2000 Elections Bring Historic Balance to State Legislatures
DENVER -- From state legislative races to Congress to the presidency,
Americans on November 7 crafted one of the most balanced political
landscapes the country has ever seen.
For state legislatures, it means there is more political balance than
ever before. Of the 49 bicameral legislatures, Republicans control 17
legislatures, Democrats 16 and the remaining 16 are split. Nebraska has a
unicameral non-partisan legislature. Prior to the election, Democrats
controlled 19 legislatures, Republicans held 17 and 13 others were
split.
The total number of legislators is nearly even as well. Overall,
Republicans gained roughly 70 seats to come within about four percent of
Democrats. Following the 1990 election, Democrats had a 1,542-seat lead on
Republicans going into the redistricting process. As of today, NCSL
calculates there are 3,819 Democrat legislators, 3,531 Republican
legislators and 74 seats controlled by other parties, independents,
vacancies or undecided races. Democrats have a 2,820-2,597 edge in House
seats and only a 999-934 lead in Senate seats.
Political Breakdown
Here's the breakdown on party control of state legislatures.
Republicans (17): Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
Democrats (16): Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia,
Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Split (16): Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, South Carolina, Texas,
Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Non-Partisan (1): Nebraska.
Changes
Even where parties made political gains in state legislatures, they
were offset by losses. For the first time in 40 years, Democrats have
taken control of the Colorado Senate. Democrats now have a slim 18-17
majority margin and must work with a Republican House and Governor.
Democrats also earned a tie in the Arizona Senate, where members must work
with a 15-15 party split. Republicans wrested control of the Vermont House
from the Democrats and earned a tie in the South Carolina and Maine Senate
chambers. Democrats have broken the tie in the Washington House and
retained control of the Senate. In South Carolina, it is the first time
since Reconstruction that Democrats have not been the chamber's majority
party. The Pennsylvania House entered the election with a tied chamber,
but Republicans have regained control.
In Missouri, the Senate officially stands at a 17-17 tie. However,
three incumbent senators -- two Democrats and a Republican -- ran
successfully for higher office, creating a virtual 16-15 Republican
majority when the chamber meets in January.
Tied chambers are not unusual, there has been at least one in each
even-year election cycle since 1984, according to NCSL. The most in any
election year has been three, in 1978, 1990 and 1992. (See our chart)
Redistricting
Republicans are in considerably better position for redistricting going
into this round than they were in 1990 when they only controlled six state
legislatures. Republicans now hold both chambers of the legislature in 17
states. For a more detailed analysis, read our redistricting
press release.
 Post-Election State Party Control: Click the
small map for a full size version showing the current party control of
state legislatures. By clicking on a state, you get a more complete
profile of that state. Or pick the state to profile here:
Pre-Election State Profiles and Party Control: See
pre-election party control and state election profiles.
(10/3/2000)
Post-Election
Party Composition Chart: As the polls close, turn here for up
to the minute party composition in the state legislatures.
(11/8/2000)
2000 Ballot
Measure Results: Campaign finance, drug policy, taxes,
education, gun control, redistricting: we summarize voters\' reaction to
the 2000 ballot issues. (11/8/2000)
Enter overview summary here. |
