2020 United States state legislative elections

The 2020 United States state legislative elections were held on November 3, 2020, for 86 state legislative chambers in 44 states. Across the fifty states, approximately 65 percent of all upper house seats and 85 percent of all lower house seats were up for election. Nine legislative chambers in the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories and the federal district of Washington, D.C. also held elections. The elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, including the presidential election, [2020 United States West Virginia Senate|Senate elections|U.S. Senate elections], [2020 United States North Carolina House of Representatives|House of Representatives elections|U.S. House elections], and gubernatorial elections.
Prior to the elections, Democrats held 15 trifectas, Republicans held 21 trifectas, and 14 states have a divided government. Nationwide, Republicans controlled approximately 60 percent of the legislative chambers and 52 percent of the legislative seats. These elections had a major impact on the 2020 redistricting cycle, as many states held their final legislative elections prior to the decennial drawing of new congressional and state legislative districts.
Following the election, Republicans controlled redistricting in 20 state governments, totaling 188 House districts, whereas Democrats had control in states with a total of 73 districts. Overall, these elections saw the fewest partisan changes in state legislatures since 1944.

Summary table

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 86 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 5,876 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

Louis Jacobson of The Cook Political Report predicted that Republican-held chambers that could potentially flip to Democratic control included both chambers in [|Arizona], the Florida Senate, both chambers in [|Georgia], the [|Iowa] House, the [|Michigan] House, the Minnesota Senate, both chambers in [|North Carolina], both chambers in [|Pennsylvania], and the Texas House. He predicted that Republicans could potentially gain control of the Maine Senate, the Minnesota House, and both chambers in [|New Hampshire], all of which were controlled by the Democratic Party. Additionally, Jacobson predicted that Republicans could win control of the [|Alaska] House, which was currently controlled by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans.
Writing for Sabato's Crystal Ball, Chaz Nuttycombe highlighted the Alaska House and the New Hampshire Senate as the top pick-up opportunities for Republicans, and lists the Arizona House, the Arizona Senate, the Iowa House, the Michigan House, the [|Minnesota] Senate, the North Carolina House, the North Carolina Senate, the Pennsylvania House, and the [|Texas] House as the top pick-up opportunities for Democrats.
Most election predictors use:

"Tossup": No advantage
"Tilt": Advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
"Lean": Slight advantage
"Likely": Significant, but surmountable, advantage
"Safe" or "Solid": Near-certain chance of victory

State	PVI	Chamber	Last election	Sabato May 7, 2020	Cook Nov. 2, 2020	Result
Alaska	rowspan=2	Senate	R 13–7			R 13–7
Alaska	House of Representatives	Coal. 23–15–2			Coal. 21–17–2	-
Arizona	rowspan=2	Senate	R 17–13			R 16–14
Arizona	House of Representatives	R 31–29			R 31–29	-
Arkansas	rowspan=2	Senate	R 26–9			R 28–7
Arkansas	House of Representatives	R 76–24			R 78–22	-
California	rowspan=2	State Senate	D 29–11			D 31–9
California	State Assembly	D 61–18–1			D 60–19–1	-
Colorado	rowspan=2	Senate	D 19–16			D 20–15
Colorado	House of Representatives	D 41–24			D 41–24	-
Connecticut	rowspan=2	State Senate	D 22–14			D 24–12
Connecticut	House of Representatives	D 97–54			D 97–54	-
Delaware	rowspan=2	Senate	D 12–9			D 14–7
Delaware	House of Representatives	D 26–15			D 26–15	-
[\|Florida]	rowspan=2	Senate	R 23–17			R 24–16
Florida	House of Representatives	R 73–47			R 78–42	-
Georgia	rowspan=2	State Senate	R 35–21			R 34–22
Georgia	House of Representatives	R 105–75			R 103–77	-
Hawaii	rowspan=2	Senate	D 24–1			D 24–1
Hawaii	House of Representatives	D 46–5			D 47–4	-
Idaho	rowspan=2	Senate	R 28–7			R 28–7
Idaho	House of Representatives	R 56–14			R 58–12	-
Illinois	rowspan=2	Senate	D 40–19			D 41–18
Illinois	House of Representatives	D 74–44			D 73–45	-
Indiana	rowspan=2	Senate	R 40–10			R 39–11
Indiana	House of Representatives	R 67–33			R 71–29	-
Iowa	rowspan=2	Senate	R 32–18			R 32–18
Iowa	House of Representatives	R 53–47			R 59–41	-
Kansas	rowspan=2	Senate	R 31–9			R 29–11
Kansas	House of Representatives	R 84–41			R 86–39	-
[\|Kentucky]	rowspan=2	Senate	R 28–10			R 30–8
Kentucky	House of Representatives	R 61–39			R 75–25	-
[\|Maine]	rowspan=2	Senate	D 21–14			D 22–13
Maine	House of Representatives	D 89–56–6			D 80–67–4	-
[\|Massachusetts]	rowspan=2	Senate	D 34–6			D 37–3
Massachusetts	House of Representatives	D 127–32–1			D 129–30–1	-
Michigan		House of Representatives	R 58–52			R 58–52
Minnesota	rowspan=2	Senate	R 35–32			R 34–33
Minnesota	House of Representatives	D 75–59			D 70–64	-
Missouri	rowspan=2	Senate	R 23–10			R 23–10
Missouri	House of Representatives	R 116–47			R 114–49	-
Montana	rowspan=2	Senate	R 30–20			R 31–19
Montana	House of Representatives	R 58–42			R 67–33	-
Nevada	rowspan=2	Senate	D 13–8			D 12–9
Nevada	Assembly	D 29–13			D 26–16	-
New Hampshire	rowspan=2	Senate	D 14–10			R 14–10
New Hampshire	House of Representatives	D 234–166			R 213–187	-
New Mexico	rowspan=2	Senate	D 26–16			D 27–15
New Mexico	House of Representatives	D 46–24			D 44–25–1	-
New York	rowspan=2	State Senate	D 40–23			D 43–20
New York	State Assembly	D 105–44–1			D 105–43–1–1	-
North Carolina	rowspan=2	Senate	R 29–21			R 28–22
North Carolina	House of Representatives	R 65–55			R 69–51	-
North Dakota	rowspan=2	Senate	R 37–10			R 40–7
North Dakota	House of Representatives	R 79–15			R 80–14	-
Ohio	rowspan=2	Senate	R 24–9			R 25–8
Ohio	House of Representatives	R 61–38			R 64–35	-
Oklahoma	rowspan=2	Senate	R 38–9			R 38–9
Oklahoma	House of Representatives	R 77–23			R 82–19	-
[\|Oregon]	rowspan=2	State Senate	D 18–12			D 18–12
Oregon	House of Representatives	D 38–22			D 37–23	-
Pennsylvania	rowspan=2	State Senate	R 28–21–1			R 28–21–1
Pennsylvania	House of Representatives	R 110–93			R 113–90	-
Rhode Island	rowspan=2	Senate	D 33–5			D 33–5
Rhode Island	House of Representatives	D 66–9			D 65–10	-
[\|South Carolina]	rowspan=2	Senate	R 27–19			R 30–16
South Carolina	House of Representatives	R 80–44			R 81–43	-
South Dakota	rowspan=2	Senate	R 30–5			R 32–3
South Dakota	House of Representatives	R 59–11			R 62–8	-
Tennessee	rowspan=2	Senate	R 28–5			R 27–6
Tennessee	House of Representatives	R 73–26			R 73–26	-
Texas	rowspan=2	Senate	R 19–12			R 18–13
Texas	House of Representatives	R 83–67			R 83–67	-
Utah	rowspan=2	State Senate	R 23–6			R 23–6
Utah	House of Representatives	R 59–16			R 58–17	-
Vermont	rowspan=2	Senate	D 22–6–2			D 21–7–2
Vermont	House of Representatives	D 95–43–7–5			D 92–46–7–5	-
[\|Washington]	rowspan=2	State Senate	D 28–21			D 28–21
Washington	House of Representatives	D 57–41			D 57–41	-
West Virginia	rowspan=2	Senate	R 20–14			R 23–11
West Virginia	House of Delegates	R 59–41			R 76–24	-
Wisconsin	rowspan=2	Senate	R 19–14			R 21–12
Wisconsin	State Assembly	R 63–34			R 61–38	-
Wyoming	rowspan=2	Senate	R 27–3			R 28–2
Wyoming	House of Representatives	R 50–9–1			R 51–7–1–1	-

National results

Due to the impact the redistricting cycle will have on partisan control of Congress and state legislatures, the Democrats, who had not been in control of a majority of state legislatures across the U.S. since 2010, had hoped to retake control of key chambers in advance. However, despite fundraising efforts and projections of several Republican-held chambers in competitive states flipping, the Democrats failed to flip any state chambers, which they attributed to gerrymandering in the wake of the 2010 elections, as well as state laws restricting voting, President Donald Trump being on the ballot, and the Democrats' campaigning methods. Instead, Republicans flipped both chambers in the New Hampshire General Court.

State summaries

Alaska

Half of the seats of the Alaska Senate and all of the seats of the Alaska House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. The Alaska Senate is controlled by Republicans, while the Alaska House of Representatives is controlled by a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. The Alaska House of Representatives is currently the only state legislative chamber controlled by a cross-partisan coalition.

Arizona

All of the seats of the Arizona Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans have a government trifecta with control of the governorship and both state legislative chambers.

Arkansas

Half of the seats of the Arkansas Senate and all of the seats of the Arkansas House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

California

Half of the seats of the California State Senate and all of the seats of the California State Assembly were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Colorado

Half of the seats of the Colorado Senate and all of the seats of the Colorado House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Connecticut

All of the seats of the Connecticut State Senate and the Connecticut House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Delaware

Half of the seats of the Delaware Senate and all of the seats of the Delaware House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Florida

Half of the seats of the Florida Senate and all of the seats of the Florida House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Georgia

All of the seats of the Georgia State Senate and the Georgia House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Hawaii

Half of the seats of the Hawaii Senate and all of the seats of the Hawaii House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Idaho

All of the seats of the Idaho Senate and the Idaho House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Illinois

One third of the seats of the Illinois Senate and all of the seats of the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Indiana

Half of the seats of the Indiana Senate and all of the seats of the Indiana House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Iowa

Half of the seats of the Iowa Senate and all of the seats of the Iowa House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Kansas

All of the seats of the Kansas Senate and the Kansas House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers.

Kentucky

Half of the seats of the Kentucky Senate and all of the seats of the Kentucky House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers. Because the Kentucky legislature can override gubernatorial vetoes with a simple majority vote, Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the state legislature.

Maine

All of the seats of the Maine Senate and the Maine House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Massachusetts

All of the seats of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats retained control of both chambers.

Michigan

All of the seats of the Michigan House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. The Michigan Senate did not hold regularly scheduled elections in 2020. Republicans maintained control of the chamber.

Minnesota

All of the seats of the Minnesota Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans maintained control of the senate, while Democrats maintained control of the house of representatives.

Missouri

Half of the seats of the Missouri Senate and all of the seats of the Missouri House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Montana

Half of the seats of the Montana Senate and all of the seats of the Montana House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans held control of both chambers, and also gained a government trifecta by winning the gubernatorial election.

Nebraska

Nebraska is the only U.S. state with a unicameral legislature; half of the seats of the Nebraska Legislature were up for election in 2020. 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.

Nevada

Half of the seats of the Nevada Senate and all of the seats of the Nevada Assembly were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

New Hampshire

All of the seats of the New Hampshire Senate and the New Hampshire House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans gained control of both chambers, establishing a government trifecta.

New Mexico

All of the seats of the New Mexico Senate and the New Mexico House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

New York

All of the seats of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly were up for election in 2020. Democrats held control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

North Carolina

All of the seats of the North Carolina Senate and the North Carolina House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers.

North Dakota

Half of the seats of the North Dakota Senate and the North Dakota House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Ohio

Half of the seats of the Ohio Senate and all of the seats of the Ohio House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Oklahoma

Half of the seats of the Oklahoma Senate and all of the seats of the Oklahoma House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Oregon

Half of the seats of the Oregon State Senate and all of the seats of the Oregon House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Pennsylvania

Half of the seats of the Pennsylvania State Senate and all of the seats of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers.

Rhode Island

All of the seats of the Rhode Island Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

South Carolina

All of the seats of the South Carolina Senate and the South Carolina House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

South Dakota

All of the seats of the South Dakota Senate and the South Dakota House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Tennessee

Half of the seats of the Tennessee Senate and all of the seats of the Tennessee House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Texas

Half of the seats of the Texas Senate and all of the seats of the Texas House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Utah

Half of the seats of the Utah State Senate and all of the seats of the Utah House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Vermont

All of the seats of the Vermont Senate and the Vermont House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats retained control of both chambers.

Washington

Half of the seats of the Washington State Senate and all of the seats of the Washington House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Democrats retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

West Virginia

Half of the seats of the West Virginia Senate and all of the seats of the West Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

Wisconsin

Half of the seats of the Wisconsin Senate and all of the seats of the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers.

Wyoming

Half of the seats of the Wyoming Senate and all of the seats of the Wyoming House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Republicans retained control of both chambers, maintaining a government trifecta.

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 representative 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. Democrats retained control of the legislature.

Northern Mariana Islands

A portion of the seats of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, and all of the seats of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, were up for election. Members of the senate serve either four-year terms, while members of the house serve two-year terms. Republicans maintained control of the upper house, but the House was evenly split with one independent caucusing with the nine Republicans and two independents caucusing with the eight Democrats. Control of the chamber was secured for the Democratic-led caucus when one Republican crossed party lines to elect Democrat-aligned Independent Edmund Villagomez as Speaker of the House.

Puerto Rico

All of the seats of the Senate of Puerto Rico and the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico are up for election in 2020. Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives both serve four-year terms. The New Progressive Party lost control of both chambers, although the Popular Democratic Party only managed to gain majority control in the House due to the number of third-party candidates elected.

U.S. Virgin Islands

All of the seats of the unicameral Legislature of the Virgin Islands were up for election in 2020. All members of the legislature serve a two-year term. Democrats retained control of the 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 in 2020. Council members serve four-year terms. Democrats retained supermajority control of the council.

Special elections

Various states held special elections for legislative districts throughout the year. Overall, Democrats flipped a total of seven seats, including 3 in Massachusetts, and one each in New Hampshire, Oregon, Kentucky, and South Carolina, while Republicans flipped one seat in Kentucky.