1999 United States state legislative elections

1999 United States state legislative elections

November 2, 1999

8 legislative chambers in 4 states
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Chambers before 50[a][b] 47[a][b]
Chambers after 49[a][c] 48[a][c]
Overall change 1 1

Map of upper house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans retained control
     Split body formed
     No regularly-scheduled elections

Map of lower house elections:
     Democrats retained control
     Republicans gained control      Republicans retained control
     No regularly-scheduled elections

The 1999 United States state legislative elections were held on November 2, 1999, alongside other elections. Elections were held for 7 legislative chambers in four states. Both chambers of the Northern Mariana Islands legislature were up.[1]

Democrats maintained control of the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures, while Republicans maintained control of the lower house in New Jersey and the upper house in Virginia. Republicans had won a 1997 special election to claim a 21-19 majority in the Virginia Senate after Democrat Charles L. Waddell resigned his seat.[2][3] Republicans maintained this majority in 1999, which gave them their first-ever elected majority in history. Republicans flipped the Virginia House of Delegates, which was previously tied, resulting in the first-ever Republican majority.

Additionally, in the summer of 1999, a Democratic senator died in the New Hampshire Senate and was succeeded by a Republican in a special election, switching that chamber from Democratic control to tied.[4]

Summary table

Regularly scheduled elections were held in 7 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly scheduled elections were held for 538 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 0 40 0 2/4[d] 80 80 100 2
Virginia 40 40 100 4 100 100 100 2

State summaries

Louisiana

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. Democrats maintained control of both chambers.

Louisiana State Senate
Party Before After Change
Democratic 26 26
Republican 13 13
Total 39 39
Louisiana House of Representatives
Party Before After Change
Democratic 78 74 4
Republican 27 31 4
Total 105 105

Mississippi

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. Democrats maintained control of both houses.

Mississippi State Senate
Party Before After Change
Democratic 34 34
Republican 18 18
Total 52 52
Mississippi House of Representatives
Party Before After Change
Democratic 86 86
Republican 33 33
Independent 3 3
Total 122 122

New Jersey

All seats of the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. Assembly members were elected to two-year terms in two-member districts.[5] Republicans retained control.

General Assembly
Party Before After Change
Democratic 32 35 3
Republican 48 45 3
Total 80 80

Virginia

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 served terms of two years. Republicans maintained control of the Senate and flipped the House of Delegates, which was previously tied.

Senate of Virginia
Party Before After Change
Democratic 19 19
Republican 21 21
Total 40 40
Virginia House of Delegates
Party Before After Change
Republican 49 52 3
Independent 1[e] 1
Democratic 50 47 3
Total 100 100

Territorial and federal district summaries

Northern Mariana Islands

All seats of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives and half of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate are up for election. Senators are elected to four-year terms, and Representatives are elected to two-year terms. Republicans maintained control of both houses.

Senate
Party Before After Change
Republican 8 6 2
Democratic 1 2 1
Independent 0 1 1
Total 9 9
House of Representatives
Party Before After Change
Republican 13 11 2
Democratic 5 6 1
Independent 0 1 1
Total 18 18

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d The Washington House of Representatives was controlled by a power-sharing agreement between Democrats and Republicans. Thus, it is not counted in this total.
  2. ^ a b The Virginia House of Delegates was split. Thus, it is not included in the prior total.
  3. ^ a b The New Hampshire Senate became evenly-split due to a special election. Thus, it is not included in the prior total.
  4. ^ The upper houses of Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas use a 2-4-4 term length system.
  5. ^ Independent Lacey Putney sided with the Republicans, deadlocking the chamber.

References

  1. ^ https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_elections,_1999
  2. ^ "Virginia State Legislature". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Southern Politics in the 1990s. LSU Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-4181-6.
  4. ^ Jimenez, Ralph (December 9, 1999), With Election Defeat, N.H. Democrats Lose Majority in Senate, Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe, p. B.19
  5. ^ "New Jersey Secretary of State". state.nj.us.