2006 United States state legislative elections

The 2006 United States state legislative elections were held on November 7, 2006, halfway through President George W. Bush's second term in office. This election was a wave elections in the United States election, and saw Democrats simultaneously reclaim both houses of Congress and pick up six governorships. Elections were held for 90 legislative chambers, with all states but Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia holding elections in at least one house. Kansas, New Mexico, and South Carolina held elections for their lower, but not upper house. Four territorial chambers in three territories and the District of Columbia were up, including the newly created territorial legislature in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Democrats flipped ten legislative chambers. Democrats gained control of the Oregon House of Representatives, the Minnesota House of Representatives, both houses of the Iowa General Assembly, and both houses of the New Hampshire General Court for the first time since 1875, giving them complete legislative control over those states. The Iowa Senate was previously tied. Democrats also won majorities in the Wisconsin Senate, the Michigan House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and the Indiana House of Representatives, turning those legislatures into split bodies. Additionally, a Democratic-led coalition was created in the Alaska Senate, which was previously a Republican majority. Democrats won a majority of state legislative chambers for the first time since 1995.
Conversely, Republicans gained control of the Montana House of Representatives with the lone Constitution Party representative voting for Republican control of that body.
Democrats won a trifecta in [|Iowa] for the first time since 1967, and in [|New Hampshire] since 1875.

Summary table

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 90 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 6,343 of the 7,383 legislative seats. Many legislative chambers held elections for all seats, but some legislative chambers that use staggered elections held elections for only a portion of the total seats in the chamber. The chambers not up for election either hold regularly scheduled elections in odd-numbered years, or have four-year terms and hold all regularly scheduled elections in presidential midterm election years.
Note that this table only covers regularly scheduled elections; additional special elections took place concurrently with these regularly scheduled elections.

Electoral predictions

Early in the election cycle, analysts considered Democrats to have an advantage over Republicans, despite both parties controlling a similar number of competitive legislative chambers. The unpopularity of President George W. Bush, as well as a number of Republican governors, made the party vulnerable to losses in legislatures across the country, with Democrats looking to build on the gains they made in the 2004 elections. In addition to targeting many Republican-held chambers considered imminently vulnerable in 2006, Democrats also sought to make gains in more solidly-Republican chambers, such as the New York State Senate and Ohio House of Representatives, with the hopes of flipping them in 2008. As the cycle progressed, local political factors shifted projections for multiple chambers, usually in the Democrats' favor.
Ratings are designated as follows:

"Tossup": Competitive, no advantage
"Lean": Competitive, slight advantage
"Likely": Not competitive, but opposition could make significant gains
"Safe": Not competitive at all

State	Chamber	Last election	Rothenberg Nov. 4, 2006	Result
Alabama	Senate	D 25–10		D 23–12
Alabama	House of Representatives	D 63–42		D 62–43
Alaska	Senate	R 12–8		Coal. 15–5
Alaska	House of Representatives	R 26–14		R 23–17
Arizona	Senate	R 18–12		R 17–13
Arizona	House of Representatives	R 38–22		R 33–27
Arkansas	Senate	D 27–8		D 27–8
Arkansas	House of Representatives	D 72–28		D 72–28
California	State Senate	D 25–15		D 25–15
California	State Assembly	D 48–32		D 48–32
Colorado	Senate	D 18–17		D 20–15
Colorado	House of Representatives	D 35–30		D 39–26
Connecticut	State Senate	D 24–12		D 24–12
Connecticut	House of Representatives	D 99–52		D 107–44
Delaware	Senate	D 13–8		D 13–8
Delaware	House of Representatives	R 26–15		R 23–18
Florida	Senate	R 26–14		R 26–14
Florida	House of Representatives	R 84–36		R 78–42
Georgia	State Senate	R 34–22		R 34–22
Georgia	House of Representatives	R 99–80–1		R 106–74
Hawaii	Senate	D 20–5		D 20–5
Hawaii	House of Representatives	D 41–10		D 43–8
Idaho	Senate	R 28–7		R 28–7
Idaho	House of Representatives	R 57–13		R 51–19
Illinois	Senate	D 31–27–1		D 37–22
Illinois	House of Representatives	D 65–53		D 66–52
Indiana	Senate	R 33–17		R 33–17
Indiana	House of Representatives	R 52–48		D 51–49
Iowa	Senate	25–25		D 30–20
Iowa	House of Representatives	R 51–49		D 54–46
Kansas	House of Representatives	R 83–42		R 78–47
Kentucky	Senate	R 22–15		R 21–16–1
Kentucky	House of Representatives	D 57–43		D 61–39
Maine	Senate	D 18–17		D 18–17
Maine	House of Representatives	D 76–73–1–1		D 90–59–2
Maryland	Senate	D 33–14		D 33–14
Maryland	House of Delegates	D 98–43		D 104–37
Massachusetts	Senate	D 34–6		D 35–5
Massachusetts	House of Representatives	D 137–23		D 141–19
Michigan	Senate	R 22–16		R 21–17
Michigan	House of Representatives	R 58–52		D 58–52
Minnesota	Senate	D 35–31–1		D 44–23
Minnesota	House of Representatives	R 68–66		D 85–49
Missouri	Senate	R 23–11		R 21–13
Missouri	House of Representatives	R 97–66		R 92–71
Montana	Senate	D 27–23		D 26–24
Montana	House of Representatives	D 50–50		R 50–49–1
Nevada	Senate	R 12–9		R 11–10
Nevada	Assembly	D 26–16		D 27–15
New Hampshire	Senate	R 16–8		D 14–10
New Hampshire	House of Representatives	R 249–151		D 239–160–1
New Mexico	House of Representatives	D 42–28		D 42–28
New York	State Senate	R 35–27		R 33–29
New York	State Assembly	D 104–46		D 106–42–1–1
North Carolina	Senate	D 29–21		D 31–19
North Carolina	House of Representatives	D 63–57		D 68–52
North Dakota	Senate	R 32–15		R 26–21
North Dakota	House of Representatives	R 67–27		R 61–33
Ohio	Senate	R 22–11		R 21–12
Ohio	House of Representatives	R 61–38		R 53–46
Oklahoma	Senate	D 26–22		D 24–24
Oklahoma	House of Representatives	R 57–44		R 57–44
Oregon	State Senate	D 17–13		D 19–11
Oregon	House of Representatives	R 33–27		D 31–29
Pennsylvania	State Senate	R 30–20		R 29–21
Pennsylvania	House of Representatives	R 110–93		D 102–101
Rhode Island	Senate	D 33–5		D 33–5
Rhode Island	House of Representatives	D 59–16		D 60–15
South Carolina	House of Representatives	R 74–50		R 73–51
South Dakota	Senate	R 25–10		R 20–15
South Dakota	House of Representatives	R 50–20		R 50–20
Tennessee	Senate	R 17–16		R 17–16
Tennessee	House of Representatives	D 53–46		D 53–46
Texas	Senate	R 19–12		R 20–11
Texas	House of Representatives	R 87–63		R 81–69
Utah	State Senate	R 21–8		R 21–8
Utah	House of Representatives	R 56–19		R 55–20
Vermont	Senate	D 21–9		D 23–7
Vermont	House of Representatives	D 83–60–6–1		D 93–49–6–2
[\|Washington]	State Senate	D 26–23		D 32–17
Washington	House of Representatives	D 55–43		D 62–36
West Virginia	Senate	D 21–13		D 23–11
West Virginia	House of Delegates	D 68–32		D 72–28
Wisconsin	Senate	R 19–14		D 18–15
Wisconsin	State Assembly	R 60–39		R 52–47
Wyoming	Senate	R 23–7		R 23–7
Wyoming	House of Representatives	R 46–14		R 43–17

State summaries

Alabama

All of the seats of the Alabama House of Representatives and half of the Alabama Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Alaska

All of the seats of the Alaska House of Representatives and half of the Alaska Senate were up for election. A Democratic-led coalition established control of the Senate while Republicans maintained control of the House.

Arizona

All of the seats of the Arizona Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Arkansas

All of the seats of the Arkansas House of Representatives and half of the Arkansas Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

California

All of the seats of the California House of Representatives and half of the California Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Colorado

All of the seats of the Colorado House of Representatives and half of the Colorado Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Connecticut

All of the seats of the Connecticut Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Delaware

All of the seats of the Delaware House of Representatives and half of the Delaware Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of the Senate while Republicans maintained control of the House.

Florida

All of the seats of the Florida House of Representatives and half of the Florida Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Georgia

All of the seats of the Georgia Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Hawaii

All of the seats of the Hawaii House of Representatives and half of the Hawaii Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Idaho

All of the seats of the Idaho Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Illinois

All of the seats of the Illinois House of Representatives and 2/3rds of the Illinois Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Indiana

All of the seats of the Indiana House of Representatives and half of the Indiana Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate while Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives.

Iowa

All of the seats of the Iowa House of Representatives and half of the Iowa Senate were up for election. Democrats gained control of both state legislative chambers.

Kansas

All of the seats of the Kansas House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the House.

Kentucky

All of the seats of the Kentucky House of Representatives and half of the Kentucky Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate and Democrats maintained control of the House of Representatives.

Maine

All of the seats of the Maine Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Maryland

All of the seats of the Maryland General Assembly were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Massachusetts

All of the seats of the Massachusetts Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Michigan

All of the seats of the Michigan Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate while Democrats won control of the House of Representatives.

Minnesota

All of the seats of the Minnesota Legislature were up. Democrats maintained control of the Senate and won control of the House.

Missouri

All of the seats of the Missouri House of Representatives and half of the Missouri Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Montana

All of the seats of the Montana House of Representatives and half of the Montana Senate were up for election. The Senate was initially tied after the election, but Democrats maintained control after Republican Sam Kitzenberg switched parties. Republicans flipped control of the House after the Constitution Party won a single seat, with their member caucusing with the Republicans.

Nebraska

Nebraska is the only U.S. state with a unicameral legislature; half of the seats of the Nebraska Legislature were up for election. Nebraska is also unique in that its legislature is officially non-partisan and holds non-partisan elections, although the Democratic and Republican parties each endorse legislative candidates. Republicans maintained control.

Nevada

All of the seats of the Nevada House of Representatives and half of the Nevada Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of the House while Republicans maintained control of the Senate.

New Hampshire

All of the seats of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the New Hampshire Senate were up for election. Democrats gained control of both legislative chambers.

New Mexico

All of the seats of the New Mexico House of Representatives were up for election; Democrats maintained control.

New York

All of the seats of the New York Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate while Democrats maintained control of the Assembly.

North Carolina

All of the seats of the North Carolina House of Representatives and half of the North Carolina Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

North Dakota

All of the seats of the North Dakota House of Representatives and half of the North Dakota Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Ohio

All of the seats of the Ohio House of Representatives and half of the Ohio Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both chambers.

Oklahoma

All of the seats of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and half of the Oklahoma Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained effective control of the newly tied Senate with the Lieutenant Governor's tie-breaking vote, although both parties elected a co-president of the Senate. Republicans maintained control of the House.

Oregon

All of the seats of the Oregon House of Representatives and half of the Oregon Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of the Senate and won control of the House.

Pennsylvania

All of the seats of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and half of the Pennsylvania Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate while Democrats won control of the House of Representatives.

Rhode Island

All of the seats of the Rhode Island Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

South Carolina

All of the seats of the South Carolina House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both the House.

South Dakota

All of the seats of the South Dakota Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Tennessee

All of the seats of the Tennessee House of Representatives and half of the Tennessee Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate while Democrats maintained control of the House.

Texas

All of the seats of the Texas House of Representatives and half of the Texas Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Utah

All of the seats of the Utah House of Representatives and half of the Utah Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Vermont

All of the seats of the Vermont Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Washington

All of the seats of the Washington House of Representatives and half of the Washington Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both legislative chambers.

West Virginia

All of the seats of the West Virginia House of Delegates and half of the West Virginia Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Wisconsin

All of the seats of the Wisconsin Assembly and half of the Wisconsin Senate were up for election. Democrats won control of the Senate while Republicans maintained control of the Assembly.

Wyoming

All of the seats of the Wyoming House of Representatives and half of the Wyoming Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

Territorial and federal district summaries

American Samoa

All of the seats of the American Samoa Senate and the American Samoa House of Representatives were up for election. Members of the Senate serve four-year terms, while members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Gubernatorial and legislative elections are conducted on a nonpartisan basis in American Samoa.

Guam

All of the seats of the unicameral Legislature of Guam were up for election. All members of the legislature serve a two-year term. Republicans retained control of the legislature.

U.S. Virgin Islands

All of the seats of the unicameral Legislature of the Virgin Islands were up for election. All members of the legislature serve a two-year term. Democrats won control of the newly created legislature.

Washington, D.C.

The Council of the District of Columbia serves as the legislative branch of the federal district of Washington, D.C. Half of the council seats are up for election. Council members serve four-year terms. Democrats retained supermajority control of the council.