2017 United States state legislative elections

Last updated
2017 United States state legislative elections
Flag of the United States.svg
  2016 November 7, 2017 2018  

3 legislative chambers
2 states [lower-alpha 1]
 Majority partyMinority partyThird party
 
Party Republican Democratic Coalition
Chambers before6629 [lower-alpha 2] 3 [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5]
Chambers after6630 [lower-alpha 2] 2 [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4]
Overall changeSteady2.svgIncrease2.svg 1Decrease2.svg 1

US2017stateupperhouses.svg
Map of upper house elections:
     Democrats retained control     Democrats gained control
     Special elections held

US2017statelowerhouses.svg
Map of lower house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans retained control
     Special elections held

The 2017 United States state legislative elections were held on November 7, 2017. Three legislative chambers in two states held regularly scheduled elections. These off-year elections coincided with other state and local elections, including gubernatorial elections in two states. [1]

Contents

Democrats won control of the Washington Senate through a special election for a seat previously held by a Republican, ending Republican-led coalition control there. Meanwhile, in regularly scheduled elections, Democrats maintained control of the New Jersey legislature and narrowed Republican control of the Virginia House of Delegates.

Summary table

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 3 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 220 of the 7,383 legislative seats. This table only covers regularly scheduled elections; additional special elections took place concurrently with these regularly scheduled elections.

StateUpper HouseLower House
Seats upTotal % upTermSeats upTotal % upTerm
New Jersey 40401002/4 [lower-alpha 6] 80801004
Virginia 0010041001001002

State summaries

New Jersey

All seats of the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election to two-year terms in coterminous two-member districts. The New Jersey Senate held elections for four-year terms. Democrats maintained majority control of both houses with expanded majorities.

Senate
PartyLeaderBeforeAfterChange
Democratic Stephen Sweeney 2425Increase2.svg 1
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. 1615Decrease2.svg 1
Total4040
General Assembly
PartyLeaderBeforeAfterChange
Democratic Vincent Prieto 5254Increase2.svg 2
Republican Jon Bramnick 2826Decrease2.svg 2
Total8080

Virginia

All seats of the Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in single-member districts. Delegates serve terms of two years. Democrats gained 15 seats and fell one seat short of a majority.

House of Delegates
PartyLeaderBeforeAfterChange
Republican William J. Howell 6651Decrease2.svg 15
Democratic David Toscano 3449Increase2.svg 15
Total100100

Special elections

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Louisiana

New Hampshire

New York

Oklahoma

Washington

See also

Notes

  1. The Washington Senate flipped from Republican to Democratic via a special election
  2. 1 2 The Connecticut Senate was tied in the 2017-2019 session. Democrats controlled more voting power due to holding the Lieutenant Governor's office, but both parties controlled legislative action. The chamber is not counted towards either total here.
  3. 1 2 The Alaska House of Representatives is controlled by a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. The minority caucus consists of Republicans who are not part of the majority coalition.
  4. 1 2 The New York Senate was controlled by a coalition of Republicans and members of the Independent Democratic Conference
  5. One Democrat caucused with Republicans to form the Majority Coalition Caucus
  6. The upper houses of Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas use a 2-4-4 term length system.

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References

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