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2011 United States state legislative elections

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For related races, see 2011 United States elections.

2011 United States state legislative elections
← 2010 November 8, 2011 2012 →
8 legislative chambers
4 states
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Party Republican Democratic Coalition
Chambers before 60[a] 37[b] 1[c]
Chambers after 62 35 1[c]
Overall change Increase 2 Decrease 2 Steady
Map of upper house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans gained control      Republicans retained control
     No regularly-scheduled elections
Map of lower house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans gained control      Republicans retained control
     No regularly-scheduled elections

The 2011 United States state legislative elections were held on November 8, 2011. Eight legislative chambers in four states held regularly scheduled elections. These off-year elections coincided with other state and local elections, including gubernatorial elections in four states.[1]

These were the first elections to be affected by redistricting after the 2010 census.[2] Additionally, the first wave of recall elections occurred in the Wisconsin Senate; while Republicans lost seats, they maintained a narrow majority. A second wave would occur in 2012.

Republicans flipped control of the Virginia Senate, thereby establishing a trifecta. In Mississippi, Republicans won the state House for the first time since 1876. After having gained control of the Mississippi Senate in February 2011 in the year due to party switching,[3] Republicans retained control of the chamber in the November election. Republicans thus obtained a trifecta in the state for the first time since 1876 as a result.

In Louisiana, Republicans gained control of the State House in December 2010 when a state representative switched parties,[4] and control of the State Senate by winning a February 2011 special election.[5] Republicans maintained control of both chambers in November, thereby giving Republicans control of Senate for the first time since 1877, and the state house and a trifecta for the first time since 1873.

Background

[edit]

Republicans made historic gains in the 2010 elections, flipping control of twenty legislative chambers across the country.[6] Republicans made especially large gains in the South, winning control of a number of chambers for the first time since Reconstruction.[7] Additionally, post-election party switching gave Republicans control of the Louisiana House of Representatives.[8] Three Southern states, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia, did not hold regularly-scheduled elections in 2010, but many took the 2010 results as a sign that Republicans would soon gain full control of these states as well.[7]

Louisiana Senate special elections

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Despite losing control of the Louisiana House of Representatives and losing multiple seats in the Louisiana Senate due to late 2010 party switching, Democrats held a narrow majority of seats in the Louisiana Senate at the beginning of 2011. However, two special elections were scheduled to fill vacant seats in the chamber held by non-Republicans early in the year. Republicans won them both, flipping control of the Louisiana Senate and giving the party a government trifecta in the state.[5]

District Incumbent This race
Chamber No. Representative Party First

elected

Results Candidates
Senate 22 Troy Hebert Independent 2007 Incumbent resigned in November 2010 to become Louisiana's alcohol and tobacco control commissioner.
New member elected January 22, 2011.
Republican gain.
  • ▌ Green tickY Fred Mills (Republican) 59.8%
  • ▌ Simone B. Champagne (Republican) 18.9%
  • ▌ David Groner (Independent) 12.8%
  • ▌ Armond Schwing (Republican) 7.7%
  • ▌ Ruben LeBlanc (Independent) 1.0%
  • ▌ Ken Squires (Republican) 0.8%[9]
Senate 26 Nick Gautreaux Democratic 2007 Incumbent resigned in December 2010 to become head of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.[10]
New member elected February 19, 2011.
Republican gain.
  • ▌ Green tickY Jonathan Perry (Republican) 51.7%
  • ▌ Nathan Granger (Democratic) 48.3%

Mississippi Senate

[edit]

Shortly after the 2010 election, Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith switched parties and joined the Republicans, producing a 26–26 tie in the Mississippi Senate.[11] In February, Senator Ezell Lee, who had been voting more and more frequently with Republicans, solidified his own switch to the party by filing to run for re-election as a Republican, flipping control of the chamber to the Republicans.[3] Lee later lost in the primary election.[12]

Other party switching

[edit]
Total net change in legislative seats due to party switching in 2011

Like during the immediate aftermath of the 2010 election, a large number of Democratic state legislators, primarily from the South, switched to the Republican party. This included further switches in the Louisiana House of Representatives, which gave Republicans a true majority in the chamber, allowing them to bypass both the Democrats and the four independents in the chamber to pass legislation.[13]

Pre-election

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State Chamber District Legislator Old party New party Source
Arkansas House 80 Linda Collins Democratic Republican [14]
Kentucky House 37 Wade Hurt Republican Democratic [15]
Louisiana Senate 18 Jody Amedee Democratic Republican [16]
20 Norby Chabert Democratic Republican [17]
House 19 Charles Chaney Democratic Republican [13]
22 Billy Chandler Democratic Republican [18]
48 Taylor Barras Democratic Republican [19]
Mississippi Senate 47 Ezell Lee Democratic Republican [3]
House 14 Margaret Rogers Democratic Republican [20]
39 Jeff Smith Democratic Republican [21]
43 Russ Nowell Democratic Republican [20]
North Carolina House 65 Bert Jones Independent Republican [22]

Post-election

[edit]
State Chamber District Legislator Old party New party Source
Mississippi Senate 9 Gray Tollison Democratic Republican [23]
House 21 Donnie Bell Democratic Republican [24]

Summary table

[edit]

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 8 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 578 of the 7,383 legislative seats. This table only covers regularly scheduled elections; additional special elections took place concurrently with these regularly scheduled elections.

State Upper House Lower House
Seats up Total % up Term Seats up Total % up Term
Louisiana 39 39 100 4 105 105 100 4
Mississippi 52 52 100 4 122 122 100 4
New Jersey 40 40 100 2/4[d] 80 80 100 2
Virginia 40 40 100 4 100 100 100 2

Election predictions

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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. 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
  • "Lean": Slight advantage
  • "Likely": Significant, but surmountable, advantage
  • "Safe": Near-certain chance of victory
State Chamber Before
election[e] 		Ballotpedia
Oct. 2011[25] 		Result
Louisiana Senate R 22–17 Likely R R 24–15
House of Representatives R 57–46–2 Safe R R 58–45–2
Mississippi Senate R 27–25 Lean R R 30–22
House of Representatives D 68–54 Lean R (flip) R 63–59
New Jersey Senate D 24–16 Lean D D 24–16
General Assembly D 47–33 Lean D D 48–32
Virginia Senate D 22–18 Lean R (flip) R 20–20
House of Delegates R 59–39–2 Safe R R 67–32–1

State summaries

[edit]

Louisiana

[edit]
Main articles: 2011 Louisiana Senate election and 2011 Louisiana House of Representatives election

All seats of the Louisiana State Senate and the Louisiana House of Representatives were up for election to four-year terms in single-member districts. Republicans flipped both chambers through party switching and special elections in the past year, and then retained majority control in both chambers in the 2011 elections.

Louisiana State Senate
Party Before After Change
Republican 22 24 Increase 2
Democratic 17 15 Decrease 2
Total 39 39
Louisiana House of Representatives
Party Before After Change
Republican 57 58 Increase 1
Democratic 46 45 Decrease 1
Independent 2 2 Steady
Total 105 105

Mississippi

[edit]
Main articles: 2011 Mississippi Senate election and 2011 Mississippi House of Representatives election

All seats of the Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives were up for election to four-year terms in single-member districts. Republicans won a majority in the lower house for the first time since Reconstruction.[24] They had previously won a majority in the upper house through party switching and special elections earlier in the year, and then expanded their majority in the general election. Shortly after the election, recently re-elected Democratic Senator Gray Tollison announced he was switching parties, giving the Republicans a three-fifths supermajority in the chamber.[23] Republicans also gained a tenth seat in the House after the election when Donnie Bell announced he was switching parties as well.[24]

Mississippi State Senate
Party Before After Change
Republican 27 30 Increase 3
Democratic 25 22 Decrease 3
Total 52 52
Mississippi House of Representatives
Party Before After Change
Republican 54 63 Increase 9
Democratic 68 59 Decrease 9
Total 122 122

New Jersey

[edit]
Main articles: 2011 New Jersey Senate election and 2011 New Jersey General Assembly election
Senate results
General Assembly results

All seats of the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. In 2011, senators were elected to two-year terms in single-member districts, while Assembly members were elected to two-year terms in two-member districts.[26] Democrats retained majority control in both chambers.

Senate
Party Before After Change
Democratic 24 24 Steady
Republican 16 16 Steady
Total 40 40
General Assembly
Party Before After Change
Democratic 47 48 Increase 1
Republican 33 32 Decrease 1
Total 80 80

Virginia

[edit]
Main articles: 2011 Virginia Senate election and 2011 Virginia House of Delegates election
Senate results
House of Delegates results

All seats of the Senate of Virginia and the Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in single-member districts. Senators were elected to four-year terms, while delegates serve terms of two years. Republicans maintained control of the lower chamber and won control of the upper chamber because the Republican lieutenant governor broke the ties in the now-evenly split body.

Senate of Virginia
Party Before After Change
Republican 18 20 Increase 2
Democratic 22 20 Decrease 2
Total 40 40
Virginia House of Delegates
Party Before After Change
Republican 59 67 Increase 8
Independent 2 1 Decrease 1
Democratic 39 32 Decrease 7
Total 100 100

Recall elections

[edit]

Wisconsin

[edit]
Main article: 2011 Wisconsin Senate recall elections
Recall election results

A wave of recall elections were held in Wisconsin Senate as a part of the public fallout of the passage of Act 10, a law which significantly limited public employee collective bargaining. Republican senators were targeted for their support of the bill, while Democratic senators were targeted for leaving the state to deprive the chamber of a quorum to delay the bill's passage.[27] Democrats retained all of their Senators, while two of the six Republicans were defeated, for a net gain of two seats for the Democrats.

District Incumbent This race
Chamber No. Member Party First elected Result Vote
Senate 02 Robert Cowles Republican 1987 (special) Incumbent retained August 9, 2011.
Republican hold.
Senate 08 Alberta Darling Republican 1990 Incumbent retained August 9, 2011.
Republican hold.
Senate 10 Sheila Harsdorf Republican 2000 Incumbent retained August 9, 2011.
Republican hold.
Senate 12 Jim Holperin Democratic 2008 Incumbent retained August 16, 2011.
Democratic hold.
Senate 14 Luther Olsen Republican 2004 Incumbent retained August 9, 2011.
Republican hold.
Senate 18 Randy Hopper Republican 2008 Incumbent recalled August 9, 2011.
Democratic gain.
Senate 22 Robert Wirch Democratic 1996 Incumbent retained August 16, 2011.
Democratic hold.
Senate 30 Dave Hansen Democratic 2000 Incumbent retained July 19, 2011.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Dave Hansen (Dem.) 67%
  • ▌ David VanderLeest (Rep.) 33%
Senate 32 Dan Kapanke Republican 2004 Incumbent recalled August 9, 2011.
Democratic gain.

See also

[edit]

Notes

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  1. ^ Republicans took control of the Mississippi State Senate, the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the Louisiana State Senate through party switching and special elections earlier in the year.
  2. ^ The Oregon House of Representatives was tied in the 2011-2013 session; the chamber is not counted towards the total here.
  3. ^ a b The Alaska Senate was controlled by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. The minority caucus consists of Republicans who were not part of the majority coalition.
  4. ^ The upper houses of Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas use a 2-4-4 term length system.
  5. ^ Many states up for election in 2011 had experienced heavy party switching in the year prior, which flipped control of both chambers of the Louisiana legislature and the Mississippi Senate.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "State legislative elections, 2011". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "State legislative elections, 2011". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Sen. Ezell Lee Qualifies As A Republican « Majority In Mississippi". February 21, 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Political switch gives GOP control of Louisiana House". www.kplctv.com. December 18, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Freddoso, David (February 21, 2011). "Special election gives GOP complete control of Louisiana state government - Washington Examiner". Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Storey, Tim. "GOP Makes Historic State Legislative Gains in 2010". Rasmussen Reports. Rasmussen Report, LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Martin, Jonathan (November 28, 2010). "Democratic South finally falls". POLITICO. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  8. ^ Barrow, Bill (December 17, 2010). "Louisiana Republicans take first House majority since Reconstruction with latest party switch". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "State Senator -- 7th Senatorial District". Louisiana Secretary of State. June 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Stubbs, Nathan (January 6, 2011). "Nathan Granger challenges Perry in District 26 state Senate race". The Independent Weekly. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  11. ^ "Sen. Hyde-Smith joins Republicans – Daily Leader". Daily Leader. December 28, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Farrell, David A. (August 3, 2011). "Tony Smith unseats veteran incumbent State Sen. Lee". The Picayune Item. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Rep. Charles 'Bubba' Chaney is latest Louisiana legislator to switch to the GOP". The Advocate. February 12, 2011. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  14. ^ Johnson, Bob (November 22, 2010). "Four lawmakers jump from Democratic Party to GOP". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  15. ^ "Jefferson County GOP House member switching to Democrats". Courier-Journal. April 22, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Moller, Jan (March 17, 2011). "Another state senator switches to GOP". nola.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  17. ^ "Norby dumps Demos". The Times of Houma/Thibodaux. March 23, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  18. ^ "Republican majority in Louisiana House of Representatives increases". nola.com. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on March 14, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  19. ^ "Rep. Barras joins GOP". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  20. ^ a b "2 Mississippi representatives switch to Republican Party". Clarion Ledger. January 20, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "House speaker candidate Smith switches to GOP". wlbt.com. June 2, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  22. ^ "Rockingham Co. Lawmaker Switches From 'Unaffiliated' To GOP". My FOX 8. September 22, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ a b "State Sen. Tollison of Oxford jumps from D to R". WBLT. November 10, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  24. ^ a b c Amy, Jeff (November 14, 2011). "GOP gains control of Miss. House for first time since Reconstruction". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  25. ^ "Projected outcomes of state legislative elections, 2011". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  26. ^ "New Jersey Secretary of State". state.nj.us.
  27. ^ Tom Tolan (April 26, 2011). "At least 9 Wisconsin state senators face recall". National Public Radio. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
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