historical competitiveness data
• Odd-year elections since 2009
• Impact of term limits
• Context of state legislative elections since 2010

Flipped chambers in the 2019 elections

This table lists state legislative chambers where party control changed as a result of the November 5, 2019, elections.

Flipped state legislative chambers, 2019 elections
State	Chamber	Pre-election control	Post-election control
Virginia	Senate	Republicans	Democrats
Virginia	House	Republicans	Democrats

Change in seats

Across the chambers holding legislative elections in 2019, Democrats gained one seat and Republicans gained 12 seats. The charts below show the total change and the change broken down by chamber type. The "other/3rd parties" category includes vacant seats.

Change in state legislative partisan composition, 2019 elections
Total	Before	After	Net
Democrats	236	237	+1
Republicans	286	298	+12
Other/3rd parties	16	3	-13
Total	538	538	--

Change in state senate partisan composition, 2019 elections
Total	Before	After	Net
Democrats	51	49	-2
Republicans	76	82	+6
Other/3rd parties	4	0	-4
Total	131	131	--

Change in state house partisan composition, 2019 elections
Total	Before	After	Net
Democrats	185	188	+3
Republicans	210	216	+6
Other/3rd parties	12	3	-9
Total	407	407	--

State government trifectas

See also: Gubernatorial and legislative party control of state government

Heading into the 2019 state legislative elections, Mississippi was a Republican trifecta, New Jersey was a Democratic trifecta, and Louisiana and Virginia were both under divided government. Kentucky was also a Republican trifecta but only held a gubernatorial election. The 2019 elections resulted in one additional Democratic trifecta and one fewer Republican trifecta—Virginia became a Democratic trifecta, while Kentucky became under divided government.

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

The concept of the trifecta is important in state lawmaking because in many states, the governor, senate majority leader, and house majority leader play decisive roles in the legislative process.

Heading into the 2019 elections, 36 states were controlled by a trifecta. States with a trifecta included:

• 14 Democratic trifectas
• 22 Republican trifectas

As a result of the 2019 elections, there were 21 Republican trifectas and 15 Democratic trifectas.

Elections by state

Elections are being held for seven legislative chambers in the following four states:

• Louisiana (State House and State Senate)
• Mississippi (State House and State Senate)
• New Jersey (State House only)
• Virginia (State House and State Senate)

State legislative special elections were also held in 2019. Click here to read more.

Elections summary

State legislative chambers up in 2019
Chambers	Seats up	Post-election partisan control	Term length	Term limits?
Louisiana Senate	All 39	27-12	4 years	Yes (3 terms)
Louisiana House	All 105	68-35	4 years	Yes (3 terms)
Mississippi Senate	All 52	36-16	4 years	No
Mississippi House	All 122	75-46	4 years	No
New Jersey General Assembly	All 80	52-28	2 years	No
Virginia Senate	All 40	21-19	4 years	No
Virginia House	All 100	55-45	2 years	No

Louisiana

Louisiana's state legislators serve four-year terms. Both chambers have term limits which prevent a state legislator from serving for more than three terms, or twelve years, in a particular chamber. Louisiana legislators assume office at noon on the second Monday in January after their election.

The Louisiana State Senate and the Louisiana House of Representatives last held elections in 2015.

• Candidate filing deadline: August 8, 2019
• Jungle primary election: October 12, 2019
• General election: November 16, 2019

State Senate

See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019

Louisiana State Senate Party Control

Louisiana State Senate
Party		As of November 16, 2019	After November 17, 2019
	Democratic Party	14	12
	Republican Party	25	27
Total		39	39

Click here to see the results of Louisiana's state senate races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1991 and 2015, partisan control of the Louisiana State Senate shifted from being heavily Democratic to a Republican majority. Democrats went from having a 27-seat advantage following the 1991 elections to being at an 11-seat disadvantage after the 2015 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Louisiana State Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2015. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Louisiana State Senate election results: 1991-2015 Party 91 95 99 03 07 11 15 Democrats 33 25 27 24 24 15 14 Republicans 6 14 12 15 15 24 25 Democrats maintained control of the Louisiana State Senate from 1991 to 2011 but their majority steadily decreased. Senate Democrats held their largest majority following the 1991 elections when Democrats held a 27-seat advantage. Throughout the period, Democrats usually controlled between 24 and 33 seats, while Republicans controlled between 6 and 15 seats. Democrats also held more than the 26 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto from 1991 to 1994 and again from 2000 to 2003. As a result of party switches and special elections, Republicans gained control of the chamber in February 2011. The last time Republicans controlled the Senate prior to 2011 was during post-Civil War Reconstruction. For the first time in the state's modern history, Republicans controlled both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office at the same time. Republicans had a trifecta in the state from 2011 to 2015. Heading into the 2011 elections, Republicans held a 22-17 majority. Republicans gained two seats in the election, giving them a 24-15 majority. Republicans gained one seat in the 2015 elections, giving them a 25-14 majority. The Republican gains from 2011 to 2015 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

State House

See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019

Louisiana House of Representatives Party Control

Louisiana House of Representatives
Party		As of November 16, 2019	After November 17, 2019
	Democratic Party	39	35
	Republican Party	60	68
	Independent	5	2
	Vacancy	1	0
Total		105	105

Click here to see the results of Louisiana's state house races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1991 and 2015, partisan control of the Louisiana House of Representatives shifted from being heavily Democratic to a Republican majority. Democrats went from having a 69-seat advantage following the 1991 elections to being at a 19-seat disadvantage after the 2015 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Louisiana House of Representatives following every general election from 1991 to 2015. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Louisiana House of Representatives election results: 1991-2015 Party 91 95 99 03 07 11 15 Democrats 86 76 75 68 53 45 42 Republicans 17 28 30 36 50 58 61 Other 2 1 0 1 2 2 2 Democrats maintained control of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1991 to 2010 but their majority steadily decreased. House Democrats held their largest majority following the 1991 election when Democrats held a 69-seat advantage. Throughout the period, Democrats usually controlled between 53 and 86 seats, while Republicans controlled between 17 and 50 seats. Democrats also held more than the 70 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto from 1991 to 2002. As a result of party switches and special elections, Republicans gained control of the chamber in December 2010. Prior to the party switches, the last time Republicans controlled the House was during post-Civil War Reconstruction. Heading into the 2011 election, Republicans held a 57-46 majority with two independent members. Republicans gained one seat in the election, giving them a 58-45 majority with two independent members. Republicans gained three seats in the 2015 election, giving them a 61-42 majority with two independent members. The Republican gains from 2011 to 2015 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

Mississippi

Mississippi's state legislators serve four-year terms. Mississippi legislators assume office the Tuesday after the first Monday of January.

The Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives last held elections in 2015.

• Candidate filing deadline: March 1, 2019
• Primary election: August 6, 2019
• Primary runoff election: August 27, 2019
• General election: November 5, 2019

State Senate

See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2019

Mississippi State Senate Party Control

Mississippi State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2019	After November 6, 2019
	Democratic Party	18	16
	Republican Party	31	36
	Vacancies	3	0
Total		52	52

Click here to see the results of Mississippi's state senate races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1991 and 2015, partisan control of the Mississippi State Senate shifted from being heavily Democratic to a Republican majority. Democrats went from having a 26-seat advantage following the 1991 elections to being at a 12-seat disadvantage after the 2015 elections. The rapid partisan change in the chamber coincided with the American South's shift from over a century of Democratic dominance to being solid Republican in the early 21st century. The table below shows the partisan history of the Mississippi State Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2015. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Mississippi State Senate election results: 1991-2015 Party 91 95 99 03 07 11 15 Democrats 39 34 34 27 28 21 20 Republicans 13 18 18 24 24 31 32 Other 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 From 1991 to 2006, Senate Democrats controlled the Mississippi State Senate. Democrats had their largest majority following the 1991 election when Democrats had a 26-member majority. In 2007, two Democratic members switched their party affiliation to Republican, giving Republicans a 27-25 majority. This was their first majority in the Senate since Reconstruction. Democrats rebounded in the 2007 elections and held a 28-24 majority until state Sen. Nolan Mettetal switched his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 2008. This gave Democrats a 27-25 majority. Prior to the 2011 elections, state senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Ezell Lee switched their party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 2010 and 2011, respectively. This gave Republicans a 27-25 majority heading into the 2011 election. Republicans picked up four seats in the 2011 election and won a 31-21 majority. The Republican gains in 2011 and 2015 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

State House

See also: Mississippi House of Representatives elections, 2019

Mississippi House of Representatives Party Control

Mississippi House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2019	After November 6, 2019
	Democratic Party	44	46
	Republican Party	74	75
	Independent	2	1
	Vacancies	2	0
Total		122	122

Click here to see the results of Mississippi's state house races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1991 and 2015, partisan control of the Mississippi House of Representatives shifted from being heavily Democratic to a Republican majority. Democrats went from having a 66-seat advantage following the 1991 elections to being at a 24-seat disadvantage after the 2015 elections. The rapid partisan change in the chamber coincided with the American South's shift from over a century of Democratic dominance to being solid Republican in the early 21st century. The table below shows the partisan history of the Mississippi House of Representatives following every general election from 1991 to 2015. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Mississippi House of Representatives election results: 1991-2015 Party 91 95 99 03 07 11 15 Democrats 93 86 86 75 75 58 49 Republicans 27 33 33 47 47 64 73 Other 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 From 1992 to 2011, House Democrats held large majorities in the chamber, the largest following the 1991 election when Democrats held a 66-seat advantage. In every election between 1991 and 2007, Democrats either lost seats or gained no seats. From 1991 to 2003, House Democrats had more than the 82 seats required to override gubernatorial vetoes. Republicans took control of the Mississippi House of Representatives in the 2011 elections. Before the 2011 election, the last time that Republicans controlled the state House was during Reconstruction. Republicans picked up 10 seats in that election and won a 64-58 majority. The Republican gains in 2011 and 2015 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

New Jersey

New Jersey's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon on the second Tuesday in January following the election.

The New Jersey General Assembly last held elections in 2017. The New Jersey State Senate did not hold elections in 2019. Senators began four-year terms after being elected in 2017.

• Candidate filing deadline: April 1, 2019
• Primary election: June 4, 2019
• General election: November 5, 2019

State House

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019

New Jersey General Assembly Party Control

New Jersey General Assembly
Party		As of November 5, 2019	After November 6, 2019
	Democratic Party	54	52
	Republican Party	26	28
Total		80	80

Click here to see the results of New Jersey's state house races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1991 and 2017, partisan control of the New Jersey General Assembly shifted from being heavily Republican to a Democratic majority. Republicans went from having a 36-seat advantage following the 1991 elections to being at a 28-seat disadvantage after the 2017 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the New Jersey General Assembly following every general election from 1991 to 2017. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. New Jersey General Assembly election results: 1991-2017 Year '91 '93 '95 '97 '99 '01 '03 '05 '07 '09 '11 '13 '15 '17 Democrats 22 27 30 32 35 44 47 48 48 47 48 48 52 54 Republicans 58 53 50 48 45 36 33 32 32 33 32 32 28 26 From 1991 to 2001, Republicans held large majorities in the chamber, the largest following the 1991 election when Republicans held a 36-seat advantage. In elections between 1993 and 1999, Republicans lost seats in every election. Republicans won the 54 seats required for a two-thirds supermajority just once. Democrats took control of the New Jersey General Assembly in the 2001 elections. Democrats picked up nine seats in that election and won a 44-36 majority. Between 2001 and 2017, Democrats held their largest majority following the 2017 elections when they held a 28-seat advantage. Despite the national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D), the New Jersey General Assembly was resistant to that trend. Democrats never fell below 47 seats during Obama's presidency. From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

Virginia

Virginia's state senators are elected to four-year terms and state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Virginia legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.

• Candidate filing deadline: March 28, 2019
• Primary election: June 11, 2019
• General election: November 5, 2019

State Senate

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2019

Virginia State Senate Party Control

Virginia State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2019	After November 6, 2019
	Democratic Party	19	21
	Republican Party	20	19
	Vacancies	1	0
Total		40	40

Click here to see the results of Virginia's state senate races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1994 and 2015, partisan control of the Virginia State Senate fluctuated, swinging back and forth between the Democratic and Republican parties. The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia State Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2015. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Virginia State Senate election results: 1991-2015 Party 91 95 99 03 07 11 15 Democrats 22 20 19 16 21 20 19 Republicans 18 20 21 24 19 20 21 As a result of the 1991 elections, Democrats held a 22-18 majority. Elections in 1995 and 2011 resulted in the chamber moving to a split 20-20 partisan balance. Both of those elections followed a Democratic majority in the previous cycle and were followed by a Republican majority in the next cycle. The largest change in partisan balance of the state Senate was between 2003 and 2007, when Democrats gained five seats. The 2015 elections resulted in a 21-19 Republican majority.

State House

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019

Virginia House of Delegates Party Control

Virginia House of Delegates
Party		As of November 5, 2019	After November 6, 2019
	Democratic Party	49	55
	Republican Party	51	45
Total		100	100

Click here to see the results of Virginia's state house races since 1991.

Prior elections Between 1991 and 2015, partisan control of the Virginia House of Delegates shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1991 elections, Democrats held a 52-47 majority. Republicans gained control of the chamber in 1999 and, by 2015, expanded their majority to 66-34. The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia House of Delegates following every general election from 1992 to 2016. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Virginia House of Delegates election results: 1991-2015 Party 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15 Democrats 52 52 52 50 47 31 37 39 44 39 32 33 34 Republicans 47 47 47 49 52 67 61 58 54 59 67 67 66 Republicans began making gains in the state House after the 1997 elections, when they picked up two seats. The chamber moved to a 52-47 Republican majority after the 1999 elections. The largest change in the partisan balance of the state House occurred as a result of the 2001 elections, when Republicans expanded their majority by 15 seats. Democrats gained 13 seats between 2003 and 2007. In 2011, Republicans gained eights eats, moving the chamber to a 67-32 Republican majority. Two-thirds of members present in both chambers must vote to override a veto. If all members are in attendance, this is 67 of the 100 members in the Virginia House of Delegates and 27 of the 40 members in the Virginia State Senate.

Battleground chambers

See also: Battlegrounds

Ballotpedia tracked three state legislative battleground chambers in 2019—the Louisiana House of Representatives, Virginia State Senate, and Virginia House of Delegates.

Party control of eight seats in the Louisiana state House was on the ballot in the November 16, 2019, general election. Had Republicans won all seven races where they were on the ballot, the party would have won a supermajority in the chamber.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a two-seat majority in both Virginia chambers. The Virginia State Senate has had a 2-seat or smaller majority (including several years as a tied chamber) since 2007. In the Virginia House of Delegates, Democrats picked up 15 seats in 2017, and only a Republican win in a tiebreaker of random chance in District 94 kept Republicans from losing control of the chamber.

Battlegrounds were chambers that we anticipated would be, overall, more competitive than other chambers and have the potential to see significant shifts in party control in the 2019 general elections.

Criteria for identification as a battleground chamber included the majority party's share of seats, the number of competitive races, and more. Read the complete list of criteria here.

The columns in the chart below list the following information:

• Seats up in 2019: This was the number of seats in the chamber that were up for election in 2019.
• Margin: This was the difference in seats between the majority and minority parties.
• Majority share of seats: This was the percentage of the chamber's total seats controlled by the majority party.
• Last time party control changed?: This was the election where the party in power before the 2019 elections took control of the chamber.

2019 battleground chambers
Chamber	Seats up in 2019	Margin	Majority share of seats	Last time party control changed?	Did it flip?
Louisiana House of Representatives	All 105	R+21	57 percent	2010	No
Virginia State Senate	All 40	R+2	53 percent	2015	Yes
Virginia House of Delegates	All 100	R+2	51 percent	2000	Yes

State legislative special elections

See also: State legislative special elections, 2019

In 2019, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

• 47 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
• 21 due to a retirement
• 6 due to the death of the incumbent
• 1 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
• 2 due to an election being rerun

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

• 39 Democratic seats
• 38 Republican seats

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2019. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2018, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2017 and 2018, Democrats had a net gain of 19 seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2019)
Party		As of Special Election	After Special Election
	Democratic Party	39	36
	Republican Party	38	40
	Independent	0	1
Total		77	77

Flipped seats

In 2019, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats flipped from D to R

• Minnesota State Senate District 11 (February 5)
• Connecticut State Senate District 6 (February 26)
• Connecticut House of Representatives District 99 (February 26)
• Kentucky State Senate District 31 (March 5)
• New Jersey State Senate District 1 (November 5)

Seats flipped from R to D

• Pennsylvania State Senate District 37 (April 2)
• Missouri House of Representatives District 99 (November 5)

Seats flipped from R to I

• Louisiana House of Representatives District 62 (March 30)

Electoral competitiveness

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 9, 2019

Ballotpedia's 9th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzes all 538 state legislative elections that took place in November 2019. Key findings included:

HIGHLIGHTS

301 (55.9%) state legislative elections did not have major party competition, meaning they featured a candidate from just one of the two major political parties.

There were more races with two major party candidates in 2019 (44.1%) than there were in 2015 (38.3%), but fewer than there were in 2011 (46.0%).

105 (19.5%) state legislative incumbents did not seek re-election. Of those, 65 were Republicans, 38 were Democrats, and two were minor party or independent officeholders.

Only four states hold state legislative elections during odd-numbered years: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia. This year, both chambers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia were up for election, along with the New Jersey General Assembly. The last time all of these chambers were up for election at the same time was 2015. The table below shows competitiveness statistics for each odd-year election dating back to 2011.

Seats without major party opposition

See also: Major party candidates with major party competition in the November 2019 state legislative elections

When a candidate from only one of either the Democratic or Republican parties runs for a state legislative seat, the seat is all but guaranteed to be won by that party. In 2019, 299 state legislative seats do not feature major party competition.

• 158 state legislative elections (29.4 percent of all state legislative elections) did not feature a Democratic candidate and were likely to be won by a Republican. In other words, Democrats were contesting 70.6 percent of all state legislative seats.
• 141 elections (26.2 percent of all state legislative elections) did not feature a Republican candidate and were likely to be won by a Democrat. In other words, Republicans were contesting 73.8 percent of all state legislative seats.
• In two states, more than half of all candidates did not face major party competition.

Open seats

See also: Open seats in the 2019 state legislative elections

In districts where the incumbent legislator does not file for re-election, the seat is guaranteed to a newcomer.

• 103 state legislative incumbents are not running for re-election. In other words, nearly 20 percent of all state legislative seats won in the 2019 cycle were guaranteed to be held by a newly elected state legislator, the most since 2012.
• 39 Democratic state legislators (37.9 percent of the total) did not seek re-election.
• 62 Republican state legislators (60.2 percent of the total) did not seek re-election.
• Two Independent state legislators did not seek re-election.

Primary competitiveness

See also: 2019 primary election competitiveness in state and federal government

As the chart below shows, 2019 has the highest rate of contested primaries in any odd-year election since 2015, and also the highest rate of incumbents contested in primaries. To learn more about competitiveness in state legislative primaries in 2019, visit this page.

Primary election competitiveness, 2015-2019 (odd years)
Year	Total seats	Open seats	Total candidates	Democratic primaries contested	Republican primaries contested	Total contested	Incumbents contested in primaries	% of incumbents contested in primaries
2019	538	110	1,064	70	58	26.8%	129	30.1%
2017	220	20	471	34	17	14.2%	32	16.0%
2015	398	60	781	41	41	26.6%	91	26.9%

Defeated incumbents

See also: Incumbents defeated in 2019's state legislative elections

As the chart below shows, 2019 only had a higher rate of defeated incumbents than 2013 across the last five odd-year election cycles. The statistics from the five previous cycles are available below.

Defeated incumbents, 2011-2019 (odd years)
Year	Total seats	Incumbents running	Incumbents defeated in primary	Incumbents defeated in general	Incumbents defeated total (percent)
2019	538	435	9	8	17 (3.9%)
2017	220	201	0	14	14 (7.0%)
2015	538	463	14	13	27 (5.8%)
2013	220	205	2	4	6 (2.9%)
2011	578	473	8	20	28 (5.9%)

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 table details the data collected from regularly scheduled state legislative elections between 2010 and 2018. It features the total number of seats up for election, open seats, races that included only one major party candidate, and incumbents who faced primary challengers. 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.

Competitiveness in state legislative elections (2010-2018)
Year	Total seats	Open seats	No major party challengers	Primaries featuring incumbents
Odd-year elections
2017	220	20 (9.1%)	42 (19.1%)	32 (16.0%)
2015	538	75 (13.9%)	330 (61.3%)	101 (21.8%)
2013	220	15 (6.8%)	58 (26.4%)	25 (12.2%)
2011	578	105 (18.2%)	246 (42.6%)	95 (20.1%)
Even-year elections
2018	6,073	1,181 (19.5%)	2,017 (33.2%)	1,064 (21.8%)
2016	5,923	1,040 (17.6%)	2,477 (41.8%)	1,005 (20.6%)
2014	6,057	1,030 (17.0%)	2,606 (43.0%)	1,009 (20.1%)
2012	6,015	1,227 (20.4%)	2,409 (40.0%)	1,175 (24.5%)
2010	6,125	1,140 (18.6%)	2,000 (32.7%)	1,133 (22.7%)

Odd-year elections since 2009

Four states hold state legislative elections in odd-numbered years: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia. In the last 10 years, there have been between two and eight state legislative chambers up in an election cycle. Only two chambers--the New Jersey General Assembly and the Virginia House of Delegates--hold regular elections every two years. The other six chambers hold elections every two to four years, depending on when the last round of redistricting took place.

The chart below details the results of state legislative elections from 2009 to 2017. During that period, two chambers flipped party control--both in 2011. Partisan changes ranged from a Republican gain of 27 seats in 2011 to a Democratic gain of 18 seats in 2017.

Odd-year elections since 2009
Year	Chambers up	Flipped chambers	Seats up	Total Democratic seats pre-election	Total Democratic seat change	Total Republican seats pre-election	Total Republican seat change
2017	3	None	220	110	+18	110	-18
2015	7	None	538	230	0	302	+4
2013	3	None	220	104	+1	113	-2
2011	8	2	578	287	-24	285	+27
2009	2	None	178	92	-6	86	+6

Impact of term limits

See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019 and Louisiana House of Representatives, 2019

In 2019, 47 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. Louisiana was the only state holding elections for a term-limited legislature in 2019.

Of the 15 state legislatures with term limits, Louisiana is the only state where term limits were imposed by the state’s lawmakers, rather than through the ballot initiative process. Under Louisiana’s term limits, state lawmakers can serve no more than three four-year terms. The state’s term limits law was enacted in 1995. The first year that term limits impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2007.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2019 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2019 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	4	13	17
Republican	12	17	29
Independent	0	1	1
Total	16	31	47

Political context

The 2019 elections occurred in the aftermath of significant Democratic gains in the 2018 elections and 2017 elections. In the 2018 elections, Democrats flipped a net 308 legislative seats and picked up six legislative chambers, reversing some of the Republican gains made from 2010 to 2016.

Changes in chamber partisan control, 2010 to 2018

See also: Partisan composition of state legislatures

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.

From 2010 to 2018, there were 61 instances where a state legislative chamber changed partisan control. Of these 61 changes, 40 involved a chamber changing from Democratic to Republican control and 17 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.

From 2010 to 2018, 39 chambers switched control: 24 switched control once, 11 switched control twice, one switched control three times, and three switched control four 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.

Chamber changes in partisan control: 2010-2018
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
Alabama Senate	Louisiana Senate	Alaska Senate	Colorado Senate	Alaska House	Washington Senate	Alaska House	Virginia Senate
Alabama House	Mississippi Senate	Arkansas Senate	Maine Senate	Iowa Senate		Colorado Senate	Virginia House
Colorado House	Mississippi House	Arkansas House	Minnesota House	Kentucky House		Maine Senate
Indiana House	Virginia Senate	Colorado House	Nevada Senate	Minnesota Senate		Minnesota House
Iowa House		Maine Senate	Nevada House	Nevada Senate		New Hampshire House
Louisiana House		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
Minnesota House		Washington Senate
Montana House
New Hampshire Senate
New Hampshire House
New York Senate
North Carolina Senate
North Carolina House
Ohio House
Oregon House
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

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

State legislatures and presidents

First two years in office

Heading into the 2019 election, the Republican Party was coming off a substantial loss of seats during a major election for the first time in more than a decade. Republicans across the country collectively lost 345 seats in 2017 and 2018, marking the third time during the last four presidencies that the party of the sitting president--Donald Trump (R) in this case--lost seats during that president's first midterm election. Democrats lost 702 seats during Barack Obama's (D) first two years in office and 488 seats during Bill Clinton's (D) first two years. Only George W. Bush (R) saw a net gain of seats during his first two years with Republicans winning a net 110 seats.

Two-term presidents

It is normal for a party to lose ground in state legislatures when their party controls the presidency for two terms. Between the time of Franklin Roosevelt (D) and George W. Bush (R), the political party of the president lost, on average, 450 state legislative seats while holding the White House. The losses that the Democratic Party sustained under Barack Obama (D), however, were exceptional, rivaled only by the terms of Richard Nixon (R) and Dwight Eisenhower (R), when Republicans lost 800 and 843 seats, respectively.

Trifectas from 2010 to 2018

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. However, Democrats picked up six trifectas in the 2018 elections, and Republicans lost four trifectas.

This chart shows the number of trifectas each party held heading into elections from 2010 to 2018, and the number of trifectas following the 2018 elections.

Trifectas by year: 2010-2018
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
Post-2018 elections	14	22	14

Analysis of state elections

See also: Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2019

In 2019, eight states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for seven of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers and for three gubernatorial seats.

All state elections:

2019 election analysis: State government trifectas

Trifecta vulnerability in the 2019 elections

2019 primary election competitiveness in state government

Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

State executive elections:

State executive official elections, 2019

Gubernatorial elections, 2019

Secretary of State elections, 2019

Attorney General elections, 2019

2019 election analysis: State government triplexes

State executive official elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2019

List of candidates in state executive elections, 2019

State legislative elections:

State legislative elections, 2019

State legislative special elections, 2019

Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 9, 2019

State legislative elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2019

Open seats in the 2019 state legislative elections

Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2019

2019 primary election competitiveness in state and federal government

Incumbents defeated in 2019's state legislative elections

List of candidates in state legislative elections, 2019

Other state elections:

State judicial elections, 2019

2019 ballot measures

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)

2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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