2008 United States state legislative elections explained
| Election Name: | 2008 United States state legislative elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2007 United States state legislative elections |
| Previous Year: | 2007 |
| Next Election: | 2009 United States state legislative elections |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
| Seats For Election: | 85 legislative chambers in 44 states |
| Election Date: | November 4, 2008 |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Map Size: | 320px |
| Map2 Image: | US2008statelowerhouses.svg |
| Map2 Size: | 320px |
| Map2 Caption: | Map of lower house elections:
|
| 1Data1: | 58 |
| 2Data1: | 61 |
| 3Data1: | 3 |
| 1Data2: | 39 |
| 2Data2: | 37 |
| 3Data2: | 2 |
| Party3: | Coalition |
| 1Data3: | 1 |
| 2Data3: | 1 |
| 1Blank: | Chambers before |
| 2Blank: | Chambers after |
| 3Blank: | Overall change |
| Colour3: | d9b2d9 |
Elections to state legislatures were held on November 4, 2008, alongside other elections, in which Democrats scored significant gains in a blue wave election. Elections were held for 85 legislative chambers, with all states but Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Alabama, Maryland, and Virginia holding elections in at least one house. Michigan and Minnesota held elections for their lower, but not upper houses.[1] Seven territorial chambers in four territories and the District of Columbia were up.
The New Hampshire Senate saw the election of the first-ever female majority. This is the first time this has occurred in any chamber of any state legislature in United States history.[2] In New York, the Democrats obtained a trifecta for the first time since 1935, and in Delaware for the first time since 1977.[3]
The Democrats took control of six legislative bodies to the Republicans' four. Democrats took control of the Delaware House of Representatives, for the first time since 1985, the Montana House of Representatives, the Nevada Senate, and the New York State Senate, for the first time since 1966, the Ohio House of Representatives, and the Wisconsin State Assembly. Republicans took control of the Montana Senate; both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly,[4] for the first time since 1870; and the Oklahoma Senate, for the first time in state history. With the Montana Senate and the Montana House of Representatives flipping, this election cycle marked the last time in U.S. history as of where the upper house and lower house held by different political parties in a state legislature both flipped in the same cycle.
Summary table
Regularly-scheduled elections were held in 85 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly-scheduled elections were held for 5,948 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
Analysts expected Democrats to perform quite well, owing to the strong polling of Democrat Barack Obama in the concurrent presidential election. Despite this, they expected Democrats to only be able to pick up a net handful of chambers from the Republicans owing to the highs they had already reached during the 2006 elections. They saw Democrats' best pickup opportunities in chambers in midwestern presidential battleground states such as the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Ohio House of Representatives, as well as Republican-held chambers in strongly-Democratic states, such as the Delaware House of Representatives and the New York State Senate. Despite Obama's large polling lead, Republicans were expected to be able to win a few chambers in southern states where his potential coattails were seen as weaker in rural areas, such as the Oklahoma Senate and the Tennessee Senate.
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 | Lastelection | Stateline[6] | Result |
|---|
| Alaska | | Senate | data-sort-value="-75.0" | Coal. 15–5 | | data-sort-value="-80.0" | Coal. 16–4 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="57.5" | R 23–17 | | data-sort-value="55.0" | R 22–18 |
| Arizona | | Senate | data-sort-value="56.7" | R 17–13 | | data-sort-value="60.0" | R 18–12 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="55.0" | R 33–27 | | data-sort-value="60.0" | R 36–24 |
| Arkansas | | Senate | data-sort-value="-77.1" | D 27–8 | | data-sort-value="-77.1" | D 27–8 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-72.0" | D 72–28 | | data-sort-value="-71.0" | D 71–28–1 |
| California | | State Senate | data-sort-value="-62.5" | D 25–15 | | data-sort-value="-62.5" | D 25–15 |
|---|
| State Assembly | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 48–32 | | data-sort-value="-62.5" | D 50–29–1 |
| Colorado | | Senate | data-sort-value="-57.1" | D 20–15 | | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 21–14 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 39–26 | | data-sort-value="-58.5" | D 38–27 |
| Connecticut | | State Senate | data-sort-value="-63.9" | D 24–12 | | data-sort-value="-66.7" | D 24–12 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-70.9" | D 107–44 | | data-sort-value="-75.5" | D 114–37 |
| Delaware | | Senate | data-sort-value="-61.9" | D 13–8 | | data-sort-value="-76.2" | D 16–5 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="56.1" | R 23–18 | | data-sort-value="-58.5" | D 24–17 |
| Florida | | Senate | data-sort-value="65.0" | R 26–14 | | data-sort-value="65.0" | R 26–14 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="65.0" | R 78–42 | | data-sort-value="63.3" | R 76–44 |
| Georgia | | State Senate | data-sort-value="60.7" | R 34–22 | | data-sort-value="60.7" | R 34–22 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="58.9" | R 106–74 | | data-sort-value="58.3" | R 105–74–1 |
| Hawaii | | Senate | data-sort-value="-80.0" | D 20–5 | | data-sort-value="-92.0" | D 23–2 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-84.3" | D 43–8 | | data-sort-value="-88.2" | D 45–6 |
| Idaho | | Senate | data-sort-value="80.0" | R 28–7 | | data-sort-value="80.0" | R 28–7 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="72.9" | R 51–19 | | data-sort-value="74.3" | R 52–18 |
| Illinois | | Senate | data-sort-value="-62.7" | D 37–22 | | data-sort-value="-62.7" | D 37–22 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-55.9" | D 66–52 | | data-sort-value="-59.3" | D 70–48 |
| Indiana | | Senate | data-sort-value="66.0" | R 33–17 | | data-sort-value="66.0" | R 33–17 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-51.0" | D 51–49 | | data-sort-value="-52.0" | D 52–48 |
| Iowa | | Senate | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 30–20 | | data-sort-value="-64.0" | D 32–18 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-54.0" | D 54–46 | | data-sort-value="-57.0" | D 57–43 |
| Kansas | | Senate | data-sort-value="75.0" | R 30–10 | | data-sort-value="77.5" | R 31–9 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="62.4" | R 78–47 | | data-sort-value="61.6" | R 77–48 |
| Kentucky | | Senate | data-sort-value="57.9" | R 21–16–1 | | data-sort-value="55.3" | R 21–16–1 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-61.0" | D 61–39 | | data-sort-value="-65.0" | D 65–35 |
| Maine | | Senate | data-sort-value="-51.4" | D 18–17 | | data-sort-value="-57.1" | D 20–15 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-59.6" | D 90–59–2 | | data-sort-value="-62.9" | D 95–55–1 |
| Massachusetts | | Senate | data-sort-value="-87.5" | D 35–5 | | data-sort-value="-87.5" | D 35–5 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-88.1" | D 141–19 | | data-sort-value="-90.0" | D 144–15–1 |
| Michigan | | House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-52.7" | D 58–52 | | data-sort-value="-60.9" | D 67–43 |
|---|
| Minnesota | | House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-63.4" | D 85–49 | | data-sort-value="-64.9" | D 87–47 |
|---|
| Missouri | | Senate | data-sort-value="61.7" | R 21–13 | | data-sort-value="67.6" | R 23–11 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="56.4" | R 92–71 | | data-sort-value="54.6" | R 89–74 |
| Montana | | Senate | data-sort-value="-52.0" | D 26–24 | | data-sort-value="54.0" | R 27–23 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="50.0" | R 50–49–1 | | data-sort-value="-50.0" | D 50–50 |
| Nevada | | Senate | data-sort-value="52.4" | R 11–10 | | data-sort-value="-57.1" | D 12–9 |
|---|
| Assembly | data-sort-value="-64.3" | D 27–15 | | data-sort-value="-66.7" | D 28–14 |
| New Hampshire | | Senate | data-sort-value="-58.3" | D 14–10 | | data-sort-value="-58.3" | D 14–10 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-59.8" | D 239–160–1 | | data-sort-value="-56.3" | D 225–175 |
| New Mexico | | Senate | data-sort-value="-57.1" | D 24–18 | | data-sort-value="-64.3" | D 27–15 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 42–28 | | data-sort-value="-64.3" | D 45–25 |
| New York | | State Senate | data-sort-value="52.4" | R 33–29 | | data-sort-value="-51.6" | D 32–30 |
|---|
| State Assembly | data-sort-value="-70.7" | D 106–42–1–1 | | data-sort-value="-71.3" | D 107–41–1–1 |
| North Carolina | | Senate | data-sort-value="-62.0" | D 31–19 | | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 30–20 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-56.7" | D 68–52 | | data-sort-value="-56.7" | D 68–52 |
| North Dakota | | Senate | data-sort-value="55.3" | R 26–21 | | data-sort-value="55.3" | R 26–21 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="64.9" | R 61–33 | | data-sort-value="61.7" | R 58–36 |
| Ohio | | Senate | data-sort-value="63.6" | R 21–12 | | data-sort-value="63.6" | R 21–12 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="53.5" | R 53–46 | | data-sort-value="-53.5" | D 53–46 |
| Oklahoma | | Senate | data-sort-value="-50.0" | D 24–24 | | data-sort-value="54.2" | R 26–22 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="56.4" | R 57–44 | | data-sort-value="60.4" | R 61–40 |
| Oregon | | State Senate | data-sort-value="-63.3" | D 19–11 | | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 18–12 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-51.7" | D 31–29 | | data-sort-value="-60.0" | D 36–24 |
| Pennsylvania | | State Senate | data-sort-value="58.0" | R 29–21 | | data-sort-value="60.0" | R 30–20 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-50.2" | D 102–101 | | data-sort-value="-51.2" | D 104–99 |
| Rhode Island | | Senate | data-sort-value="-86.8" | D 33–5 | | data-sort-value="-86.8" | D 33–4–1 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-80.0" | D 60–15 | | data-sort-value="-92.0" | D 69–6 |
| South Carolina | | Senate | data-sort-value="56.5" | R 26–20 | | data-sort-value="58.7" | R 27–19 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="58.9" | R 73–51 | | data-sort-value="58.9" | R 73–51 |
| South Dakota | | Senate | data-sort-value="57.1" | R 20–15 | | data-sort-value="60.0" | R 21–14 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="71.4" | R 50–20 | | data-sort-value="65.7" | R 46–24 |
| Tennessee | | Senate | data-sort-value="0" | 16–16–1 | | data-sort-value="57.6" | R 19–14 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-53.5" | D 53–46 | | data-sort-value="50.5" | R 50–49 |
| Texas | | Senate | data-sort-value="64.5" | R 20–11 | | data-sort-value="61.3" | R 19–12 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="54.0" | R 81–69 | | data-sort-value="50.7" | R 76–74 |
| Utah | | State Senate | data-sort-value="72.4" | R 21–8 | | data-sort-value="72.4" | R 21–8 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="73.3" | R 55–20 | | data-sort-value="70.7" | R 53–22 |
| Vermont | | Senate | data-sort-value="-76.7" | D 23–7 | | data-sort-value="-76.7" | D 23–7 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-62.0" | D 93–49–6–2 | | data-sort-value="-62.7" | D 94–48–5–3 |
| Washington | | State Senate | data-sort-value="-65.3" | D 32–17 | | data-sort-value="-63.3" | D 31–18 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="-62.2" | D 62–36 | | data-sort-value="-62.2" | D 62–36 |
| West Virginia | | Senate | data-sort-value="-67.6" | D 23–11 | | data-sort-value="-76.5" | D 26–8 |
|---|
| House of Delegates | data-sort-value="-72.0" | D 72–28 | | data-sort-value="-71.0" | D 71–29 |
| Wisconsin | | Senate | data-sort-value="-54.5" | D 18–15 | | data-sort-value="-54.5" | D 18–15 |
|---|
| State Assembly | data-sort-value="52.5" | R 52–47 | | data-sort-value="-52.5" | D 52–46–1 |
| Wyoming | | Senate | data-sort-value="76.7" | R 23–7 | | data-sort-value="76.7" | R 23–7 |
|---|
| House of Representatives | data-sort-value="71.7" | R 43–17 | | data-sort-value="68.3" | R 41–19 | |
State summaries
Alaska
All of the seats of the Alaska House of Representatives and half of the Alaska Senate were up for election. The Democratic-led coalition maintained control of the Senate while Republicans maintained control of the House.
Arizona
See main article: 2008 Arizona Senate election and 2008 Arizona House of Representatives election.
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
See main article: 2008 California State Senate election and 2008 California State Assembly election.
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
See main article: 2008 Connecticut State Senate election.
All of the seats of the Connecticut Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.
Delaware
See main article: article, 2008 Delaware Senate election and 2008 Delaware House of Representatives election.
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 and won 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
See main article: 2008 Illinois Senate election and 2008 Illinois House of Representatives election.
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 maintained control of the House of Representatives.
Iowa
See main article: 2008 Iowa Senate election and 2008 Iowa House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the Iowa House of Representatives and half of the Iowa Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.
Kansas
All of the seats of the Kansas Senate and Kansas House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.
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.
Massachusetts
See main article: 2008 Massachusetts Senate election and 2008 Massachusetts House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the Massachusetts Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.
Michigan
See main article: 2008 Michigan House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the Michigan House of Representatives were up for election; Democrats maintained control.
Minnesota
See main article: 2008 Minnesota House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the Minnesota House of Representatives were up; Democrats maintained control.
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
See main article: 2008 Montana House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the Montana House of Representatives and half of the Montana Senate were up for election. Republicans flipped control of the Senate and Democrats flipped control of the House.
Nebraska
See main article: article.
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 and won 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 maintained control of both legislative chambers.
New Mexico
See main article: 2008 New Mexico Senate election and 2008 New Mexico House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the New Mexico Senate and the New Mexico House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both chambers.
New York
See main article: 2008 New York State Assembly election.
All of the seats of the New York Legislature were up for election. Democrats won control of the Senate and maintained control of the Assembly.
North Carolina
See main article: 2008 North Carolina Senate election and 2008 North Carolina House of Representatives election.
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. Democrats won control of the House of Representatives while Republicans maintained control of the Senate.
Oklahoma
All of the seats of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and half of the Oklahoma Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of the Senate and 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 both legislative chambers.
Pennsylvania
See main article: 2008 Pennsylvania Senate election and 2008 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election.
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 maintained 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
See main article: 2008 South Carolina Senate election.
All of the seats of the South Carolina legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.
South Dakota
All of the seats of the South Dakota Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.
Tennessee
See main article: 2008 Tennessee Senate election and 2008 Tennessee House of Representatives election.
All of the seats of the Tennessee House of Representatives and half of the Tennessee Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of both state legislative chambers.
Texas
See main article: 2008 Texas Senate election and 2008 Texas House of Representatives election.
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
See main article: 2008 Washington State Senate election and 2008 Washington House of Representatives election.
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
See main article: 2008 West Virginia Senate election.
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
See main article: 2008 Wisconsin Senate election and 2008 Wisconsin State Assembly election.
All of the seats of the Wisconsin Assembly and half of the Wisconsin Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of the Senate and won 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. Democrats retained control of the legislature.
Puerto Rico
All of the seats of the Senate of Puerto Rico and the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico are up for election. Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives both serve four-year terms. The New Progressive Party held control of both chambers.
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 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. Council members serve four-year terms. Democrats retained supermajority control of the council.
Notes and References
- Web site: State legislative elections, 2008. Ballotpedia. 26 March 2023.
- Web site: New Hampshire Senate Makes History . ABC News . December 7, 2008.
- Web site: New York - Election Results 2008 - The New York Times . 2022-04-22 . www.nytimes.com.
- Web site: Whitehouse . Ken . Tennessee Republicans win slim majority in State House . 2023-02-07 . Nashville Post . en.
- Web site: 2020 Legislative Races by State and Legislative Chamber . National Conference of State Legislatures.
- Web site: Jacobson . Louis . October 15, 2008 . Legislative races tilting Dems' way in '08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081106082124/http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=348037 . November 6, 2008 . August 1, 2024 . Stateline.
