2022 United States state legislative elections
The 2022 United States state legislative elections were held on November 8, 2022, for 88 state legislative chambers in 46 states. Across the fifty states, approximately 56 percent of all upper house seats and 92 percent of all lower house seats were up for election. Additionally, six territorial chambers were up in four territories and the District of Columbia. These midterm elections coincided with other state and local elections, including gubernatorial elections in multiple states.
Prior to the elections, Democrats held 14 trifectas, Republicans held 23 trifectas, and 13 states held a divided government. These were the first elections affected by the 2020 redistricting cycle, which reapportioned state legislatures based on data from the 2020 United States census.
Democrats made unexpected gains in state legislatures across the country, flipping four chambers. This was the first midterm election since 1934 in which the party of the incumbent president did not lose any state legislative chambers to the opposition.
Summary table
Regularly scheduled elections were held in 88 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States; nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 6,064 of the 7,383 legislative seats. Most 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 that were 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 election years.Note that this table only covers regularly scheduled elections; additional special elections took place concurrently with these regularly scheduled elections.
Redistricting
The 2022 elections were the first held after redistricting following the 2020 census. All states holding elections in 2022 did so under new maps drawn in accordance with the new census results with the exception of [|Montana], which implements its new maps four years after the census as opposed to two. In a majority of states, legislative redistricting is controlled by the state legislature, often subject to gubernatorial veto. This allows for widespread gerrymandering, in which the party in power draws legislative boundaries to favor itself. Many states delegate redistricting power to an independent or bipartisan redistricting commission, often with the goal of minimizing or eliminating partisan gerrymandering.New independent commissions
Four states established independent redistricting commissions via citizen-led ballot initiative prior to the 2020 redistricting cycle: [|Colorado], [2018 |Michigan Proposal 2|Michigan], [2018 2018 Utah Proposition 4|Utah Proposition 4|Utah], and [2020 2020 Virginia Question 1|Virginia Question 1|Virginia]. The new commission in Michigan, especially, was significant due to its implementing of maps seen as fair, replacing maps seen as heavily gerrymandered to favor Republicans, which had been established as a part of Project REDMAP after the 2010 elections. In Utah, Republican legislators voted in 2020 to strip the state's newly established commission of its power, returning control over redistricting to the Republican-led legislature. In Virginia, the state's commission failed to agree on new legislative maps, leading the Supreme Court of Virginia to appoint a special master to draw its maps for use beginning in the 2023 elections.Litigation
In a number of states, lawsuits successfully challenged district maps drawn by state legislatures. In [|Ohio] and [|North Carolina], the states' respective Supreme Courts rejected the legislature's maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. In North Carolina, a second set of maps was eventually approved by the courts, but in Ohio, the courts continually rejected the new maps until a federal court forced them to let one set stand due to the impending primary election. In [|Minnesota] and [|Wisconsin], redistricting fell to state courts after their legislatures and governors deadlocked. Wisconsin's litigation briefly involved the U.S. Supreme Court over concerns on the application of the Voting Rights Act in the state court's prior decision. The New York Court of Appeals overturned the state's new Senate map, drawn by the Democratic-controlled legislature, calling it an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Maps for the State Assembly were not overturned. The new Senate maps drawn by a special master substantially changed the districts drawn in New York City, greatly increasing the number of competitive districts.Gerrymandering
In Michigan and [|Pennsylvania], new maps implemented by independent and bipartisan commissions were seen as much fairer compared to the states' previous maps. In Wisconsin, however, the court's chosen map was seen as favoring Republicans. All three states were severely affected by partisan gerrymandering during the 2010s due to Project REDMAP. Democrats had not won control of any legislative chambers in those states since 2008 despite winning the statewide popular vote multiple times. In Republican-led states such as Texas, [|Florida], and [|Georgia], Republican legislatures passed maps seen as gerrymandered and uncompetitive, while states such as [|Nevada] did the same in favor of Democrats.Electoral predictions
Although the 2022 elections were initially expected to be highly Republican-favoring, given the increasing unpopularity of Democratic president Joe Biden, the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June dramatically shifted the national political environment. By the time of the elections, a similar number of Republican- and Democratic-controlled chambers were considered competitive, mostly in states won narrowly by Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Democrats' best chances for gains were seen in states such as Michigan, [|Arizona], and Pennsylvania, while Republicans' best chances were in [|Alaska], [|Maine], Nevada, Colorado, and [|Oregon]. Both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature, one controlled by each party, were seen as highly-competitive. Overall, fewer legislative chambers were seen as competitive compared to previous cycles.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 Oct. 20, 2022 | CNalysis Nov. 7, 2022 | Result |
| Alabama | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 27–8 | R 27–8 | ||
| Alabama | House of Representatives | R 77–28 | R 77–28 | - | ||
| Alaska | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 14–6 | Coal. 17–3 | ||
| Alaska | House of Representatives | Coal. 21–17–2 | Coal. 23–16–1 | - | ||
| Arizona | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 16–14 | R 16–14 | ||
| Arizona | House of Representatives | R 31–29 | R 31–29 | - | ||
| Arkansas | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 27–7–1 | R 29–6 | ||
| Arkansas | House of Representatives | R 78–22 | R 82–18 | - | ||
| California | rowspan=2 | State Senate | D 31–9 | D 32–8 | ||
| California | State Assembly | D 60–19–1 | D 62–18 | - | ||
| Colorado | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 20–15 | D 23–12 | ||
| Colorado | House of Representatives | D 41–24 | D 46–19 | - | ||
| Connecticut | rowspan=2 | State Senate | D 23–13 | D 24–12 | ||
| Connecticut | House of Representatives | D 97–54 | D 98–53 | - | ||
| Delaware | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 14–7 | D 15–6 | ||
| Delaware | House of Representatives | D 26–15 | D 26–15 | - | ||
| Florida | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 24–16 | R 28–12 | ||
| Florida | House of Representatives | R 78–42 | R 85–35 | - | ||
| Georgia | rowspan=2 | State Senate | R 34–22 | R 33–23 | ||
| Georgia | House of Representatives | R 103–77 | R 101–79 | - | ||
| Hawaii | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 24–1 | D 23–2 | ||
| Hawaii | House of Representatives | D 47–4 | D 45–6 | - | ||
| Idaho | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 28–7 | R 28–7 | ||
| Idaho | House of Representatives | R 58–12 | R 59–11 | - | ||
| Illinois | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 41–18 | Very Likely D | D 40–19 | |
| Illinois | House of Representatives | D 73–45 | Very Likely D | D 78–40 | - | |
| Indiana | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 39–11 | R 40–10 | ||
| Indiana | House of Representatives | R 71–29 | R 70–30 | - | ||
| Iowa | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 32–18 | R 34–16 | ||
| Iowa | House of Representatives | R 60–40 | R 64–36 | - | ||
| Kansas | House of Representatives | R 86–39 | R 85–40 | |||
| Kentucky | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 30–8 | R 31–7 | ||
| Kentucky | House of Representatives | R 75–25 | R 80–20 | - | ||
| Maine | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 22–13 | D 22–13 | ||
| Maine | House of Representatives | D 82–66–3 | D 82–67–2 | - | ||
| Maryland | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 32–15 | D 34–13 | ||
| Maryland | House of Delegates | D 99–42 | D 102–39 | - | ||
| Massachusetts | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 37–3 | D 37–3 | ||
| Massachusetts | House of Representatives | D 130–29–1 | D 134–25–1 | - | ||
| Michigan | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 22–16 | D 20–18 | ||
| Michigan | House of Representatives | R 58–52 | D 56–54 | - | ||
| Minnesota | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 34–33 | D 34–33 | ||
| Minnesota | House of Representatives | D 70–64 | D 70–64 | - | ||
| Missouri | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 24–10 | R 24–10 | ||
| Missouri | House of Representatives | R 114–49 | R 111–52 | - | ||
| Montana | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 31–19 | R 34–16 | ||
| Montana | House of Representatives | R 67–33 | R 68–32 | - | ||
| Nevada | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 12–9 | D 13–8 | ||
| Nevada | Assembly | D 26–16 | D 28–14 | - | ||
| New Hampshire | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 14–10 | Very Likely R | R 14–10 | |
| New Hampshire | House of Representatives | R 213–187 | R 201–199 | - | ||
| New Mexico | House of Representatives | D 45–24–1 | D 45–25 | |||
| [|New York] | rowspan=2 | State Senate | D 43–20 | D 42–21 | ||
| New York | State Assembly | D 107–43 | D 102–48 | - | ||
| North Carolina | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 28–22 | R 30–20 | ||
| North Carolina | House of Representatives | R 69–51 | R 71–49 | - | ||
| North Dakota | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 40–7 | R 43–4 | ||
| North Dakota | House of Representatives | R 80–14 | R 82–12 | - | ||
| Ohio | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 25–8 | R 26–7 | ||
| Ohio | House of Representatives | R 64–35 | R 67–31 | - | ||
| Oklahoma | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 39–9 | R 40–8 | ||
| Oklahoma | House of Representatives | R 82–19 | R 81–20 | - | ||
| Oregon | rowspan=2 | State Senate | D 18–11–1 | D 17–12–1 | ||
| Oregon | House of Representatives | D 37–23 | D 35–25 | - | ||
| Pennsylvania | rowspan=2 | State Senate | R 28–21–1 | R 28–22 | ||
| Pennsylvania | House of Representatives | R 113–90 | D 102–101 | - | ||
| Rhode Island | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 33–5 | D 33–5 | ||
| Rhode Island | House of Representatives | D 65–10 | D 65–9–1 | - | ||
| South Carolina | House of Representatives | R 81–43 | R 88–36 | |||
| South Dakota | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 32–3 | R 31–4 | ||
| South Dakota | House of Representatives | R 62–8 | R 63–7 | - | ||
| Tennessee | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 27–6 | R 27–6 | ||
| Tennessee | House of Representatives | R 73–26 | R 75–24 | - | ||
| Texas | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 18–13 | R 19–12 | ||
| Texas | House of Representatives | R 83–67 | R 86–64 | - | ||
| Utah | rowspan=2 | State Senate | R 23–6 | R 23–6 | ||
| Utah | House of Representatives | R 58–17 | R 61–14 | - | ||
| Vermont | rowspan=2 | Senate | D 21–7–2 | D 22–7–1 | ||
| Vermont | House of Representatives | D 92–46–7–5 | D 104–38–5–3 | - | ||
| [|Washington] | rowspan=2 | State Senate | D 28–21 | D 29–20 | ||
| Washington | House of Representatives | D 57–41 | D 58–40 | - | ||
| West Virginia | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 23–11 | R 30–4 | ||
| West Virginia | House of Delegates | R 78–22 | R 88–12 | - | ||
| Wisconsin | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 21–12 | R 22–11 | ||
| Wisconsin | State Assembly | R 61–38 | R 64–35 | - | ||
| Wyoming | rowspan=2 | Senate | R 28–2 | R 29–2 | ||
| Wyoming | House of Representatives | R 51–7–1–1 | R 57–5 | - |