# 2003 United States state legislative elections

The 2003 United States state legislative elections were held on November 7, 2003, alongside other elections. Elections were held for 8 legislative chambers. Both chambers of the Northern Mariana Islands legislature was up.
Partisan change only occurred in one chamber, as Democrats won control of the New Jersey Senate, which was previously tied. However, Democrats did maintain control of the Mississippi Legislature, the Louisiana Legislature, and the New Jersey General Assembly. Republicans maintained control of the Virginia legislature, bringing a post-Civil War low for the Democratic Party.

## Summary table

Regularly-scheduled elections were held in 8 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States. Nationwide, regularly-scheduled elections were held for 578 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 | Upper House | Upper House | Upper House | Lower House | Lower House | Lower House | Lower House |
| State | 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 | 40 | 40 | 100 | 2/4 | 80 | 80 | 100 | 2 |
| Virginia | 40 | 40 | 100 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |

## Election predictions

Ratings are designated as follows:
* "Tossup": Competitive, no advantage
* "Lean": Competitive, slight advantage
* "Likely": Not competitive, but opposition could make significant gains
* "Solid": Not competitive at all
| State | Chamber | Last election | The Cook Political Report Oct. 4, 2002 | Result |
| Louisiana | Senate | D 26–13 | Likely D | D 24–15 |
| Louisiana | House of Representatives | D 74–31 | Solid D | D 66–37–2 |
| Mississippi | Senate | D 34–18 | Solid D | D 29–23 |
| Mississippi | House of Representatives | D 86–33–3 | Solid D | D 76-46 |
| New Jersey | Senate | 20–20 | Tossup | D 22–18 |
| New Jersey | General Assembly | D 44–36 | Lean D | D 47-33 |
| Virginia | Senate | R 21–19 | Lean R | R 24-16 |
| Virginia | House of Delegates | R 64–34–2 | Solid R | R 61–37–2 |

## 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 | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Democratic | 26 | 24 | 2 |
| | Republican | 13 | 15 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 39 | 39 |
Louisiana House of Representatives :
| Party | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Democratic | 74 | 66 | 8 |
| | Republican | 31 | 37 | 6 |
| | Independent | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 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 | Party | Before | After |
| | Democratic | 29 | 29 |
| | Republican | 23 | 23 |
| Total | Total | 52 | 52 |
Mississippi House of Representatives :
| Party | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Democratic | 81 | 76 | 5 |
| | Republican | 38 | 46 | 8 |
| | Independent | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | Total | 122 | 122 |

### New Jersey

All seats of the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. In 2007, senators were elected to two-year terms in single-member districts, while Assembly members were elected to two-year terms in two-member districts. Democrats retained control in of the lower house and won control of the upper house.
Senate :
| Party | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Democratic | 20 | 22 | 2 |
| | Republican | 20 | 18 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 40 | 40 |
General Assembly :
| Party | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Democratic | 44 | 47 | 3 |
| | Republican | 36 | 33 | 3 |
| Total | 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 both houses.
Senate of Virginia :
| Party | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Democratic | 19 | 16 | 3 |
| | Republican | 21 | 24 | 3 |
| Total | Total | 40 | 40 |
Virginia House of Delegates :
| Party | Party | Before | After | Change |
| | Republican | 64 | 61 | 3 |
| | Democratic | 34 | 37 | 3 |
| | Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 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.