1999 United States state legislative elections

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1999 United States state legislative elections
Flag of the United States.svg
 1998November 2, 1999 2000  

8 legislative chambers in 4 states
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Chambers before50 [a] [b] 47 [a] [b]
Chambers after49 [a] [c] 48 [a] [c]
Overall changeDecrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 1

The 1999 United States state legislative elections were held on November 2, 1999, alongside other elections. Elections were held for 7 legislative chambers in four states. Both chambers of the Northern Mariana Islands legislature were up. [1]

Contents

Democrats maintained control of the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures, while Republicans maintained control of the lower house in New Jersey and the upper house in Virginia. Republicans had won a 1997 special election to claim a 21-19 majority in the Virginia Senate after Democrat Charles L. Waddell resigned his seat. [2] [3] Republicans maintained this majority in 1999, which gave them their first-ever elected majority in history. Republicans flipped the Virginia House of Delegates, which was previously tied, resulting in the first-ever Republican majority.

Additionally, in the summer of 1999, a Democratic senator died in the New Hampshire Senate and was succeeded by a Republican in a special election, switching that chamber from Democratic control to tied.

Summary table

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 7 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 538 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
Louisiana 393910041051051004
Mississippi 525210041221221004
New Jersey 04002/4 [d] 80801002
Virginia 404010041001001002

State summaries

Louisiana

All seats of the Louisiana State Senate and the Louisiana House of Representatives were up for election to four-year terms in single-member districts. Democrats maintained control of both chambers.

Louisiana State Senate
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 2626Steady2.svg
Republican 1313Steady2.svg
Total3939
Louisiana House of Representatives
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 7874Decrease2.svg 4
Republican 2731Increase2.svg 4
Total105105

Mississippi

All seats of the Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives were up for election to four-year terms in single-member districts. Democrats maintained control of both houses.

Mississippi State Senate
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 3434Steady2.svg
Republican 1818Steady2.svg
Total5252
Mississippi House of Representatives
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 8686Steady2.svg
Republican 3333Steady2.svg
Independent 33Steady2.svg
Total122122

New Jersey

All seats of the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. Assembly members were elected to two-year terms in two-member districts. [4] Republicans retained control.

General Assembly
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 3235Increase2.svg 3
Republican 4845Decrease2.svg 3
Total8080

Virginia

All seats of the Senate of Virginia and the Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in single-member districts. Senators were elected to four-year terms, while delegates served terms of two years. Republicans maintained control of the Senate and flipped the House of Delegates, which was previously tied.

Senate of Virginia
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 1919Steady2.svg
Republican 2121Steady2.svg
Total4040
Virginia House of Delegates
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 50 [e] 53 [e] Increase2.svg 3
Democratic 5047Decrease2.svg 3
Total100100

Territorial and federal district summaries

Northern Mariana Islands

All seats of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives and half of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate are up for election. Senators are elected to four-year terms, and Representatives are elected to two-year terms. Republicans maintained control of both houses.

Senate
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 86Decrease2.svg 2
Democratic 12Increase2.svg 1
Independent 01Increase2.svg 1
Total99
House of Representatives
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 1311Decrease2.svg 2
Democratic 56Increase2.svg 1
Independent 01Increase2.svg 1
Total1818

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 The Washington House of Representatives was controlled by a power-sharing agreement between Democrats and Republicans. Thus, it is not counted in this total.
  2. 1 2 The Virginia Senate was split. Thus, it is not included in the prior total.
  3. 1 2 The New Hampshire Senate became evenly-split due to a special election. Thus, it is not included in the prior total.
  4. The upper houses of Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas use a 2-4-4 term length system.
  5. 1 2 Independent Lacey Putney sided with the Republicans.

References

  1. https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_elections,_1999
  2. "Virginia State Legislature". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  3. Southern Politics in the 1990s. LSU Press. ISBN   978-0-8071-4181-6.
  4. "New Jersey Secretary of State". state.nj.us.