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State legislative elections, 2023
| 2023 State Legislative Elections | |
|---|---|
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New Jersey • Virginia 2023 special elections | |
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.
As a result, nationally, Republicans were the majority in 56 chambers, down from 57 before the election. Democrats were the majority in 41, up from 40. (The Alaska House and Senate were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions.)
Highlights:
In 2021, three state legislative chambers — the New Jersey Senate, the New Jersey General Assembly, and the Virginia House — held elections. The Virginia House changed from Democratic to Republican control, while Democrats maintained control in New Jersey. Seven state legislative chambers — the Louisiana House, the Louisiana Senate, the Mississippi House, the Mississippi Senate, the New Jersey General Assembly, the Virginia House, and the Virginia Senate — held elections in 2019. The Virginia House and Senate changed from Republican to Democratic control, while Democrats maintained control in New Jersey and Republicans in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Regarding state legislative seats, specifically, partisan composition of the 578 seats up for election changed by two percentage points.[1]
- Democrats had a net gain of six seats, representing 1.0% of the 578 seats.
- Republicans had a net loss of three seats, representing 0.5% of the 578 seats.
- Independents and minor party officeholders had a net loss of three seats, representing 0.5% of the 578 seats.
States also held special state legislative elections in 2023 to fill vacant seats.
On this page, you will find:
- Offices on the ballot
- Partisan balance figures
- State government trifectas
- States holding elections
- Incumbents defeated
- Special elections
- Impact of term limits
- Electoral competitiveness
- Margin of victory
- Political context
- Links to other analyses
Offices on the ballot in 2023
In 2023, there were eight state legislative chambers — five Republican and three Democratic — on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those eight chambers before and after the election.
| State legislative elections, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Seats up | Pre-election control | Post-election control |
| Louisiana | House: 105 Senate: 39 |
||
| Mississippi | House: 122 Senate: 52 |
||
| New Jersey | House: 80 Senate: 40 |
||
| Virginia | House: 100 Senate: 40 |
||
Partisan balance
As of September 13th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.51% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.66%. 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 | Vacant | |||||||
| State senates | 833 | 1,122 | 5 | 13 | ||||
| State houses | 2,392 | 2,978 | 20 | 23 | ||||
| Total: | 3,225
|
4,100
|
25
|
36 | ||||
Trifectas
- See also: State government trifectas
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.
As of September 13, 2025, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.
The table below shows the trifecta statuses in the four states that held state legislative elections in 2023. Bolded offices or chambers were up for election.
| Trifecta statuses and state legislative elections, 2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Trifecta | Gov. | Senate | House | ||
| Louisiana | Divided | D | R | R | ||
| Mississippi | Republican | R | R | R | ||
| New Jersey | Democratic | D | D | D | ||
| Virginia | Divided | R | D | R | ||
Elections by state
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.[2][3]
State Senate
- See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2023
Louisiana State Senate Current Party Control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 28 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | |
State House
Louisiana House of Representatives Current Party Control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 32 | |
| Republican Party | 73 | |
| Independent | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 105 | |
Mississippi
Mississippi's state legislators serve four-year terms. Mississippi legislators assume office the Tuesday after the first Monday of January.[4]
State Senate
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2023
Mississippi State Senate Current Party Control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 14 | |
| Republican Party | 36 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 52 | |
State House
Mississippi House of Representatives Current Party Control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 39 | |
| Republican Party | 79 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 122 | |
New Jersey
New Jersey's state senators serve four-year terms, except in the first term of a new decade, which only lasts for two years. Assembly members are elected to a two-year term. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon on the second Tuesday in January following the election.[5]
State Senate
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2023
New Jersey State Senate Current Party Control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 25 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | |
State House
New Jersey General Assembly Current Party Control
| September 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Members | |
| Democratic | 52 | |
| Republican | 28 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | |
Virginia
Virginia's state senators are elected to a four-year term and state representatives are elected to a two-year term. Virginia legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.[6][7]
State Senate
- See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2023
Virginia State Senate Current Party Control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 21 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | |
State House
Virginia House of Delegates Current Party Control
| September 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Members | |
| Democratic | 51 | |
| Republican | 49 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Incumbents defeated
General elections
In state legislative general elections, 13 incumbents lost to challengers, 3.1% of incumbents running for re-election. This was similar to the percentage of incumbents defeated in 2019 (3.4%), the last time all four states held elections.
An average of 4.3% of incumbents were defeated in odd-year general elections from 2011 to 2023, while an average of 6% of incumbents were defeated in even-year general elections from 2010 to 2022.
In 2023 general elections:
The chart below shows a partisan breakdown of incumbents defeated in general elections from 2011 to 2023.
Impact of term limits
Of the eight state legislative chambers that held elections in 2023, two of them — one senate chamber and one house chamber — included incumbents who were unable to run for re-election due to term limits. Louisiana was the only state with term limits that had a general election in 2023. In the two legislative chambers affected by term limits in 2023, 144 seats were up for election.
In 2023, 22 state legislators — seven state senators and 15 state representatives — were term-limited in Louisiana. This represented 3.8% of the 578 total seats up for election in November 2023.[11]
Sixteen Republicans and six Democrats were term-limited in 2023. In odd-numbered election years between 2011 and 2021, Democrats averaged 12 term-limited legislators, while Republicans averaged 15 term-limited legislators.
Trifectas from 2010 to 2022
- 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. Democrats picked up six trifectas in the 2018 elections, and Republicans lost four trifectas. Following the 2021 elections, the Democratic trifecta in Virginia became a split government after Republicans gained control of the state House and governorship.
This chart shows the number of trifectas each party held heading into elections from 2010 to 2022, and the number of trifectas following the 2022 elections.
| Trifectas by year: 2010-2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Pre-2020 elections | 15 | 21 | 14 | ||
| Pre-2021 elections | 15 | 23 | 12 | ||
| Pre-2022 elections | 14 | 23 | 13 | ||
| Post-2022 elections | 17 | 22 | 11 | ||
See also
- Signature requirements and deadlines for 2023 state government elections
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2023
- Primary election competitiveness in state government, 2023
- Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections, 2023
- Election results, 2023: State legislative veto-proof majorities
Other elections
- State executive official elections, 2023
- State supreme court elections, 2023
- United States municipal elections, 2023
- 2023 ballot measures
Footnotes
- ↑ These figures treat vacant seats as of November 7 as belonging to the party that most recently held control.
- ↑ Louisiana Constitution, "Article 3, Section 5," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Louisiana Constitution, "Article 4, Section 3," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Constitution, "Article 4, Section 36," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Constitution, "Article IV, Section II (2.)," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Virginia Legislative Information System, "Code of Virginia - § 24.2-214. Election and term of Senators." accessed January 6, 2022
- ↑ Virginia Legislative Information System, "Code of Virginia - § 24.2-215. Election and term of members of the House of Delegates." accessed January 6, 2022
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Candidates running for special elections in Virginia are selected through firehouse primaries administered by each political party.
- ↑ This contest was between the candidates who tied in the general election on November 8, 2022.
- ↑ The special election was called for January 9, 2024, but the election was won outright in the primary runoff on October 24, 2023.
- ↑ Some of the 22 term-limited state legislators in 2023 may have resigned before their term ends. These legislators were still counted in the total number of term-limited legislators in 2023.
- ↑ Totals may include minor party or independent officeholders.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednjnote - ↑ The Washington Post, "Virginia Republicans snatched control of the state Senate, ended budget-Medicaid impasse," June 9, 2014
- ↑ 2015 and 2013 are not included because no chambers changed those years.
- ↑ The chamber first changed from Democratic to Republican control in a February 2011 special election. Republicans increased their majority to 24-15 in the 2011 elections.
- ↑ Fox News, "GOP Candidate Wins Lousiana [sic] Senate Special Election, Shifting Majority," February 20, 2011
- ↑ Chamber went from being controlled by a Democratic-led bipartisan coalition to being led by a coalition with power split between the parties.
- ↑ Chamber went from a Republican majority to a bipartisan governing coalition.
- ↑ The chamber changed partisan control prior to the 2011 elections due to Democrats switching to the Republican Party and special election wins by Republicans. Republicans increased their majority in the 2011 elections to 31-21.
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Southern Democrats in dire straits; 2011 looms large," January 11, 2011
- ↑ In the 2011 elections, the chamber changed from a 22-18 Democratic advantage to a 20-20 tie. Republicans effectively controlled the chamber because Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling (R) could cast tie-breaking votes.
- ↑ Democrats won a majority of seats, but did not have a majority when the legislative session began due to vacancies created during the interim.
- ↑ This chamber did not hold elections in 2010. It switched partisan control in December 2010 when Democrat Noble Ellington changed his party affiliation to Republican. In the regularly-scheduled 2011 elections, Republicans increased their majority to 58-45.
- ↑ Nola.com, "Louisiana Republicans take first House majority since Reconstruction with latest party switch," December 17, 2010
- ↑ In this election, the Oregon House changed from a 30-30 tie to a 34-26 Democratic advantage.
- ↑ This chamber went from a 50-50 tie to a 68-32 Republican advantage in the 2010 elections.
- ↑ This chamber went from a 36-24 Democratic advantage to a 30-30 tie in the 2010 elections.
