2011 United States state legislative elections

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2011 United States state legislative elections
Flag of the United States.svg
  2010 November 8, 2011 2012  

8 legislative chambers
4 states
 Majority partyMinority partyThird party
 
Party Republican Democratic Coalition
Chambers before60 [lower-alpha 1] 37 [lower-alpha 2] 1 [lower-alpha 3]
Chambers after62351 [lower-alpha 3]
Overall changeIncrease2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 2Steady2.svg

US2011stateupperhouses.svg
Map of upper house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans gained control     Republicans retained control
     No regularly-scheduled elections

US2011statelowerhouses.svg
Map of lower house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans gained control     Republicans retained control
     No regularly-scheduled elections

The 2011 United States state legislative elections were held on November 8, 2011. Eight legislative chambers in four states held regularly scheduled elections. These off-year elections coincided with other state and local elections, including gubernatorial elections in four states. [1]

Contents

These were the first elections to be affected by redistricting after the 2010 census. [2] Additionally, the first wave of recall elections occurred in the Wisconsin Senate; while Republicans lost seats, they maintained a narrow majority. A second wave would occur in 2012.

Republicans flipped control of the Virginia Senate, thereby establishing a trifecta. In Mississippi, Republicans won the state House for the first time since 1876. After having gained effective control of the Mississippi Senate earlier in the year due to party switching, [3] Republicans solidified their control of the chamber in the November election. Republicans obtained a trifecta in the state for the first time since 1876 as a result.

In Louisiana, Republicans gained control of the State House in December 2010 when a state representative switched parties, [4] and control of the State Senate by winning a February 2011 special election, [5] thus giving Republicans control of both chambers and a trifecta for the first time in the state since 1873.

Summary table

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 8 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 578 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 40401002/4 [lower-alpha 4] 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. Republicans flipped both chambers through party switching and special elections in the past year, and then retained majority control in both chambers in the 2011 elections.

Louisiana State Senate
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 2224Increase2.svg 2
Democratic 1715Decrease2.svg 2
Total3939
Louisiana House of Representatives
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 5758Increase2.svg 1
Democratic 4645Decrease2.svg 1
Independent 22Steady2.svg
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. Republicans won a majority in the lower house. They had previously won a majority in the upper house through party switching and special elections earlier in the year, and then retained a majority in the general election.

Mississippi State Senate
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 2731Increase2.svg 4
Democratic 2421Decrease2.svg 3
Total5252
Mississippi House of Representatives
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 5464Increase2.svg 10
Democratic 6858Decrease2.svg 10
Total122122

New Jersey

All seats of the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. In 2011, 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 retained majority control in both chambers.

Senate
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 2424Steady2.svg
Republican 1616Steady2.svg
Total4040
General Assembly
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Democratic 4748Increase2.svg 1
Republican 3332Decrease2.svg 1
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 serve terms of two years. Republicans maintained control of the lower chamber and won control of the upper chamber because the Republican lieutenant governor broke the ties in the now-evenly split body.

Senate of Virginia
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 1820Increase2.svg 2
Democratic 2220Decrease2.svg 2
Total4040
Virginia House of Delegates
PartyBeforeAfterChange
Republican 5967Increase2.svg 8
Independent21Decrease2.svg 1
Democratic 3932Decrease2.svg 7
Total100100

See also

Notes

  1. Republicans took control of the Mississippi State Senate, the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the Louisiana State Senate through party switching and special elections earlier in the year.
  2. The Oregon House of Representatives was tied in the 2011-2013 session; the chamber is not counted towards the total here.
  3. 1 2 The Alaska Senate was controlled by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. The minority caucus consists of Republicans who were not part of the majority coalition.
  4. 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

  1. "State legislative elections, 2011". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  2. "State legislative elections, 2011". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  3. "Sen. Ezell Lee Qualifies As A Republican « Majority In Mississippi". 2011-02-21. Archived from the original on 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. "Political switch gives GOP control of Louisiana House". www.kplctv.com. 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  5. Freddoso, David (2011-02-21). "Special election gives GOP complete control of Louisiana state government - Washington Examiner" . Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  6. "New Jersey Secretary of State". state.nj.us.