2001 United States state legislative elections

For related races, see 2001 United States elections.

2001 United States state legislative elections

←  2000 November 6, 2001 2002  →
3 legislative chambers in 2 states
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party Republican Democratic Coalition Chambers before 50 [a] 46 [a] 1 [b] Chambers after 48 [c] 48 1 [b] Overall change 2 2
Map of upper house elections:      Split body formed      No regularly-scheduled elections
Map of lower house elections:      Democrats gained control      Republicans retained control      No regularly-scheduled elections

The 2001 United States state legislative elections were held on November 6, 2001, during President George W. Bush's first term in office. Elections were held for three legislative chambers in two states, simultaneous to those states' gubernatorial elections. ^[1] Both chambers of the Northern Mariana Islands legislature were up as well.

These were the first elections affected by the 2000 redistricting cycle, which reapportioned state legislatures based on data from the 2000 United States census.

Republicans maintained control of the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly, while Democrats won control of the New Jersey General Assembly, and evenly split the State Senate. ^[2] Democrats additionally won control of the Washington House of Representatives through special elections. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

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.

State	Upper House				Lower House
	Seats up	Total	% up	Term	Seats up	Total	% up	Term
New Jersey	40	40	100	2/4 [d]	80	80	100	2
Virginia	0	0	0	4	100	100	100	2

State summaries

New Jersey

Main articles: 2001 New Jersey Senate election and 2001 New Jersey General Assembly election

All seats of the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. In 2001, senators were elected to two-year terms in single-member districts, while Assembly members were elected to two-year terms in two-member districts. ^[6] Democrats won control of the General Assembly and created a split body in the Senate.

New Jersey Senate

Party		Before	After	Change
	Democratic	16	20	4
	Republican	24	20	4
Total			40	40

New Jersey General Assembly

Party		Before	After	Change
	Democratic	35	44	9
	Republican	45	36	9
Total			80	80

Virginia

Main article: 2001 Virginia House of Delegates election

All seats of the Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in 2001. The delegates serve terms of two years. Republicans held the House of Delegates.

Virginia House of Delegates

Party		Before	After	Change
	Democratic	47	34	13
	Republican	52	64	12
	Independent	1	2	1
Total			100	100

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.

Senate

Party		Before	After	Change
	Republican	6	4	2
	Democratic	2	3	1
Total		10	10

House of Representatives

Party		Before	After	Change
	Republican	11	16	5
	Democratic	6	1	5
Total		18	18

Notes

1. The Washington House of Representatives and Maine Senate were tied, and they were controlled by a power-sharing agreement between Democrats and Republicans. They are not counted towards either total here.
2. The Arizona Senate was controlled by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. The minority caucus consists of Republicans who were not part of the majority coalition.
3. The New Jersey Senate became tied. The Maine Senate remained tied, and they were controlled by a power-sharing agreement between Democrats and Republicans. They are not counted towards either total here.
4. The upper houses of Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas use a 2-4-4 term length system.

References

1. "State legislative elections, 2002". Ballotpedia.
2. "Democrats Grab Control of Two Chambers--Earn Tie in a Third. (On First Reading)". State Legislatures. 27 (10): 7. December 2001 – via Gale General OneFile.
3. admin (October 22, 2001). "House race could end Washington's legislative gridlock • Daily Journal of Commerce". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
4. Neurath, Peter (September 21, 2001). "Control of House still teeters in the balance". Puget Sound Business Journal. 22 (20): 7 – via Gale Business: Insights.
5. "Democrats Cut Into Republican Control Of State Legislatures". Congress Daily AM. The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC. November 9, 2001 – via Gale General OneFile.
6. "New Jersey Secretary of State". state.nj.us.