1978 United States State Legislature Elections | Game Wiki

Auto-generated recap of a concluded election. Figures are the certified result. This article can be edited; edits are preserved and not overwritten by regeneration.

At a glance

Metric	Value
State chambers contested	50
DEM chambers	43 (+7)
FLP chambers	5
GOP chambers	2 (-2)
DEM total seats	1,048
FLP total seats	706
GOP total seats	83
FPUSA total seats	82
C total seats	51

Overview

The 1978 state‑senate elections left the Democratic Party in command of 43 of the 50 contested chambers, a net gain of seven chambers over the previous cycle. The Farmer‑Labor Party held five chambers with no change, while the Republican Party slipped to two chambers, a loss of two. The map’s gain‑loss shading highlights a decisive Democratic surge that flipped three GOP‑held chambers and two that were previously under the Federalist‑Progressive USA (FPUSA) banner.

What Flipped

Seven chambers changed party control. The Democrats captured Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas, all of which had been governed by either the GOP or FPUSA. Illinois was the lone loss for the Democrats, flipping to Republican control. These flips are illustrated on the map by the bright blue (gain) and red (loss) outlines, showing a clear regional pattern: the South and the Southwest moved toward Democratic majorities, while the Midwest saw a solitary Republican breakthrough in Illinois.

The National Picture

Across all state‑senate seats nationwide, Democrats now occupy 1,048 seats, Farmer‑Labor holds 706, the GOP holds 83, and the remaining 133 seats are split between the Constitution Party (51) and FPUSA (82). The Democratic plurality translates to a national seat advantage of 342 over the Farmer‑Labor Party and a commanding 965‑seat lead over the Republicans. This aggregate balance underscores the Democrats’ dominance in state legislatures, giving them a robust platform for advancing their agenda at the sub‑national level, while the GOP’s reduced chamber count limits its influence to a handful of strongholds.

Chamber control by state

State	Controlling party	Seat split	Result
AK	DEM	DEM 10 – FLP 10	—
AL	FLP	FLP 23 – DEM 12	hold
AR	DEM	DEM 21 – FLP 14	hold
AZ	FLP	FLP 19 – DEM 8 – FPUSA 3	hold
CA	DEM	DEM 21 – FLP 13 – FPUSA 6	hold
CO	DEM	DEM 25 – FLP 10	hold
CT	DEM	DEM 16 – FLP 11 – C 9	hold
DE	DEM	DEM 11 – FLP 10	hold
FL	DEM	DEM 16 – GOP 15 – FLP 9	flip from GOP
GA	DEM	DEM 21 – GOP 17 – FLP 11 – FPUSA 7	flip from GOP
HI	DEM	DEM 19 – FLP 6	—
IA	DEM	DEM 33 – FLP 17	hold
ID	DEM	DEM 19 – FLP 12 – FPUSA 4	hold
IL	GOP	GOP 21 – DEM 20 – FLP 12 – FPUSA 6	flip from DEM
IN	DEM	DEM 34 – FLP 16	hold
KS	DEM	DEM 21 – FLP 19	flip from FPUSA
KY	DEM	DEM 24 – FLP 14	hold
LA	DEM	DEM 27 – FLP 12	flip from FPUSA
MA	DEM	DEM 20 – C 11 – FLP 9	hold
MD	DEM	DEM 25 – FLP 22	hold
ME	DEM	DEM 23 – FLP 12	hold
MI	FLP	FLP 20 – DEM 18	hold
MN	DEM	DEM 34 – FLP 22 – FPUSA 11	hold
MO	FLP	FLP 14 – DEM 13 – FPUSA 7	hold
MS	DEM	DEM 31 – FLP 21	hold
MT	GOP	GOP 20 – DEM 16 – FLP 14	hold
NC	DEM	DEM 29 – FLP 21	hold
ND	DEM	DEM 24 – FLP 23	hold
NE	DEM	DEM 27 – FLP 22	hold
NH	DEM	DEM 9 – FLP 8 – C 7	hold
NJ	DEM	DEM 17 – FLP 16 – FPUSA 7	hold
NM	DEM	DEM 22 – FLP 12 – FPUSA 8	flip from FPUSA
NV	DEM	DEM 11 – FLP 10	hold
NY	DEM	DEM 27 – FLP 14 – C 12 – FPUSA 8	hold
OH	DEM	DEM 23 – FLP 6 – FPUSA 4	hold
OK	DEM	DEM 28 – FLP 20	hold
OR	FLP	FLP 16 – DEM 14	hold
PA	DEM	DEM 30 – FLP 20	hold
RI	DEM	DEM 16 – C 12 – FLP 10	hold
SC	DEM	DEM 34 – FLP 12	hold
SD	DEM	DEM 20 – FLP 15	hold
TN	DEM	DEM 20 – FLP 13	hold
TX	DEM	DEM 13 – GOP 10 – FLP 8	flip from GOP
UT	DEM	DEM 17 – FLP 12	hold
VA	DEM	DEM 22 – FLP 18	hold
VT	DEM	DEM 16 – FLP 14	hold
WA	DEM	DEM 37 – FLP 12	hold
WI	DEM	DEM 19 – FLP 9 – FPUSA 5	hold
WV	DEM	DEM 19 – FLP 9 – FPUSA 6	hold
WY	DEM	DEM 16 – FLP 14	hold