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After the November 2023 elections, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments. Republicans gained one trifecta, Democrats neither gained nor lost any trifectas, and there was one less divided government. Before the 2023 elections, there were 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control.

State government trifecta is a term to describe single-party government, when one political party holds thegovernorship and majorities in both chambers of thestate legislature.

Following the November 2023 elections, there were a total of 40 state government trifectas. This was the highest number of trifectas across the country since at least 1992.

The only change in trifecta status was in Louisiana, which changed from a divided government to a Republican trifecta afterJeff Landry (R) was elected governor on October 14.

Kentucky remained a divided government after Gov.Andy Beshear (D) was re-elected governor. TheKentucky State Legislature was not on the ballot in 2023, so it remained under Republican control. Virginia remained a divided government after Democrats maintained control of theVirginia State Senate and won theVirginia House of Delegates. GovernorGlenn Youngkin (R) was not up for election in 2023.

Mississippi and New Jersey remained Republican and Democratic trifectas, respectively, after those parties maintained partisan control of the legislature in each state. Gov.Tate Reeves (R) was re-elected in Mississippi, and New Jersey Gov.Phil Murphy (D) was not up for election in 2023.

On this page, you will find:

• Trifectas on the ballot in 2023
• Thepartisan balance of trifectas in all 50 states before and after the 2023 elections
• Pre-election analysis of trifecta vulnerability, potential new trifectas, and best-case scenarios for each party
• Alog of trifecta election results
• Historical changes since 2010

Trifectas on the ballot in 2023

In 2023, there were five trifectas—one Democratic, one Republican, and three divided governments— on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those five trifectas before and after the election.

Trifectas partisan breakdown
Party	As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
Democratic	1	1
Republican	1	2
Divided governments	3	2

The map below highlights states that held elections for governor, state legislature, or both in 2023 by the party of the winning candidate.

Partisan balance of all trifectas

At the time of the 2023 election, there were 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control. The table below highlights the trifecta status of all 50 states before and after the 2023 elections.

Trifectas partisan breakdown
Party	As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
Democratic	17	17
Republican	22	23
Divided governments	11	10

The chart below shows the trifecta status of all 50 states from 1992 through 2024, when the 2023 election winners were sworn in.

The map below highlights each state by trifecta status before and after the 2023 elections. Click the blue links above the color key to switch the view between pre-election and post-election partisan control.

Pre-election analysis

Vulnerable state government trifectas

The section below analyses the vulnerability of trifectas on the ballot in 2023 based on gubernatorial race ratings from theCook Political Report,Sabato's Crystal Ball, andInside Elections, and the number and proportion of seats in the state legislature that needed to change party control to flip the chamber.Click here to read more about our methodology.

Vulnerable trifectas

Hover your mouse cursor over a state or tap the state for more details.

Potential new trifectas

The section below analyses the likelihood of divided governments on the ballot in 2023 becoming new trifectas based on gubernatorial race ratings from theCook Political Report,Sabato's Crystal Ball, andInside Elections, and the number and proportion of seats in the state legislature that needed to change party control to flip the chamber.Click here to read more about our methodology.

Potential new trifectas

Hover your mouse cursor over a state or tap the state for more details. Toss-up states are those where Democratic and Republican trifectas both have a good chance of forming.

Potential best-case scenarios

The following maps represent best-case scenarios for each party based on pre-election projections and forecasting. We define a party'sbest-case scenario as an outcome in which the party gains all potential new trifectas that are rated towards that party or as a toss-up, as well as retaining all of their current trifectas. Additionally, under a party's best-case scenario, the opposing party loses all of its somewhat and moderately vulnerable trifectas.

The Democrats' best-case scenario was for there to be no change from the trifecta status in place before the 2023 elections.

The Republicans' best-case scenario in 2023 was to break the Democratic trifecta in New Jersey and gain new trifectas in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Virginia.

Log of trifecta election results

Historical changes in trifecta status (2010-2022)

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Thestate legislative andgubernatorial elections of November 8, 2016, led to these results:

• TheRepublican Party added newstate government trifectas in four states (Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and New Hampshire). They lost trifectas in Nevada and North Carolina, which left them with 25 trifectas.
• TheDemocratic Party lost one trifecta (in Vermont), ending up with trifectas in six states. They did not gain any additional trifectas.

• One of the six trifectas held by the Democratic Party, in Delaware, was at stake in aspecial state senate election 2017 to fill the seat that was vacated byBethany Hall-Long when she was sworn in asLieutenant Governor of Delaware. If that one seat flipped to Republican control, the Delaware Democratic trifecta would have been broken.^[3]
• Another of the six trifectas held by the Democratic Party, in Connecticut, is a thin trifecta. In theNovember 8, 2016 state legislative elections in Connecticut, Republicans added three seats in the state senate bringing the balance of power to 18-18. Ballotpedia is still counting this as a trifecta for the Democrats because in the case of a tie vote in the state senate, the tie is broken by theLieutenant Governor of Connecticut...a position held by a Democrat.^[4]

2014

Potential trifecta losses prior to election

Ballotpedia identified 13 trifecta states that could have become divided governments after the November 4, 2014, election:^[5]

• 6 Republican trifectas
• 7 Democratic trifectas^[5]

In the table below, a "Yes" indicates that party control was considered up for grabs, while a "No" indicates races that were not deemed likely to change hands.

2013

November

Virginia's governorshipswung Democratic onNovember 5, 2013, asTerry McAuliffe (D) defeatedKen Cuccinelli (R). This removed a Republican trifecta in Virginia.

May

In May 2013,Governor of Rhode IslandLincoln Chafee changed his party affiliation from independent toDemocratic, giving the Democratic Party a trifecta inRhode Island.^[6]

2012

See also:Democratic and Republican state government trifectas heading into the 2012 elections

Heading into the 2012 elections, there were 33 total trifectas in the United States. After the election, there were five new trifectas, bringing the total to 38 trifectas. However, following the election, power-sharing arrangements in two states reduced the total trifectas to 36.

Trifecta complexities

There were three states that complicated the labeling of trifectas in 2012 and 2013. These three unique situations brought the total trifectas from37 to36, decreasing the Democratic states by two and adding one GOP state.

• In New York, the Democratic Party, by virtue of the elections, controlled all three levels of government. However, a power-sharing agreement was reached that gave control of thestate Senate over to the Republicans; five elected Democrats pledged to caucus with the GOP. This burst the Democratic trifecta,reducing the total trifectas by one state.^[7]
• In Virginia, thestate Senate was a tied chamber as a result of the2011 elections. However, the tiebreaking vote was cast by thelieutenant governor, who was a Republican. Thus, control of thegovernorship andstate legislature effectively rested with the Republicans. This gave Republicans an additional trifecta,increasing the total trifectas by one state.^[8]
• In Washington, the Democratic Party, by virtue of the elections, controlled all three levels of government. However, a power-sharing agreement was reached that gave control of thestate Senate over to the Republicans; two conservative Democrats pledged to elect Republican leadership to the chamber. This burst the Democratic trifecta,reducing the total trifectas by one state.^[9]

2010

See also:Democratic and Republican state government trifectas heading into the 2010 elections

Heading into the 2010 elections, there were 25 total trifectas in the United States. After the election, there were seven new trifectas, bringing the total to 32 trifectas.

Analysis of state elections, 2023

See also:Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2023

State legislative elections

See also:State legislative elections, 2023

Eight of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regularly-scheduled elections in 2023. Elections in those eight chambers represented 578 of the country's 7,386 state legislative seats (7.8%). This was the most seats up for election in an odd-numbered year since 2011.

General elections inMississippi,New Jersey, andVirginia took place onNovember 7, 2023. General elections inLouisiana took place onNovember 18, 2023.

• Democrats gained one state legislative chamber by winning partisan control of theVirginia House of Delegates.Democrats maintained control of thestate Senate. Virginia's trifecta status remained divided.
• Republicans were guaranteed simple majorities in both Mississippi's House and Senate and Louisiana's House and Senate due to the number of districts where candidates from only one political party ran.
• Democrats maintained partisan control of both chambers of the New Jersey state legislature.

Analysis

• State legislative special elections
• Impact of term limits
• Primary competitiveness
• Incumbents defeated
• Contested primaries
• Open seats
• Incumbents in contested primaries
• Major party competition
• Annual report
• Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
• Rematches in 2023 general elections
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
• Election results, 2023: State legislative veto-proof majorities
• Uncontested races by state
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Results of elected officials seeking other offices
• Minor-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
• State legislative seats that changed party control
• State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
• State legislative elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2023
• Margin of victory analysis
• Candidates with the same last names
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

State executive elections

See also:State executive official elections, 2023

Analysis

• State executive official elections overview
• Gubernatorial elections
• Secretary of State elections
• Attorney General elections
• Historical and potential changes in trifectas
• Trifecta vulnerability
• State government trifectas
• States with multiple statewide offices up for election
• State executive official elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2023
• Impact of term limits
• Annual State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2023
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
• Uncontested races by state
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

State judicial elections

See also:State judicial elections, 2023

A total of 15 state appellate court seats were up for election in 2023. This includes:

• 2 supreme court seats
• 13 intermediate appellate court seats.

The number of state supreme court and intermediate court elections is subject to change if judges retire or are appointed.

Ballotpedia provided coverage ofsupreme court andintermediate appellate court elections, as well aslocal trial court elections for judges within the100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.

Analysis

• State supreme court elections, 2023
• State judicial elections, 2023
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
• Uncontested races by state
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

See also

• Trifecta vulnerability in the 2023 elections
• State government trifectas
• Historical and potential changes in trifectas
• Election results, 2023

Footnotes