Election results, 2023: State government trifectas

• Congress elections
  • U.S. Congress
  • Congressional special elections
• State elections
  • Ballot measures
  • State executives
  • State legislatures
  • State legislature special elections
  • State supreme courts
  • Intermediate appellate courts
• Local elections
  • Ballot measures
  • Municipal government
  • School boards
  • Trial courts
  • Political recalls
• Voter information
  • Sample ballot
  • Election calendar
  • Election results
  • Poll opening and closing times
  • Voting policies

2024 » « 2022
View all 2023 election results
Results by office type
State State executive officials Governors State government trifectas State government triplexes State legislatures Attorneys General Secretaries of State State financial officers State supreme courts
Election analysis
Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections State legislative veto-proof majorities State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes State legislative margin of victory analysis State legislative seats that changed party control Minor-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory Results of elected officials seeking other offices Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population Candidates with the same last names
Elections by state
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

After the November 2023 elections, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments. Republicans gained one trifecta, Democrats neither gained nor lost any trifectas, and there was one less divided government. Before the 2023 elections, there were 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control.

State government trifecta is a term to describe single-party government, when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.

Following the November 2023 elections, there were a total of 40 state government trifectas. This was the highest number of trifectas across the country since at least 1992.

The only change in trifecta status was in Louisiana, which changed from a divided government to a Republican trifecta after Jeff Landry (R) was elected governor on October 14.

Kentucky remained a divided government after Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was re-elected governor. The Kentucky State Legislature was not on the ballot in 2023, so it remained under Republican control. Virginia remained a divided government after Democrats maintained control of the Virginia State Senate and won the Virginia House of Delegates. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) was not up for election in 2023.

Mississippi and New Jersey remained Republican and Democratic trifectas, respectively, after those parties maintained partisan control of the legislature in each state. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) was re-elected in Mississippi, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) was not up for election in 2023.

On this page, you will find:

• Trifectas on the ballot in 2023
• The partisan balance of trifectas in all 50 states before and after the 2023 elections
• Pre-election analysis of trifecta vulnerability, potential new trifectas, and best-case scenarios for each party
• A log of trifecta election results
• Historical changes since 2010

Trifectas on the ballot in 2023

In 2023, there were five trifectas—one Democratic, one Republican, and three divided governments— on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those five trifectas before and after the election.

Trifectas partisan breakdown
Party	As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
Democratic	1	1
Republican	1	2
Divided governments	3	2

The map below highlights states that held elections for governor, state legislature, or both in 2023 by the party of the winning candidate.

Partisan balance of all trifectas

At the time of the 2023 election, there were 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control. The table below highlights the trifecta status of all 50 states before and after the 2023 elections.

Trifectas partisan breakdown
Party	As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
Democratic	17	17
Republican	22	23
Divided governments	11	10

The chart below shows the trifecta status of all 50 states from 1992 through 2024, when the 2023 election winners were sworn in.

The map below highlights each state by trifecta status before and after the 2023 elections. Click the blue links above the color key to switch the view between pre-election and post-election partisan control.

Pre-election analysis

Vulnerable state government trifectas

The section below analyses the vulnerability of trifectas on the ballot in 2023 based on gubernatorial race ratings from the Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections, and the number and proportion of seats in the state legislature that needed to change party control to flip the chamber. Click here to read more about our methodology.

Democratic Party Current status: 1 trifecta Moderately vulnerable: 1	Republican Party Current status: 1 trifecta Not vulnerable: 1

Vulnerable trifectas

New Jersey

None

Hover your mouse cursor over a state or tap the state for more details.

Potential new trifectas

The section below analyses the likelihood of divided governments on the ballot in 2023 becoming new trifectas based on gubernatorial race ratings from the Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections, and the number and proportion of seats in the state legislature that needed to change party control to flip the chamber. Click here to read more about our methodology.

Predicted Democratic pickups None	Toss-ups None	Predicted Republican pickups Moderate possibility: 2 Slight possibility: 1

Potential new trifectas

None

None

Louisiana
Virginia

Kentucky

Hover your mouse cursor over a state or tap the state for more details. Toss-up states are those where Democratic and Republican trifectas both have a good chance of forming.

Potential best-case scenarios

The following maps represent best-case scenarios for each party based on pre-election projections and forecasting. We define a party's best-case scenario as an outcome in which the party gains all potential new trifectas that are rated towards that party or as a toss-up, as well as retaining all of their current trifectas. Additionally, under a party's best-case scenario, the opposing party loses all of its somewhat and moderately vulnerable trifectas.

The Democrats' best-case scenario was for there to be no change from the trifecta status in place before the 2023 elections.

Percentage of Americans living under trifectas following a best-case 2022 election for Democrats
	Total	Democratic trifectas	Republican trifectas	Divided governments
States	50	17	22	11
Population	328,771,307	136,955,272	130,058,201	61,757,834
Proportion (%)	100%	41.7%	39.6%	18.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

The Republicans' best-case scenario in 2023 was to break the Democratic trifecta in New Jersey and gain new trifectas in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Virginia.

Percentage of Americans living under trifectas following a best-case 2022 election for Republicans
	Total	Democratic trifectas	Republican trifectas	Divided governments
States	50	16	25	9
Population	328,771,307	128,072,901	147,771,333	52,927,073
Proportion (%)	100%	39.0%	44.9%	16.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Log of trifecta election results

Election results (November 7-8, 2023)

• 12:31 a.m.: Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) won re-election, meaning Mississippi retained a Republican trifecta.
• 12:05 a.m.: Democrats retained control of the New Jersey General Assembly and New Jersey State Senate, meaning the state retained a Democratic trifecta.
• 11:02 p.m.: Democrats gained control of the Virginia House of Delegates.
• 10:09 p.m.: Democrats retained control of the Virginia State Senate.
• 10:00 p.m.: Republicans retained control of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
• 9:30 p.m.: Republicans retained control of the Mississippi State Senate.
• 9:00 p.m.: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) won re-election, meaning Kentucky retained a divided government.

2016

The state legislative and gubernatorial elections of November 8, 2016, led to these results:

• The Republican Party added new state government trifectas in four states (Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and New Hampshire). They lost trifectas in Nevada and North Carolina, which left them with 25 trifectas.
• The Democratic Party lost one trifecta (in Vermont), ending up with trifectas in six states. They did not gain any additional trifectas.

• One of the six trifectas held by the Democratic Party, in Delaware, was at stake in a special state senate election 2017 to fill the seat that was vacated by Bethany Hall-Long when she was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Delaware. If that one seat flipped to Republican control, the Delaware Democratic trifecta would have been broken.
• Another of the six trifectas held by the Democratic Party, in Connecticut, is a thin trifecta. In the November 8, 2016 state legislative elections in Connecticut, Republicans added three seats in the state senate bringing the balance of power to 18-18. Ballotpedia is still counting this as a trifecta for the Democrats because in the case of a tie vote in the state senate, the tie is broken by the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut...a position held by a Democrat.

State	Pre-election party in power	Post-election party in power	Change?
				Colorado	Divided government	Divided government	No
Iowa	Divided government	Republican	Yes
Indiana	Republican	Republican	No
Kentucky	Divided government	Republican	Yes
Maine	Divided government	Divided government	No
Michigan	Republican	Republican	No
Minnesota	Divided government	Divided government	No
Missouri	Divided government	Republican	Yes
Montana	Divided government	Divided government	No
Nevada	Republican	Divided government	Yes
New Hampshire	Divided government	Republican	Yes
New Mexico	Divided government	Divided government	No
New York	Divided government	Divided government	No
North Carolina	Republican	Divided government	Yes
Vermont	Democrat	Divided government	Yes
Washington	Divided government	Divided government	No
West Virginia	Divided government	Divided government	No
Wisconsin	Republican	Republican	No

2014

Potential trifecta losses prior to election

Ballotpedia identified 13 trifecta states that could have become divided governments after the November 4, 2014, election:

• 6 Republican trifectas
• 7 Democratic trifectas

In the table below, a "Yes" indicates that party control was considered up for grabs, while a "No" indicates races that were not deemed likely to change hands.

State	Positions that could change hands			Pre-election party in power	Post-election party in power
	Governor	Senate	House
Arizona	Yes	Yes	No	Republican	Republican
Colorado	No	Yes	No	Democratic	Divided government
Connecticut	Yes	No	No	Democratic	Democratic
Florida	Yes	No	No	Republican	Republican
Illinois	Yes	No	No	Democratic	Divided government
Kansas	Yes	No	No	Republican	Republican
Maryland	Yes	No	No	Democratic	Divided government
Massachusetts	Yes	No	No	Democratic	Divided government
Michigan	Yes	No	Yes	Republican	Republican
Minnesota	No	No	Yes	Democratic	Divided government
Pennsylvania	Yes	Yes	Yes	Republican	Divided government
West Virginia	No	No	Yes	Democratic	Divided government
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes	No	Republican	Republican

2013

November

Virginia's governorship swung Democratic on November 5, 2013, as Terry McAuliffe (D) defeated Ken Cuccinelli (R). This removed a Republican trifecta in Virginia.

May

In May 2013, Governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee changed his party affiliation from independent to Democratic, giving the Democratic Party a trifecta in Rhode Island.

2012

See also: Democratic and Republican state government trifectas heading into the 2012 elections

Heading into the 2012 elections, there were 33 total trifectas in the United States. After the election, there were five new trifectas, bringing the total to 38 trifectas. However, following the election, power-sharing arrangements in two states reduced the total trifectas to 36.

Trifecta complexities

There were three states that complicated the labeling of trifectas in 2012 and 2013. These three unique situations brought the total trifectas from 37 to 36, decreasing the Democratic states by two and adding one GOP state.

• In New York, the Democratic Party, by virtue of the elections, controlled all three levels of government. However, a power-sharing agreement was reached that gave control of the state Senate over to the Republicans; five elected Democrats pledged to caucus with the GOP. This burst the Democratic trifecta, reducing the total trifectas by one state.
• In Virginia, the state Senate was a tied chamber as a result of the 2011 elections. However, the tiebreaking vote was cast by the lieutenant governor, who was a Republican. Thus, control of the governorship and state legislature effectively rested with the Republicans. This gave Republicans an additional trifecta, increasing the total trifectas by one state.
• In Washington, the Democratic Party, by virtue of the elections, controlled all three levels of government. However, a power-sharing agreement was reached that gave control of the state Senate over to the Republicans; two conservative Democrats pledged to elect Republican leadership to the chamber. This burst the Democratic trifecta, reducing the total trifectas by one state.

Trifectas before and after the 2012 election
This was the status of trifectas before the 2012 election. This was the status of trifectas after the 2012 election.

2010

See also: Democratic and Republican state government trifectas heading into the 2010 elections

Heading into the 2010 elections, there were 25 total trifectas in the United States. After the election, there were seven new trifectas, bringing the total to 32 trifectas.

Trifectas before and after the 2010 election
This was the status of trifectas before the 2010 election. This was the status of trifectas after the 2010 election.

Analysis of state elections, 2023

See also: Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2023

State legislative elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2023

Eight of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regularly-scheduled elections in 2023. Elections in those eight chambers represented 578 of the country's 7,386 state legislative seats (7.8%). This was the most seats up for election in an odd-numbered year since 2011.

General elections in Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia took place on November 7, 2023. General elections in Louisiana took place on November 18, 2023.

• Democrats gained one state legislative chamber by winning partisan control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Democrats maintained control of the state Senate. Virginia's trifecta status remained divided.
• Republicans were guaranteed simple majorities in both Mississippi's House and Senate and Louisiana's House and Senate due to the number of districts where candidates from only one political party ran.
• Democrats maintained partisan control of both chambers of the New Jersey state legislature.

Analysis

• State legislative special elections
• Impact of term limits
• Primary competitiveness
• Incumbents defeated
• Contested primaries
• Open seats
• Incumbents in contested primaries
• Major party competition
• Annual report
• Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
• Rematches in 2023 general elections
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
• Election results, 2023: State legislative veto-proof majorities
• Uncontested races by state
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Results of elected officials seeking other offices
• Minor-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
• State legislative seats that changed party control
• State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
• State legislative elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2023
• Margin of victory analysis
• Candidates with the same last names
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

State executive elections

See also: State executive official elections, 2023

Analysis

• State executive official elections overview
• Gubernatorial elections
• Secretary of State elections
• Attorney General elections
• Historical and potential changes in trifectas
• Trifecta vulnerability
• State government trifectas
• States with multiple statewide offices up for election
• State executive official elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2023
• Impact of term limits
• Annual State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2023
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
• Uncontested races by state
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

State judicial elections

See also: State judicial elections, 2023

A total of 15 state appellate court seats were up for election in 2023. This includes:

• 2 supreme court seats
• 13 intermediate appellate court seats.

The number of state supreme court and intermediate court elections is subject to change if judges retire or are appointed.

Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.

Analysis

• State supreme court elections, 2023
• State judicial elections, 2023
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
• Uncontested races by state
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

See also

• Trifecta vulnerability in the 2023 elections
• State government trifectas
• Historical and potential changes in trifectas
• Election results, 2023

Footnotes

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox