Comparison Of State Delegations To The 116Th And 117Th Congresses

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Updated May 27, 2021

This page examines the differences between state delegations to the 116th and 117th Congresses at the start of each term, including the percentage of new members, partisan composition, and partisan shifts.^[1] Both U.S. Senate and U.S. House members are included in each state's congressional delegation.

In addition to incumbents defeated in elections, appointments to state and executive offices, resignations, and retirements also changed the composition of congressional delegations.

HIGHLIGHTS

New Mexico sent the greatest percentage of new members to the 117th Congress. Sixty percent of the New Mexico delegation was not seated at the start of the 116th Congress.

Nineteen states sent the same members of Congress that represented them at the start of the 116th Congress.

The congressional delegations of 11 states became more Republican. The party gained one member each in Alabama, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah, two members in Florida and Iowa, and four members in California.

The congressional delegations of four states became more Democratic. The party gained one member in Arizona and Colorado, two members in North Carolina, and three members in Georgia.

Percentage of new members in 117th Congress by state delegation[edit]

This chart shows the percentage of new U.S. Senate and U.S. House members in each state's delegation in the 117th Congress compared to the start of the 116th Congress. Independents who caucused with Democrats were counted as Democrats.

Partisan composition of 116th and 117th Congresses by state delegation[edit]

This chart compares the partisan composition of each state delegation at the start of the 116th Congress to the 117th Congress. Independents who caucused with Democrats were counted as Democrats. At the opening of the 117th Congress, Democrats controlled 273 congressional seats to Republicans' 262. At the beginning of the 116th Congress, Democrats held 282 total congressional seats to Republicans' 253.

Members of the 116th and 117th Congresses by state[edit]

The charts below identify the members of each state's congressional delegation at the start of the 116th and 117th Congresses.

U.S. Senate[edit]

U.S. House[edit]

*Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) was not seated in the 116th Congress until September 17, 2019. He won the seat in a special election after the state board of elections called a new election following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in the 2018 race. Since Bishop was the first member to represent the 9th Congressional District in the 116th Congress, we included him in our data.
**Luke Letlow (R-La.) was elected to represent Louisiana's 5th Congressional District in the December 2020 general election. Letlow died before being sworn into office.

Footnotes[edit]

↑ With the exception of Dan Bishop, the officials identified in the 116th Congress were seated in January 2019. Officials who became part of the 116th Congress following an appointment or special election were not considered. Bishop won election to North Carolina's 9th Congressional District in 2019 after the state board of elections called a new election following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in the 2018 race. Since Bishop was the first member to represent the 9th Congressional District in the 116th Congress, we included him in our data.

[1] With the exception of Dan Bishop, the officials identified in the 116th Congress were seated in January 2019. Officials who became part of the 116th Congress following an appointment or special election were not considered. Bishop won election to North Carolina's 9th Congressional District in 2019 after the state board of elections called a new election following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in the 2018 race. Since Bishop was the first member to represent the 9th Congressional District in the 116th Congress, we included him in our data.