The 2023 United States state legislative elections were held on November 7, 2023, for eight state legislative chambers in four states. These off-year elections coincided with other state and local elections, including gubernatorial elections in three states. Special elections were held throughout the year in several states.
The Democratic Party flipped control of Virginia's lower house, the House of Delegates, which it had lost two years earlier, and retained its majority in Virginia's upper house, the Senate. Democrats also expanded their majority in the New Jersey Legislature. The Republican Party strengthened its majorities in the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures.
Background The 2022 elections, midterm elections held under the presidency of Democrat Joe Biden, defied conventional expectations. Although Republicans had gained more legislative seats across the country than Democrats, they had lost control of several state legislative chambers. Republican gains were more concentrated in chambers they already controlled, while Democrats made more gains in states they controlled, as well as in battleground states where independent or court-ordered redistricting had dismantled the Republican-tilted maps of the 2010s. This enhanced Democratic policymaking power at the state level despite Republican victories at the federal level.
Among the states holding regularly-scheduled legislative elections in 2023, Republicans had fully controlled the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures since 2011, while Democrats had controlled the New Jersey Legislature since 2003. Virginia had a divided government after Republicans won control of the House of Delegates in 2021.
Party switching
Republicans gained significant clout in two state legislatures prior to the election due to party switching by incumbent legislators. In both Louisiana and North Carolina, party-switching Democrats gave Republicans supermajorities in each state's House of Representatives which, combined with Republicans' existing supermajorities in each state's Senate, gave the party the ability to override vetoes of each state's Democratic governors. StateChamberDistrictLegislatorOld partyNew partySourceGeorgiaHouse56Mesha MainorDemocraticRepublicanLouisianaHouse18Jeremy LaCombeDemocraticRepublican19Francis C. ThompsonDemocraticRepublican62Roy Daryl AdamsIndependentDemocraticNebraskaLegislature8Megan HuntDemocraticIndependentNew HampshireHouseCheshire 7Shaun FiliaultDemocraticIndependentHillsborough 2Dan HynesRepublicanIndependentNew JerseySenate12Samuel D. ThompsonRepublicanDemocraticNorth CarolinaHouse112Tricia CothamDemocraticRepublicanOregonSenate12Brian Boquist IndependentRepublicanSouth CarolinaSenate22Mia McLeodDemocraticIndependentVermontHouseRutland 3Jarrod SammisRepublicanLibertarianWest VirginiaHouse50Elliott PrittDemocraticRepublican
Summary table Regularly scheduled elections were held in 8 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were or are to be held for 578 of the 7,383 legislative seats. This table only covers regularly scheduled elections; additional special elections may take place concurrently with these regularly scheduled elections.
State Upper House Lower House Seats up Total % up Term Seats up Total % up TermLouisiana 39 39 100 4 105 105 100 4Mississippi 52 52 100 4 122 122 100 4New Jersey 40 40 100 4 80 80 100 2Virginia 40 40 100 4 100 100 100 2
Election predictions Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive chambers. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the party, the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each chambers, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that election.
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 Lastelection 270toWin Elections Daily Result Louisiana rowspan=2 Senate R 27–12 | | R 28–11 House of Representatives R 71–33–1 | | R 73–32 Mississippi rowspan=2 Senate R 36–16 | | R 36–16 House of Representatives R 77–42–3 | | R 79–41–2 New Jersey rowspan=2 Senate D 25–15 | | D 25–15 General Assembly D 46–34 | | D 52–28 Virginia rowspan=2 Senate D 22–18 | | D 21–19 House of Delegates R 52–48 | | D 51–49
National results Despite Republican hopes of major gains, potentially winning full control of Virginia's state government and weakening Democrats' majorities in New Jersey, these gains did not materialize. Instead, Democrats made considerable gains in both states' lower houses, flipping control of the Virginia House of Delegates, which they had lost in 2021. Republicans did gain ground in Louisiana and Mississippi, however, as both states held their first elections since the 2020 redistricting cycle. Rampant gerrymandering, political polarization, and a high number of uncontested races led to minimal competition. Neither state featured a single legislative race won by less than 10 percentage points.
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 2023. Republicans retained control of both chambers.
Louisiana State Senate Party Leader Before After Change Republican Page Cortez (term-limited) 27 28 1 Democratic Gerald Boudreaux 12 11 1 Total 39 39 Louisiana House of Representatives Party Leader Before After Change Republican Clay Schexnayder (term-limited) 71 73 2 Democratic Samuel Jenkins Jr. (retired) 33 32 1 Independent Joseph A. Marino III (retired) 1 0 1 Total 105 105
Mississippi
All seats of the Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives were up for election to four-year terms in 2023. Republicans retained control of both chambers.
Mississippi State Senate Party Leader Before After Change Republican Dean Kirby 36 36 Democratic Derrick Simmons 16 16 Total 52 52 Mississippi House of Representatives Party Leader Before After Change Republican Philip Gunn (retired) 77 79 2 Democratic Robert Johnson III 42 41 1 Independent 3 2 1 Total 122 122
New Jersey
All seats of the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. In 2023, senators were elected to four-year terms in single-member districts, while Assembly members were elected to two-year terms in two-member districts. Democrats retained control in both chambers, expanding their majority in the General Assembly.
New Jersey Senate Party Leader Before After Change Democratic Nicholas Scutari 25 25 Republican Anthony M. Bucco 15 15 Total 40 40 New Jersey General Assembly Party Leader Before After Change Democratic Craig Coughlin 46 52 6 Republican John DiMaio 34 28 6 Total 80 80
Virginia
All seats of the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in 2023. Senators were elected to four-year terms, while delegates serve terms of two years. At the time of the elections, the Democrats controlled the Senate while the Republicans controlled the House of Delegates. Following the elections, the Democrats flipped control of the House of Delegates and held on to the Senate with a reduced majority.
Virginia Senate Party Leader Before After Change Democratic Dick Saslaw (retired) 22 21 1 Republican Tommy Norment (retired) 17 19 2 Non-caucusing Amanda Chase 1 0 1 Total 40 40 Virginia House of Delegates Party Leader Before After Change Democratic Don Scott 4851 3 Republican Todd Gilbert 52 49 3 Total 100 100
Special elections
There were fifty-one state legislative special elections scheduled for 2023. The Democratic Party flipped a seat in the Virginia Senate on January 10 and a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on September 19. The Republican Party flipped a seat in the Maine House of Representatives on June 13 and a seat in the Massachusetts Senate on November 7.
Connecticut District Incumbent This race Chamber No. Representative Party Firstelected Results Candidates House 6 Edwin Vargas Democratic 2012 Incumbent resigned January 3, 2023 to pursue an academic post at Central Connecticut State University.New member elected February 28, 2023.Democratic hold. House 100 Quentin Williams Democratic 2018 Incumbent died January 5, 2023, in a traffic collision.New member elected February 28, 2023.Democratic hold. House 148 Daniel J. Fox Democratic 2011 Incumbent resigned January 4, 2023, in anticipation of a nomination to be a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court.New member elected February 28, 2023.Democratic hold.
Delaware District Incumbent This race Chamber No. Representative Party Firstelected Results Candidates House 37 Ruth Briggs King Republican 2009 Incumbent resigned November 15, 2023, after moving out of her district.New member elected December 21, 2023.Republican hold.
Florida District Incumbent This race Chamber No. Representative Party Firstelected Results Candidates House 24 Joe Harding Republican 2020 Incumbent resigned December 8, 2022, after being indicted for wire fraud and money laundering.New member elected May 16, 2023.Republican hold. House 118 Juan Fernandez-Barquin Republican 2018 Incumbent resigned June 11, 2023, to become clerk of the court and comptroller of Miami-Dade County.New member elected December 5, 2023.Republican hold.
Georgia District Incumbent This race Chamber No. Representative Party Firstelected Results Candidates House 7 David Ralston Republican 2002 Incumbent died November 16, 2022, after a long illness.New member elected January 31, 2023, after no one received over 50% of the vote on January 3, 2023.Republican hold. House 119 Terry England Republican 2004 Incumbent's term expired January 9, 2023. Representative-elect Danny Rampey withdrew prior to being seated, after being arrested for stealing prescription narcotics.New member elected February 28, 2023, after no one received over 50% of the vote on January 31, 2023.Republican hold. House 172 Sam Watson Republican 2012 Incumbent resigned December 30, 2022, to run for State Senate.New member elected January 31, 2023.Republican hold. Senate 11 Dean Burke Republican 2013 Incumbent resigned December 31, 2022, to become chief medical officer of the Georgia Department of Community Health.New member elected January 31, 2023.Republican hold. House 75 Mike Glanton Democratic 2012 Incumbent resigned January 24, 2023, for health reasons.New member elected March 21, 2023.Democratic hold. House 68 Tish Naghise Democratic 2022 Incumbent died March 8, 2023, of a recent illness.New member elected June 13, 2023, after no one received over 50% of the vote on May 16, 2023.Democratic hold.
Kentucky District Incumbent This race Chamber No. Representative Party Firstelected Results Candidates Senate 19 Morgan McGarvey Democratic 2012 Incumbent resigned January 1, 2023, to become a U.S. representative.New member elected February 21, 2023.Democratic hold. Senate 28 Ralph Alvarado Republican 2014 Incumbent resigned January 6, 2023, to become commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health.New member elected May 16, 2023.Republican hold. House 93 Lamin Swann Democratic 2022 Incumbent died May 14, 2023, after being hospitalized for a medical emergency.New member elected November 7, 2023.Democratic hold.
Louisiana District Incumbent This race Chamber No. Representative Party Firstelected Results Candidates House 93 Royce Duplessis Democratic 2018 Incumbent resigned December 6, 2022, to join the State Senate. New member elected March 25, 2023, after no one received over 50% of the vote on February 18, 2023. Democratic hold.
Maine