Election results, 2021: State government trifectas
In the November 2, 2021, elections, two states held elections for one or more trifecta offices. A state government trifecta occurs when one party holds the governorship and a majority in both chambers of a state's legislature.
- Glenn Youngkin (R) won election as governor of Virginia, breaking the state's Democratic trifecta. Democrats also lost control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Click here to read more about these results.
- Incumbent Phil Murphy (D) won the election for governor of New Jersey, preserving Democrats' trifecta in the state. Click here to read more about these results.
Heading into the 2021 elections, there were 38 state government trifectas. Republicans had 23 trifectas and Democrats had 15. The other 12 states had divided government, meaning neither party had a trifecta.
After the 2021 elections, there were 37 state government trifectas. Republicans had 23 and Democrats had 14. The other 13 states had divided government, meaning neither party had a trifecta.
| Change in state government trifectas, 2021 elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trifecta status | Before | After | Net | |
Democratic trifectas  |
15 | 14 | -1 | |
Republican trifectas  |
23 | 23 | - | |
| Divided government | 12 | 13 | +1 | |
The map below shows trifecta statuses following the 2021 election.
The map below shows trifecta control in states going into the 2021 election.
Trifecta changes
New Jersey and Virginia were the only states holding elections in 2021 where state government trifecta status could be affected as a result of the elections. Both states held gubernatorial and state legislative elections. At the time of the 2021 elections, Democrats had trifectas in both states holding elections that year.
New Jersey
In New Jersey, the office of governor and all seats in the New Jersey State Legislature are up for election. The boxes below will be updated as election results are available.
General election
General election for Governor of New Jersey
Incumbent Phil Murphy defeated Jack Ciattarelli, Madelyn Hoffman, Gregg Mele, and Joanne Kuniansky in the general election for Governor of New Jersey on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Phil Murphy (D) | 51.2 | 1,339,471 |
 | Jack Ciattarelli (R) | 48.0 | 1,255,185 | |
 | Madelyn Hoffman (G)  | 0.3 | 8,450 | |
 | Gregg Mele (L) | 0.3 | 7,768 | |
 | Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) | 0.2 | 4,012 | |
| Total votes: 2,614,886 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert Edward Forchion Jr. (Legalize Marihuana Party)
- Justin Maldonado (Independent)
- David Winkler (Independent)
| New Jersey State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2, 2021 | After November 3, 2021 | |
| Democratic Party | 25 | 24 | |
| Republican Party | 14 | 16 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
| New Jersey General Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2, 2021 | After November 3, 2021 | |
| Democratic Party | 52 | 46 | |
| Republican Party | 28 | 34 | |
| Total | 80 | 80 | |
Virginia
In Virginia, the office of governor and all seats in the Virginia House of Delegates are up for election. The boxes below will be updated as election results are available.
General election
General election for Governor of Virginia
Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe, Princess Blanding, and Paul Davis in the general election for Governor of Virginia on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Glenn Youngkin (R) | 50.6 | 1,663,596 |
 | Terry McAuliffe (D) | 48.6 | 1,600,116 | |
 | Princess Blanding (Liberation Party) | 0.7 | 23,125 | |
 | Paul Davis (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,593 | ||
| Total votes: 3,289,430 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brad Froman (Independent)
| Virginia House of Delegates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2, 2021 | After November 3, 2021 | |
| Democratic Party | 55 | 48 | |
| Republican Party | 45 | 52 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
Control of legislative chambers
The chart below will be updated once state legislative chamber control as a result of the 2021 elections is known.
| State legislative chamber control before and after 2021 elections | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-election majority | Post-election majority | Change? | ||||||
| State | State Senate | State House | State Senate | State House | Y/N | |||
| Alabama | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Alaska | Republican | Split | Republican | Split | N/A[1] | |||
| Arizona | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Arkansas | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| California | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Colorado | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Connecticut | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Delaware | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Florida | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Georgia | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Hawaii | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Idaho | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Illinois | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Indiana | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Iowa | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Kansas | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Kentucky | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Louisiana | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Maine | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Maryland | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Massachusetts | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Michigan | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Minnesota | Republican | Democratic | Republican | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Mississippi | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Missouri | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Montana | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Nebraska | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||||
| Nevada | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| New Hampshire | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| New Jersey | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | No | |||
| New Mexico | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| New York | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| North Carolina | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| North Dakota | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Ohio | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Oklahoma | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Oregon | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Pennsylvania | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Rhode Island | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| South Carolina | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| South Dakota | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Tennessee | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Texas | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Utah | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Vermont | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| Virginia | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Republican | Yes | |||
| Washington | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | N/A[1] | |||
| West Virginia | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Wisconsin | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
| Wyoming | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | N/A[1] | |||
Election analysis
Hundreds of elections took place in 2021 across the United States, including primary and general elections at the state and local levels and special elections at the federal, state, and local levels. You will find Ballotpedia's research and curation on 2021 elections in the United States below.
- Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection report
- Incumbent win rates by state
- Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections
- Third-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
- Number of state legislators by party
- Partisan balance of governors
- Results of elected officials seeking other offices
- State government trifectas
- State government triplexes
- State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
- State legislative seats that changed party control
- State legislative veto-proof majorities
- Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 This state did not hold state legislative elections in 2021.
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