2010 United States state legislative elections

2010 United States state legislative elections

← 2009 November 2, 2010 2011 →
88 legislative chambers in 46 states
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party Republican Democratic Coalition Chambers before 37 61 1[b] Chambers after 57 40 1[b] Overall change 20 21[a]
Map of upper house elections:      Democrats retained control      Republicans gained control      Republicans retained control      Coalition retained control      Non-partisan legislature      No regularly-scheduled elections
Map of lower house elections:      Democrats retained control      Republicans gained control      Republicans retained control      Split body formed      Non-partisan legislature      No regularly-scheduled elections

The 2010 United States state legislative elections were held on November 2, 2010, halfway through President Barack Obama's first term in office. Elections were held for 88 legislative chambers, with all states but Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia holding elections in at least one house. Kansas and New Mexico held elections for their lower, but not upper houses. Four territorial chambers in three territories and the District of Columbia were up as well.

Republicans scored record gains, gaining at least 680 total seats and taking control of 20 legislative chambers through election, while the Democrats lost 21 chambers.^[1][2] The winners of this election cycle were slated to serve in their respective legislatures for either two or four-year terms, depending on state election rules.

Republicans made substantial gains in state legislatures across the nation. Twenty chambers flipped from Democratic to Republican control, giving Republicans full control of eleven state legislatures and control of one chamber in Colorado, Iowa, and New York.^[3] Additionally, Republicans gained enough seats in the Oregon House of Representatives to produce a 30-30 party split, pushing Democrats into a power-sharing agreement that resulted in the election of two "co-speakers" (one from each party) to lead the chamber.^[4] Republicans gained a total of 680 seats in state legislative races, breaking the previous record of 628 flipped seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974.^[5]

Six states saw both chambers switch from Democrat to Republican majorities: Alabama (where the Republicans won a majority and a trifecta for the first time since 1874), Maine (for the first time since 1964), Minnesota (for the first time since 1915 in partisan elections and 1973 in non-partisan elections), New Hampshire, North Carolina (for the first time since 1896), and Wisconsin. In addition, by picking up the lower chambers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Montana^[c] and Pennsylvania, Republicans gained control of both chambers in an additional five states. Further, Republicans picked up one chamber from Democrats in Colorado, Iowa, and New York to split control in those states. They expanded majorities in both chambers in Texas, Florida, and Georgia.^[6][7] The Republican victories in legislative races gave the party unprecedented power over the redrawing of congressional and state legislative districts following the 2010 census.^[8]

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