Two of the country's 99 state legislative chambers are holding regularly-scheduled elections in 2025. Elections in those two chambers represent 180 of the country's 7,386 state legislative seats (2.4%).
Off-year elections in Virginia are often studied as a forecast of the broader political trends to expect from the following year's national elections.[1] The New York Times' Neil Vigdor wrote in December 2024, "In recent elections, Virginia has become a vessel for millions of dollars in spending by outside groups, and its open governor’s seat and divided legislature appears likely to continue that trend."[2]
As of September 10th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.5% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.68%. 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
Click the tabs below to view detailed information regarding battleground districts in the 2025 state legislative elections. In this section, you will find:
Our list of battleground chambers in the general election
A list of districts targeted by each political party
Battleground chambers
Targeted chambers
Ballotpedia is tracking one state legislative battleground chamber in 2025.
On the ballot
Click the tabs below to view information about the elections this year. In this section, you will find:
A list of states holding elections
Information about special elections
Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
Elections by state
Special elections
What's on your ballot?
The table below highlights each state holding legislative elections in 2025. To learn more about elections in a particular chamber, click the link in the chamber column.
As of September 2025, 86 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 22 states. One special election has also been called to fill a vacancy in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.
Pre-election analysis
Click the tabs below to view detailed analysis from before the election. In this section, you will find:
Historical data related to competitiveness
The effect of term limits on these elections
Information about state government trifectas
Chambers that changed partisan control from 2010 to 2024
Ballotpedia began examining the competitiveness of every state legislative race in the country in 2010. Three factors are used in this analysis: seats where the incumbent did not run for re-election, incumbents who ran in contested primaries, and seats contested by both major parties.
The following table details competitiveness data collected from regularly scheduled state legislative elections between 2010 and 2023. Odd-year elections are shown grouped together first followed by even-year elections.
Competitiveness in state legislative elections (2010-2023)
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 10, 2025, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.
From 2010 to 2024, 41 chambers switched control: 21 switched control once, 14 switched control twice, four switched control four times, and two—the Minnesota House of Representatives and New Hampshire House of Representatives—switched control five times. During that same time, there were 58 chambers that did not switch control.
Before the 2010 elections, Democrats controlled 60 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers, Republicans controlled 37, and neither party controlled the remaining two chambers. After the 2024 elections, Democrats controlled 39 chambers and Republicans controlled 57. Multipartisan majorities controlled the Alaska Senate and House, and the Minnesota House was tied.
Most changes in partisan control came from 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 section 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.[6]
The chart below shows how many chambers each party controlled after the November elections in a given year.
Partisan control of state legislative chambers: 2010-2024
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
2020
37
61
1
2021
36
62
1
2022
40
57
2
2023
41
56
2
2024
39
57
3
The chart below shows the number of state legislative chambers that changed party control in each election from 1992 to 2024.
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. After the 2023 elections, the divided government in Louisiana became a Republican trifecta when Jeff Landry (R) won election as governor. After the 2024 elections, Republicans maintained their trifectas, and two Democratic trifectas became divided governments.
This chart shows the number of trifectas each party held heading into elections from 2010 to 2024, and the number of trifectas following the 2024 elections.
Trifectas by year: 2010-2024
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
Pre-2023 elections
17
22
11
Post-2023 elections
17
23
10
Pre-2024 elections
17
23
10
Post-2024 elections
15
23
12
Important dates and deadlines
The following table details 2025 state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates in each state. The signature filing deadline was the date by which candidates had to file nominating signatures with election officials in order to have their names placed on the ballot.
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4)nonprofit groups.[19][20][21]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
The RSLC PAC, in coordination with the Virginia House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), today launched a new digital ad exposing how Virginia House Democrats are breaking their promises to voters by pursuing an out-of-touch agenda in Richmond this legislative session. The ad will be backed by a six-figure buy on digital platforms throughout the state and highlights how Virginia House Democrats are blocking tax cuts and efforts to lower electric costs, as well as refusing to crack down on dangerous illegal immigrants.[22][5]
Opportunities to move policy and build power aren’t happening in Washington – they’re happening in the statehouses. State legislative races are the most immediate opportunity for Democrats to defend and build sustainable power, and Virginia will be the highest profile, most data-rich election of 2025.[23][5]
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Election coverage by office
Click the tiles below to navigate to 2025 election coverage:
↑2015 and 2013 are not included because no chambers changed those years.
↑Chamber went from a Democratic majority to a 67-67 tie.
↑Chamber went from a Republican majority to a bipartisan governing coalition.
↑Democrats won a majority of seats, but did not have a majority when the legislative session began due to vacancies created during the interim.
↑Chamber went from being controlled by a Democratic-led bipartisan coalition to being led by a coalition with power split between the parties.
↑In this election, the Oregon House changed from a 30-30 tie to a 34-26 Democratic advantage.
↑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.
↑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.
↑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.
↑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.
↑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.
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