Political party strength in U.S. states

Political party strength in U.S. states refers to the level of representation of the various political parties of the U.S. in each statewide elective office providing legislators to the state and to the U.S. Congress and electing the executives at the state and national level.

History

Throughout most of the 20th century, although the Republican and Democratic parties alternated in power at a national level, some states were so overwhelmingly dominated by one party that nomination was usually tantamount to election. This was especially true in the Solid South, where the Democratic Party was dominant for the better part of a century, from the end of Reconstruction in the late 1870s, through the period of Jim Crow Laws into the 1960s. Conversely, the New England states of Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire were dominated by the Republican Party, as were some Midwestern states like Iowa and North Dakota.
However, in the 1970s and 1980s the increasingly conservative Republican Party gradually overtook the Democrats in the southeast. The Democrats' support in the formerly Solid South had been eroded during the vast cultural, political and economic upheaval that surrounded the 1960s. By the 1990s, the Republican Party had completed the transition into the southeast's dominant political party, despite typically having fewer members due to the prevalence of Republican voting generational Democrats. In New England, the opposite trend took place; the former Republican strongholds of Maine and Vermont became solidly Democratic, as did formerly Republican areas of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
, the majority of the overall number of seats held in the state legislatures has been switching between the two parties every few years. In the U.S. gubernatorial elections of 2010, the Republican party held an outright majority of approximately 440 with 3,890 seats compared to the Democratic party's number of 3,450 seats elected on a partisan ballot. Of the 7,382 seats in all of the state legislatures combined, independents and third parties account for only 16 members, not counting the 49 members of the Nebraska Legislature, which is the only legislature in the nation to hold non-partisan elections to determine its members. Due to the results of the 2010 elections, Republicans took control of an additional 19 state legislative chambers, giving them majority control of both chambers in 25 states versus the Democrats' majority control of both chambers in only 16 states, with 8 states having split or inconclusive control of both chambers ; previous to the 2010 elections, it was Democrats who controlled both chambers in 27 states versus the Republican party having total control in only 14 states, with eight states divided and Nebraska being nonpartisan.

Current party strength

Gallup

As of May 2020, Gallup polling found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 25% identified as Republican, and 40% as Independent. Additionally, polling showed that 50% are either "Democrats or Democratic leaners" and 38% are either "Republicans or Republican leaners" when Independents are asked "do you lean more to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party?"
In 2018, the number of competitive states dropped down to 10, the lowest number since 2008. From 2017 to 2018, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Pennsylvania moved from competitive to lean Democratic, while West Virginia, Louisiana, and Indiana moved from competitive to lean Republican, and Nebraska moved from lean Republican to competitive.
As of 2018, Massachusetts was the most Democratic state, with 56% of residents identifying as Democrat, while only 27% of residents identified as Republican. Wyoming was the most Republican state, with 59% of residents identifying as Republican, and only 25% of residents identifying as Democrat.

Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI)

Another metric to measure how much a state leans towards one party or the other is the Cook Partisan Voting Index. Cook PVIs are calculated by comparing a state's average Democratic Party or Republican Party share of the two-party presidential vote in the past two presidential elections to the nation's average share of the same. PVIs for the states over time can be used to show the trends of U.S. states towards, or away from, one party or the other.

Elections and voter registrations

The following table shows all the U.S. states and to what party their state governors belong. Also indicated is the majority party of the state legislatures' upper and lower houses as well as U.S. Senate representation. Nebraska's legislature is unicameral, i.e., it has only one legislative house and is officially non-partisan, though party affiliation still has an unofficial influence on the legislative process.
The simplest measure of the party strength in a state's voting population is the breakdown-by-party totals from its voter registration figures., 28 states and the District of Columbia allow registered voters to indicate a party preference when registering to vote; the following 20 states do not provide for party preferences in voter registration: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The partisan breakdown "demographics" provided in the following table are obtained from that state's party registration figures where indicated. Only Wyoming has a majority of registered voters identifying themselves as Republicans; two states have a majority of registered voters identifying themselves as Democrats: Maryland and Kentucky.
For those states that do not allow for registration by party, Gallup's annual polling of voter party identification by state is the next best metric of party strength in the U.S. states. The partisan figures in the table below for the 22 states that don't register voters by party come from Gallup's 2017 polling of voter party identification by state.

Table of U.S. state party statistics as of November 2019

Regional breakdowns

Local and regional political circumstances often influence party strength.

State government

The following figure is for Governors :
The following figures for party control of state legislative chambers are as of 2020:

State Senate	State House

Presidential election results and congressional delegations

The following is based on the results of the 2016 Presidential election:

Presidential Election

The following are the current standings in the U.S. Senate and in the U.S. House as of the 116th Congress:

Senate	House of Representatives

Demographics

U.S. party percentages by state

Historical party strength

The following table shows how many state legislatures were controlled outright by each party.

Year	Democrats	Republicans	Split
1938	21	19	6
1940	21	17	8
1942	19	24	3
1944	19	24	3
1946	17	25	4
1948	19	16	11
1950	19	21	6
1952	16	26	4
1954	19	20	7
1956	22	19	5
1958	30	7	11
1960	27	15	6
1962	25	17	6
1964	32	6	10
1966	23	16	9
1968	20	20	8
1970	23	16	9
1972	26	16	7
1974	37	4	8
1976	35	4	10
1978	31	11	7
1980	29	15	5
1982	34	11	4
1984	26	11	12
1986	28	9	12
1988	29	8	12
1990	30	6	13
1992	25	8	16
1994	18	19	12
1996	20	18	11
1998	20	17	12
2000	16	18	15
2002	18	17	14
2003	16	21	12
2004	17	21	11
2005	20	20	9
2007	24	16	9
2008	23	15	12
2009	27	15	8
2010	27	15	8
2011	15	27	8
2012	15	29	6
2013	17	28	5
2014	17	28	5
2015	11	31	8
2016	11	31	8
2017	12	32	6
2018	13	32	5
2019	18	30	2
2020	19	29	2

The following table shows how many governorships were controlled outright by each party.

Year	Democrats	Republicans	Independent
1922	26	22
1923	27	21
1924	23	25
1926	20	28
1927	19	29
1928	16	32
1930	24	22	2
1931	26	20	2
1932	36	10	2
1934	37	9	2
1936	38	7	3
1937	39	6	3
1938	29	19
1940	28	20
1942	24	24
1943	22	26
1944	25	23
1946	23	25
1947	24	24
1948	28	20
1950	22	26
1952	18	30
1953	19	29
1954	27	21
1956	28	20
1958	35	15
1960	34	16
1962	34	16
1964	33	17
1966	25	25
1967	24	26
1968	19	31
1969	18	32
1970	29	21
1971	30	20
1972	31	19
1973	32	18
1974	36	13	1
1976	37	12	1
1978	32	18
1979	31	19
1980	27	23
1982	34	16
1983	35	15
1984	34	16
1986	26	24
1988	28	22
1989	29	21
1990	28	20	2
1992	30	18	2
1993	29	19	2
1994	19	30	1
1995	18	31	1
1996	17	32	1
1998	17	31	2
1999	18	30	2
2000	19	29	2
2001	21	27	2
2002	24	26
2004	22	28
2006	28	22
2008	29	21
2009	26	24
2010	26	23	1
2011	20	29	1
2012	20	29	1
2013	20	30
2014	21	29
2015	18	31	1
2016	18	31	1
2017	15	34	1
2018	16	33	1
2019	23	27
2020	24	26

The following table describes how many state governments were fully controlled by either party or split.

Year	Democrats	Republicans	Split
1977	27	1	22
1978	27	1	22
1979	19	5	26
1980	18	5	27
1981	16	8	26
1982	16	8	26
1983	24	4	22
1984	24	4	22
1985	17	4	29
1986	17	4	29
1987	15	7	28
1988	14	6	30
1989	15	5	30
1990	16	5	29
1991	16	3	31
1992	15	3	32
1993	18	3	29
1994	16	4	30
1995	8	15	27
1996	6	14	30
1997	5	12	33
1998	5	13	32
1999	8	15	27
2000	9	16	25
2001	8	14	28
2002	9	12	29
2003	8	12	30
2004	8	12	30
2005	8	12	30
2006	8	12	30
2007	15	10	25
2008	14	10	26
2009	18	10	22
2010	17	10	23
2011	11	22	17
2012	11	24	15
2013	13	25	12
2014	13	24	13
2015	7	24	19
2016	7	23	20
2017	5	25	20
2018	7	25	18
2019	14	23	13
2020	15	22	13

Popular movies

The Hunger Games (film) - 2012 American dystopian action thriller science fiction-adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on Suzanne Collins’s 2008 novel of the same name. It is the first insta...
untitled Captain Marvel sequel - part of Marvel Cinematic Universe....
Killers of the Flower Moon (film project) - Killers of the Flower Moon - film project in United States of America. It was presented as drama, detective fiction, thriller. The film project starred Leonardo Dicaprio, Robert De Niro. Director of...
Five Nights at Freddy's (film) - Five Nights at Freddy's - film published in 2017 in United States of America. Scenarist of the film - Scott Cawthon....

Popular books

Book of Revelation - The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament, and consequently is also the final book of the Christian Bible. Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: apok...
Book of Genesis - account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, Israel's ancestors and the origins...
Gospel of Matthew - The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgement on ...
Michelin Guide - Michelin Guides are a series of guide books published by the French tyre company Michelin for more than a century. The term normally refers to the annually published Michelin Red Guide , the oldest...
Psalms - The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms , the Psalter or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim , the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and thus a book of th...
Ecclesiastes - Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh , where it is classified as one of the Ketuvim . Originally written c. 450–200 BCE, it is also among the canonical Wisdom literature of the Old Tes...
The 48 Laws of Power - non-fiction book by American author Robert Greene. The book...

Popular television series

The Crown (TV series) - historical drama web television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan, and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Tel...
Friends - American sitcom television series, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast sta...
Young Sheldon - spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory and begins with the character Sheldon...
Modern Family - American television mockumentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for eleven seasons, from September 23...
Loki (TV series) - upcoming American web television miniseries created for Disney+ by Michael Waldron, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shar...
Game of Thrones - American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It...
Shameless (American TV series) - American comedy-drama television series developed by John Wells which debuted on Showtime on January 9, 2011. It...