On this page, the reader will find tables delineating the breakdown of seats in the legislatures of the States of the American Union- by average percentage of the total number of said seats "as elected"- held by each of the two Major Political Parties here in the United States of America, such average percentages arranged by SECTION, Region (and even, in a few cases, sub-Region) throughout the country. The resultant percentages per Party seen in the tables below, therefore, reflect the Political Party breakdown within a "typical" upper or lower chamber of a State legislature in a particular SECTION or Region (or sub-Region) of the USofA based on the most recent General Election results for these legislative bodies.
METHODOLOGY:
The data seen in each table is based on the percentage of total seats in each chamber of a State Legislature held by members of each of the two Major Parties (as well as those not elected as nominees of said Parties) as elected in the most recent General Election for said legislative chamber (Special Elections- as well as any other method of filling post-General Election vacancies prior to the next General Election are not at all considered). In some cases (such as Alabama or Maryland), the most recent General Election as of this typing (as April becomes May 2014) was back in November 2010; in other cases (such as New Jersey or Virginia), such General Elections have been as recent as November 2013: but, in most States, at least half (where not all) of the members of their legislative bodies will have held their most recent General Elections in November 2012. In any event, the State's most recent General Election for at least some members of each of their respective legislative chambers will be controlling.
For each SECTION, Region or even 'subregion', the percentages of seats held by each Major Party (or, where applicable, others outside the Major Parties) is averaged per the number of States in each such SECTION, Region or 'subregion': this seems the fairest way to compare the Political Party breakdown in Legislatures between SECTIONS, Regions and 'subregions'- as the number of total seats in each legislative chamber varies from State to State and, in addition, there is no close correlation between, say, the population of a given State and that of another and the ratio between total number of seats in said States' Upper and/or Lower Houses.
One notable anomaly is the State of NEBRASKA herein: besides having a Unicameral legislature (that is: one with only a single chamber)- as of this typing, the only State in the American Union to have such- Nebraska also formally elects its legislators on a Nonpartisan basis. Therefore, data for Nebraska cannot be included within the following tables (as these principally deal with legislative seats to which members were elected as nominees of their respective Political Parties).
The definitions of- as well as the reasoning behind so defining- each SECTION, Region and 'subregion' of the United States of America described hereon may be found, in detail, within the explanatory verbiage found on the page on this website dealing with the CONGRESSIONAL Political Party Breakdown by SECTION and Region: please consult that page for further information.
TABLE I. Current Political Party Divisions in each chamber of State Legislatures "as elected"- in percentages of seats held by Political Parties- by SECTIONs of the United States of America
- NORTHEAST: CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI & VT
- MIDWEST: IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, OH & WI
- SOUTH: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA & WV
- WEST: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MT, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA & WY
[NOTE: data re: NE (also part of this SECTION) is not included herein for reasons noted above]
| SECTION | UPPER HOUSEs | LOWER HOUSEs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem | GOP | other | Dem | GOP | other | |
| NORTHEAST | 62.8 | 35.7 | 1.5 | 66.4 | 32.8 | 0.8 |
| MIDWEST | 44.5 | 55.5 | -- | 45.4 | 54.6 | -- |
| SOUTH | 38.8 | 60.8 | 0.4 | 39.8 | 59.8 | 0.4 |
| WEST | 41.8 | 58.2 | -- | 41.9 | 58.1 | -- |
| NATIONWIDE | 46.0 | 53.5 | 0.5 | 47.3 | 52.4 | 0.3 |
TABLE II. Current Political Party Divisions in each chamber of State Legislatures "as elected"- in percentages of seats held by Political Parties- by Regions within the United States of America
- NE 1- New England: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI & VT
- NE 2- Mid-Atlantic: DE, MD, NJ, NY & PA
- MW 1- 'Upper' Midwest: IL, MI, MN & WI
- MW 2- 'Lower' Midwest: IN, IA & OH
- S 1- 'Upper' ("Border") South: AR, KY, MO, NC, TN, VA & WV
- S 2- 'Lower' ("Deep") South: AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC & TX
- W 1- Interior West: AK, AZ, CO, ID, KS, MT, NV, NM, ND, OK, SD, UT & WY
[NOTE: data re: NE (also part of this Region) is not included herein for reasons noted above] - W 2- Pacific Coast: CA, HI, OR & WA
| Region | UPPER HOUSEs | LOWER HOUSEs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem | GOP | other | Dem | GOP | other | |
| NE 1: New England | 67.0 | 31.3 | 1.7 | 69.6 | 29.0 | 1.4 |
| NE 2: Mid-Atlantic | 57.7 | 41.0 | 1.3 | 62.5 | 37.5 | -- |
| MW 1: Upper Midwest | 50.7 | 49.3 | -- | 50.1 | 49.9 | -- |
| MW 2: Lower Midwest | 36.1 | 63.9 | -- | 39.1 | 60.9 | -- |
| S 1: Upper [Border] South | 41.0 | 58.6 | 0.4 | 40.8 | 58.9 | 0.3 |
| S 2: Lower [Deep] South | 36.6 | 63.0 | 0.4 | 38.8 | 60.7 | 0.5 |
| W 1: Interior West | 33.7 | 66.3 | -- | 34.2 | 65.8 | -- |
| W2: Pacific Coast | 68.1 | 31.9 | -- | 67.0 | 33.0 | -- |
| NATIONWIDE | 46.0 | 53.5 | 0.5 | 47.3 | 52.4 | 0.3 |
TABLE III. Current Political Party Divisions in each chamber of State Legislatures "as elected"- in percentages of seats held by Political Parties- within certain 'sub-Region's within the United States of America
Table III-A
- NE 2 A: DE, NJ & NY
- NE 2 B: MD & PA
| sub-Region | UPPER HOUSEs | LOWER HOUSEs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem | GOP | other | Dem | GOP | other | |
| NE 2 A: old New Netherland | 56.0 | 41.9 | 2.1 | 65.7 | 34.3 | -- |
| NE 2 B: outside old New Netherland | 60.2 | 39.8 | -- | 57.7 | 42.3 | -- |
| NE 2- Mid Atlantic: AVERAGE | 57.7 | 41.0 | 1.3 | 62.5 | 37.5 | -- |
Table III-B
- W 1 A: AK, ID, KS, MT, ND, OK, SD & WY
[NOTE: data re: NE (also part of this sub-Region) is not included herein for reasons noted above] - W 1 B: AZ, CO, NV, NM & UT
| sub-Region | UPPER HOUSEs | LOWER HOUSEs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem | GOP | other | Dem | GOP | other | |
| W 1 A: outside formerly far northern Mexico/Nueva España | 26.5 | 73.5 | -- | 26.5 | 73.5 | -- |
| W 1 B: within formerly far northern Mexico/Nueva España | 45.3 | 54.7 | -- | 46.5 | 53.5 | -- |
| W 1- Interior West: AVERAGE | 33.7 | 66.3 | -- | 34.2 | 65.8 | -- |
Created Thu 1 May 2014. Modified .