September 2021 breakdown of state legislative party membership: 54.22% Republicans, 44.68% Democrats


Photo of the Illinois State Capitol building

54.22% of all state legislators are Republicans and 44.68% are Democrats, according to Ballotpedia’s September partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators.

Ballotpedia tallies the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month. This refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in each chamber. Republicans control 61 chambers, while Democrats hold 37. The Alaska House of Representatives is the only chamber to be organized under a multipartisan, power-sharing coalition.

Nationally, the state legislatures include 1,959 state senators and 5,383 state representatives. Democrats hold 861 state Senate seats and 2,438 state House seats, a loss of two state Senate seats and one state House seat. Republicans hold 4,003 of the 7,383 total state legislative seats—1,091 state Senate seats (the same as August) and 2,912 state House seats (a decrease of three).

Independent or third-party legislators hold 40 seats, of which 33 are state House seats and seven are state Senate seats. There are 41 vacant seats.

During the month of September, both Democrats and Republicans saw a net decrease of three seats. Compared to September of last year, the state legislatures are 2.09% less Democratic (46.77% to 44.68%) and 2.21% more Republican (52.01% to 54.22%).  

Additional reading: