At the end of August 2023, 54.86% of all state legislatures in the United States are Republican while 44.29% are Democratic. There are 7,386 state legislative seats in the country.
Republicans control 57 chambers, while Democrats hold 40. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions.
Democrats hold 851 state Senate seats and 2,420 state House seats, losing five seats since last month. Republicans hold 1,109 state Senate seats and 2,943 state House seats, losing six seats since last month.
Independent or third-party legislators hold 27 seats across 10 different states, including 22 state House seats and five state Senate seats. There are 28 vacant state House seats and eight vacant state Senate seats across 34 different states.
Compared to August 2022, Democrats have lost 13 state Senate seats (864 v. 851) and gained 11 state House seats (2,409 v. 2,420). Republicans have gained 17 state Senate seats (1,092 v. 1,109) and gained 43 state House seats (2,900 v. 2,943).
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story reported that there were 7,383 state legislative seats. The story has been updated to reflect the actual total, which is 7,386. It has also been updated to reflect that both chambers of the Alaskan Legislature are organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions.
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