# 2010 United States state legislative elections

The 2010 United States state legislative elections were held on November 2, 2010, halfway through President Barack Obama's first term in office. Elections were held for 88 legislative chambers, with all states but Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia holding elections in at least one house. Kansas and New Mexico held elections for their lower, but not upper houses. Four territorial chambers in three territories and the District of Columbia were up as well. The winners of this election cycle served in their respective legislatures for either two or four-year terms, depending on state election rules.
Owing to the slow recovery from the Great Recession, the unpopularity of Democratic president Barack Obama, and the highly-publicized and chaotic passage of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans scored record gains. They net a total of 680 seats and took control of 20 legislative chambers, while the Democrats lost 21 chambers.
The Republican victories gave the party unprecedented power over the redrawing of congressional and state legislative districts following the 2010 census. They also used their newfound majorities to pass conservative legislation in a number of states, weakening labor unions, restricting abortion access, cutting taxes, and reducing government regulation.

## Summary table

Regularly-scheduled elections were held in 88 of the 99 state legislative chambers in the United States; nationwide, regularly-scheduled elections were held for 6,064 of the 7,383 legislative seats. Most legislative chambers held elections for all seats, but some legislative chambers that use staggered elections held elections for only a portion of the total seats in the chamber. The chambers that were not up for election either hold regularly-scheduled elections in odd-numbered years, or have four-year terms and hold all regularly-scheduled elections in presidential election years.
Note that 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 |
| Alabama | 35 | 35 | 100 | 4 | 105 | 105 | 100 | 4 |
| Alaska | 10 | 20 | 50 | 4 | 40 | 40 | 100 | 2 |
| Arizona | 30 | 30 | 100 | 2 | 60 | 60 | 100 | 2 |
| Arkansas | 18 | 35 | 51 | 2/4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |
| California | 20 | 40 | 50 | 4 | 80 | 80 | 100 | 2 |
| Colorado | 17 | 35 | 49 | 4 | 65 | 65 | 100 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 36 | 36 | 100 | 2 | 151 | 151 | 100 | 2 |
| Delaware | 10 | 21 | 48 | 2/4 | 41 | 41 | 100 | 2 |
| Florida | 20 | 40 | 50 | 2/4 | 120 | 120 | 100 | 2 |
| Georgia | 56 | 56 | 100 | 2 | 180 | 180 | 100 | 2 |
| Hawaii | 12 | 25 | 48 | 2/4 | 51 | 51 | 100 | 2 |
| Idaho | 35 | 35 | 100 | 2 | 70 | 70 | 100 | 2 |
| Illinois | 39 | 59 | 66 | 2/4 | 118 | 118 | 100 | 2 |
| Indiana | 25 | 50 | 50 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |
| Iowa | 25 | 50 | 50 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |
| Kansas | 0 | 40 | 0 | 4 | 125 | 125 | 100 | 2 |
| Kentucky | 19 | 38 | 50 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 39 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 105 | 0 | 4 |
| Maine | 35 | 35 | 100 | 2 | 151 | 151 | 100 | 2 |
| Maryland | 47 | 47 | 100 | 4 | 141 | 141 | 100 | 4 |
| Massachusetts | 40 | 40 | 100 | 2 | 160 | 160 | 100 | 2 |
| Michigan | 38 | 38 | 100 | 4 | 110 | 110 | 100 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 67 | 67 | 100 | 2/4 | 134 | 134 | 100 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 52 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 122 | 0 | 4 |
| Missouri | 17 | 34 | 50 | 4 | 163 | 163 | 100 | 2 |
| Montana | 25 | 50 | 50 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |
| Nebraska | 24 | 49 | 49 | 4 | N/A (unicameral) | N/A (unicameral) | N/A (unicameral) | N/A (unicameral) |
| Nevada | 11 | 21 | 52 | 4 | 42 | 42 | 100 | 2 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 24 | 100 | 2 | 400 | 400 | 100 | 2 |
| New Jersey | 0 | 40 | 0 | 2/4 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 2 |
| New Mexico | 0 | 42 | 100 | 4 | 70 | 70 | 100 | 2 |
| New York | 62 | 62 | 100 | 2 | 150 | 150 | 100 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 50 | 50 | 100 | 2 | 120 | 120 | 100 | 2 |
| North Dakota | 24 | 47 | 51 | 4 | 47 | 94 | 50 | 4 |
| Ohio | 16 | 33 | 52 | 4 | 99 | 99 | 100 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 24 | 48 | 50 | 4 | 101 | 101 | 100 | 2 |
| Oregon | 15 | 30 | 50 | 4 | 60 | 60 | 100 | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | 25 | 50 | 50 | 4 | 203 | 203 | 100 | 2 |
| Rhode Island | 38 | 38 | 100 | 2 | 75 | 75 | 100 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 46 | 0 | 4 | 124 | 124 | 100 | 2 |
| South Dakota | 35 | 35 | 100 | 2 | 70 | 70 | 100 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 17 | 33 | 52 | 4 | 99 | 99 | 100 | 2 |
| Texas | 15 | 31 | 48 | 2/4 | 150 | 150 | 100 | 2 |
| Utah | 14 | 29 | 48 | 4 | 75 | 75 | 100 | 2 |
| Vermont | 30 | 30 | 100 | 2 | 150 | 150 | 100 | 2 |
| Virginia | 0 | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 2 |
| Washington | 25 | 49 | 49 | 4 | 98 | 98 | 100 | 2 |
| West Virginia | 17 | 34 | 50 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 17 | 33 | 52 | 4 | 99 | 99 | 100 | 2 |
| Wyoming | 15 | 30 | 50 | 4 | 60 | 60 | 100 | 2 |
| Total | 1105 | 1971 | 56 | N/A | 4958 | 5411 | 92 | N/A |

## Electoral predictions

Analysts predicted a very strong showing for the Republicans, anticipating a nationwide wave election in their favor. This was attributed to the nation's slow recovery from the Great Recession, the chaotic passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, immigration, and the large number of legislative chambers and governorships that Democrats controlled after the 2006 and 2008 elections. As the campaign progressed, Democratic prospects only became worse, leading to the largest gap in legislative chambers held by each party considered vulnerable in over a decade. By election day, Republicans were expected to be able to flip between eleven and twenty seven legislative chambers from Democrats, with only one Republican-held chamber considered vulnerable.
Ratings are designated as follows:
* "Tossup": Competitive, no advantage
* "Lean": Competitive, slight advantage
* "Likely": Not competitive, but opposition could make significant gains
* "Safe": Not competitive at all
| State | Chamber | Last election | Ballotpedia Oct. 2010 | Governing Nov. 1, 2010 | Result |
| Alabama | Senate | D 23–12 | Tossup | Lean R (flip) | R 22–12–1 |
| Alabama | House of Representatives | D 62–43 | Tossup | Lean R (flip) | R 62–43 |
| Alaska | Senate | Coal. 16–4 | Lean R (flip) | Tossup | Coal. 15–5 |
| Alaska | House of Representatives | R 22–18 | Likely R | Lean R | R 24–16 |
| Arizona | Senate | R 18–12 | Safe R | Safe R | R 21–9 |
| Arizona | House of Representatives | R 36–24 | Safe R | Safe R | R 40–20 |
| Arkansas | Senate | D 27–8 | Safe D | Safe D | D 20–15 |
| Arkansas | House of Representatives | D 71–28–1 | Safe D | Safe D | D 55–45 |
| California | State Senate | D 25–15 | Safe D | Safe D | D 25–15 |
| California | State Assembly | D 50–29–1 | Safe D | Safe D | D 52–28 |
| Colorado | Senate | D 21–14 | Lean D | Lean D | D 20–15 |
| Colorado | House of Representatives | D 38–27 | Tossup | Tossup | R 33–32 |
| Connecticut | State Senate | D 24–12 | Safe D | Safe D | D 23–13 |
| Connecticut | House of Representatives | D 114–37 | Safe D | Safe D | D 100–51 |
| Delaware | Senate | D 16–5 | Safe D | Safe D | D 14–7 |
| Delaware | House of Representatives | D 24–17 | Lean D | Lean D | D 26–15 |
| Florida | Senate | R 26–14 | Safe R | Safe R | R 28–12 |
| Florida | House of Representatives | R 76–44 | Safe R | Safe R | R 81–39 |
| Georgia | State Senate | R 34–22 | Safe R | Safe R | R 35–21 |
| Georgia | House of Representatives | R 105–74–1 | Safe R | Safe R | R 108–71–1 |
| Hawaii | Senate | D 23–2 | Safe D | Safe D | D 24–1 |
| Hawaii | House of Representatives | D 45–6 | Safe D | Safe D | D 43–8 |
| Idaho | Senate | R 28–7 | Safe R | Safe R | R 28–7 |
| Idaho | House of Representatives | R 52–18 | Safe R | Safe R | R 57–13 |
| Illinois | Senate | D 37–22 | Likely D | Likely D | D 34–25 |
| Illinois | House of Representatives | D 70–48 | Likely D | Lean D | D 64–54 |
| Indiana | Senate | R 33–17 | Safe R | Safe R | R 36–14 |
| Indiana | House of Representatives | D 52–48 | Lean R (flip) | Lean R (flip) | R 60–40 |
| Iowa | Senate | D 32–18 | Lean R (flip) | Lean D | D 26–24 |
| Iowa | House of Representatives | D 57–43 | Tossup | Tossup | R 60–40 |
| Kansas | House of Representatives | R 77–48 | Safe R | Safe R | R 92–33 |
| Kentucky | Senate | R 21–16–1 | Likely R | Likely R | R 22–15–1 |
| Kentucky | House of Representatives | D 65–35 | Likely D | Likely D | D 58–42 |
| Maine | Senate | D 20–15 | Tossup | Tossup | R 20–14–1 |
| Maine | House of Representatives | D 95–55–1 | Likely D | Likely D | R 77–73–1 |
| Maryland | Senate | D 33–14 | Safe D | Safe D | D 35–12 |
| Maryland | House of Delegates | D 104–37 | Safe D | Safe D | D 98–43 |
| Massachusetts | Senate | D 35–5 | Safe D | Safe D | D 36–4 |
| Massachusetts | House of Representatives | D 144–15–1 | Safe D | Safe D | D 130–30 |
| Michigan | Senate | R 21–17 | Likely R | Likely R | R 26–12 |
| Michigan | House of Representatives | D 67–43 | Lean D | Tossup | R 63–47 |
| Minnesota | Senate | D 44–23 | Likely D | Likely D | R 37–30 |
| Minnesota | House of Representatives | D 87–47 | Lean D | Lean D | R 72–62 |
| Missouri | Senate | R 23–11 | Safe R | Safe R | R 26–8 |
| Missouri | House of Representatives | R 89–74 | Safe R | Safe R | R 106–57 |
| Montana | Senate | R 27–23 | Likely R | Likely R | R 28–22 |
| Montana | House of Representatives | D 50–50 | Lean R (flip) | Lean R (flip) | R 68–32 |
| Nevada | Senate | D 12–9 | Likely D | Lean D | D 11–10 |
| Nevada | Assembly | D 28–14 | Likely D | Likely D | D 26–16 |
| New Hampshire | Senate | D 14–10 | Tossup | Lean R (flip) | R 19–5 |
| New Hampshire | House of Representatives | D 225–175 | Tossup | Lean R (flip) | R 298–102 |
| New Mexico | House of Representatives | D 45–25 | Likely D | Likely D | D 36–34 |
| New York | State Senate | D 32–30 | Tossup | Tossup | R 32–30 |
| New York | State Assembly | D 107–41–1–1 | Safe D | Safe D | D 99–50–1 |
| North Carolina | Senate | D 30–20 | Tossup | Tossup | R 31–19 |
| North Carolina | House of Representatives | D 68–52 | Tossup | Tossup | R 67–52–1 |
| North Dakota | Senate | R 26–21 | Safe R | Safe R | R 35–12 |
| North Dakota | House of Representatives | R 58–36 | Safe R | Safe R | R 69–25 |
| Ohio | Senate | R 21–12 | Safe R | Safe R | R 23–10 |
| Ohio | House of Representatives | D 53–46 | Lean R (flip) | Lean R (flip) | R 59–40 |
| Oklahoma | Senate | R 26–22 | Safe R | Safe R | R 32–16 |
| Oklahoma | House of Representatives | R 61–40 | Safe R | Safe R | R 70–31 |
| Oregon | State Senate | D 18–12 | Lean D | Lean D | D 16–14 |
| Oregon | House of Representatives | D 36–24 | Likely D | Likely D | 30–30 |
| Pennsylvania | State Senate | R 30–20 | Safe R | Safe R | R 30–20 |
| Pennsylvania | House of Representatives | D 104–99 | Lean R (flip) | Lean R (flip) | R 112–91 |
| Rhode Island | Senate | D 33–4–1 | Safe D | Safe D | D 29–8–1 |
| Rhode Island | House of Representatives | D 69–6 | Safe D | Safe D | D 65–10 |
| South Carolina | House of Representatives | R 73–51 | Safe R | Safe R | R 76–48 |
| South Dakota | Senate | R 21–14 | Safe R | Safe R | R 29–6 |
| South Dakota | House of Representatives | R 46–24 | Safe R | Safe R | R 50–19–1 |
| Tennessee | Senate | R 19–14 | Likely R | Likely R | R 20–13 |
| Tennessee | House of Representatives | R 50–49 | Likely R | Likely R | R 64–34–1 |
| Texas | Senate | R 19–12 | Safe R | Safe R | R 19–12 |
| Texas | House of Representatives | R 76–74 | Likely R | Likely R | R 99–51 |
| Utah | State Senate | R 21–8 | Safe R | Safe R | R 22–7 |
| Utah | House of Representatives | R 53–22 | Safe R | Safe R | R 58–17 |
| Vermont | Senate | D 23–7 | Safe D | Safe D | D 21–8–1 |
| Vermont | House of Representatives | D 94–48–5–3 | Safe D | Safe D | D 94–48–5–3 |
| Washington | State Senate | D 31–18 | Lean D | Lean D | D 27–22 |
| Washington | House of Representatives | D 62–36 | Lean D | Lean D | D 56–42 |
| West Virginia | Senate | D 26–8 | Safe D | Safe D | D 28–6 |
| West Virginia | House of Delegates | D 71–29 | Safe D | Safe D | D 65–35 |
| Wisconsin | Senate | D 18–15 | Tossup | Lean R (flip) | R 19–14 |
| Wisconsin | State Assembly | D 52–46–1 | Lean R (flip) | Lean R (flip) | R 60–38–1 |
| Wyoming | Senate | R 23–7 | Safe R | Safe R | R 26–4 |
| Wyoming | House of Representatives | R 41–19 | Safe R | Safe R | R 50–10 |

## National results

Lower house results by party :
| Party | Party | Seats before | Chambers before | Seats after | +/- | Chambers after | +/- |
| | Republican | 2361 | 16 | 2907 | 546 | 29 | 13 |
| | Democratic | 3029 | 33 | 2485 | 544 | 19 | 14 |
| | Independent | 14 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | |
| | Progressive | 5 | 0 | 5 | | 0 | |
| | Independence | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 0 | |
| | Working Families | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | 5411 | 49 | 5411 | — | 49 | — |
Upper house results by party :
| Party | Party | Seats before | Chambers before | Seats after | +/- | Chambers after | +/- |
| | Republican | 925 | 21 | 1056 | 131 | 28 | 7 |
| | Democratic | 1043 | 28 | 910 | 133 | 21 | 7 |
| | Independent | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| | Progressive | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | 1971 | 50 | 1971 | — | 50 | — |
Republicans made substantial gains in state legislatures across the nation. Twenty chambers flipped from Democratic to Republican control, giving Republicans full control of eleven state legislatures and control of one chamber in Colorado, Iowa, and New York. Additionally, Republicans gained enough seats in the Oregon House of Representatives to produce a 30-30 party split, pushing Democrats into a power-sharing agreement that resulted in the election of two "co-speakers" (one from each party) to lead the chamber. Republicans gained a net of 680 seats in state legislative races, breaking the previous record of 628 flipped seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974.
Six states saw both chambers switch from Democrat to Republican majorities: Alabama (where the Republicans won a majority and a trifecta for the first time since 1874), Maine (for the first time since 1964), Minnesota (for the first time since 1915 in partisan elections and 1973 in non-partisan elections), New Hampshire, North Carolina (for the first time since 1896), and Wisconsin. In addition, by picking up the lower chambers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Pennsylvania, Republicans gained control of both chambers in an additional five states. Further, Republicans picked up one chamber from Democrats in Colorado, Iowa, and New York to split control in those states. They expanded majorities in both chambers in Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

### Post-election party switching

Between the November general election and January 2011, 25 Democratic state legislators switched parties and became Republicans. These legislators were primarily conservative, White Democrats from the South who felt that the views of the Republican party more closely aligned with their own. This party switching gave Republicans control of the Louisiana House of Representatives, which did not hold regularly-scheduled elections in 2010, for the first time since Reconstruction prior to the start of the 2011 session.
| State | Chamber | District | Legislator | Old party | New party |
| Alabama | House | 17 | Mike Millican | Democratic | Republican |
| Alabama | House | 35 | Steve Hurst | Democratic | Republican |
| Alabama | House | 80 | Lesley Vance | Democratic | Republican |
| Alabama | House | 89 | Alan Boothe | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | Senate | 8 | Tim Golden | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 29 | Alan Powell | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 115 | Doug McKillip | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 134 | Mike Cheokas | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 144 | Bubber Epps | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 148 | Bob Hanner | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 149 | Gerald Greene | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 174 | Ellis Black | Democratic | Republican |
| Georgia | House | 175 | Amy Carter | Democratic | Republican |
| Kansas | Senate | 6 | Chris Steineger | Democratic | Republican |
| Louisiana | Senate | 8 | John Alario | Democratic | Republican |
| Louisiana | Senate | 30 | John Smith | Democratic | Republican |
| Louisiana | House | 20 | Noble Ellington | Democratic | Republican |
| Louisiana | House | 46 | Fred Mills | Democratic | Republican |
| Louisiana | House | 95 | Walker Hines | Democratic | Republican |
| Maine | House | 5 | Michael Willette | Democratic | Republican |
| Mississippi | Senate | 39 | Cindy Hyde-Smith | Democratic | Republican |
| Mississippi | House | 89 | Bobby Shows | Democratic | Republican |
| South Dakota | Senate | 17 | Eldon Nygarrd | Democratic | Republican |
| Texas | House | 21 | Allan Ritter | Democratic | Republican |
| Texas | House | 40 | Aaron Peña | Democratic | Republican |

## Impact

The massive Republican gains made in 2010 immensely strengthened their position on the national stage. This had both short-term effects, such as their ability to counter the policies of president Barack Obama, as well as long term consequences due to the impending redistricting cycle. In the short term, these elections heralded in a conservative shift in state legislatures across the country, especially in the states where Republicans gained complete control. This led to a tightening of policies surrounding abortion, a loosening of tax policy, and the curtailing of the power of labor unions. Many of these states refused to accept the Medicaid expansion offered by the Affordable Care Act meant to close the Medicaid coverage gap.

### Labor unions

Three states where Republicans gained complete control of state government in 2010, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, would establish right-to-work laws during the following decade. States passed a number of other wide-ranging bills to weaken public-sector unions, most notoriously in Wisconsin with the passage of Act 10, which led to massive protests and recall elections in 2011. Efforts to pass a similar bill in Ohio failed after a veto referendum overwhelmingly rejected it in 2011.

### Redistricting

Republicans' massive state legislative gains timed perfectly with the release of the results of the 2010 census, giving the party unprecedented control over congressional and legislative district maps until after the 2020 elections. Republicans, knowing this ahead of time, deliberately targeted vulnerable Democratic incumbents and Democratic-held legislative chambers in order to maximize their power in the upcoming redistricting cycle. As a result, Republicans fully controlled the redistricting of 210 congressional districts across 18 states, minimizing Democratic control to a mere 44 congressional districts across 6 states. The impact of this was most immediately felt during the 2012 elections, where Barack Obama won the presidential election and Democratic U.S. House candidates won a plurality of the nationwide popular vote, but Republicans maintained control of the chamber.

## Legacy

The 2010 midterms ushered in an era of Republican dominance of statewide politics fueled by a Democratic collapse in white, rural, and southern regions of the country.

### Southern, rural Democratic fall

Democrats had been slowly losing ground in the rural South for the past several decades leading up to the 2010 elections. Democrats lost nearly every southern legislative chamber up for election in 2010, with White, rural incumbents primarily falling victim. Republicans successfully tied the conservative Democrats in these seats to the more liberal national party, eroding their local support and tying them to policies unpopular in their districts. A number of incumbents who survived would later switch to the Republican party, with many doing so before or immediately after the election. This left most Southern Democratic caucuses primarily made up of African American and Hispanic legislators, often based in urban areas, with a nearly extinct White, rural caucus, and a weakened but slowly growing suburban caucus. By 2014, Republicans controlled every governorship, U.S. Senate seat, and legislative chamber in the former Confederacy.
The 2010 elections sparked a sharp decline in Democratic support in rural areas across the country, even outside the South. Throughout the decade, this led to a strengthening correlation between population density and political party support. At the same time, increased political polarization made it more challenging for conservative Democrats to win in areas which voted for Republicans in presidential elections, culminating in Republicans flipping the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2016, the final Democratic-controlled legislative chamber in a deeply Republican state.

### Midwest

Bolstered by heavily gerrymandered legislative maps, the 2010s saw a sharply-conservative turn in Midwestern state policy. By the end of the decade, five Midwestern states had adopted right-to-work laws, with a sixth, Missouri, rejecting one in a 2018 veto referendum. These policies remained in place even as Democrats made gains in statewide elections in these states, winning the governorships in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in 2018. Democrats won the aggregate popular vote in the lower house elections in all three of these states, but they did not win control of any of them due to gerrymandering. Democrats would only begin to be able to reverse these policies after the implementation of new legislative maps in the 2020s. In other states, such as Ohio, Democrats have been unable to regain power in any meaningful form since their 2010 losses.

### Donald Trump

The Tea Party movement's success in the 2010 election predicated the rise of Donald Trump as the dominant force in the Republican Party. Tea Party candidates ran on anti-establishment credentials, favoring low taxes, minimal government intervention, and fierce social conservatism. These became defining features of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, the rise of the Make American Great Again movement, and Trumpism. Many of the regions outside the South where Republicans made the largest gains in 2010 swung sharply towards Donald Trump in the 2016 election despite having voted for Barack Obama again in the 2012 election.

## Maps

* Partisan control of state governments following the 2010 elections Democrats gained control Democrats retained control Split government formed Split government maintained Republicans gained control Republicans retained control
* Upper house seats by party holding majority in each state Republican 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Democratic 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100% Tie 50%
* Lower house seats by party holding majority in each state Republican 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Democratic 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Tie 50%
* Net changes to upper house seats after the 2010 elections +1 Rep seat +2 Rep seats +3–5 Rep seats +6–16 Rep seats +1 Dem seat +2 Dem seats +1 Prog seat
* Net changes to lower house seats after the 2010 elections +2 Rep seats +3–5 Rep seats +6–122 Rep seats +2 Dem seats

## State summaries
### Alabama

All of the seats of the Alabama Legislature were up for election. Republicans flipped control of both state legislative chambers, winning them for the first time since 1874. After the election, an additional four Democratic state representatives switched parties, giving Republicans a supermajority in the chamber.

### Alaska

All of the seats of the Alaska House of Representatives and half of the Alaska Senate were up for election. The Democratic-led coalition maintained control of the Senate while Republicans maintained control of the House.

### Arizona

All of the seats of the Arizona Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Arkansas

All of the seats of the Arkansas House of Representatives and half of the Arkansas Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers but with substantially reduced majorities.

### California

All of the seats of the California House of Representatives and half of the California Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Colorado

All of the seats of the Colorado House of Representatives and half of the Colorado Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of the House while Democrats maintained control of the Senate.

### Connecticut

All of the seats of the Connecticut Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Delaware

All of the seats of the Delaware House of Representatives and half of the Delaware Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Florida

All of the seats of the Florida House of Representatives and half of the Florida Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Georgia

All of the seats of the Georgia Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers, slightly expanding their majorities in each. Immediately following the election, one Democratic senator and eight Democratic representatives switched parties and became Republicans, further bolstering their majorities.

### Hawaii

All of the seats of the Hawaii House of Representatives and half of the Hawaii Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Idaho

All of the seats of the Idaho Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Illinois

All of the seats of the Illinois House of Representatives and 1/3rd of the Illinois Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Indiana

All of the seats of the Indiana House of Representatives and half of the Indiana Senate were up for election. Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate and flipped control of the House of Representatives, winning their largest legislative gains in over 25 years.

### Iowa

All of the seats of the Iowa House of Representatives and half of the Iowa Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of the House of Representatives and Democrats maintained control of the Senate.

### Kansas

All of the seats of the Kansas House of Representatives. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Kentucky

All of the seats of the Kentucky House of Representatives and half of the Kentucky Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate and Democrats maintained control of the House of Representatives.

### Maine

All of the seats of the Maine Legislature were up for election. Republicans won control of both legislative chambers.

### Maryland

All of the seats of the Maryland Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Massachusetts

All of the seats of the Massachusetts Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Michigan

All of the seats of the Michigan Legislature were up for election. Republicans made large gains in both chambers, flipping control of the House and expanding their majority in the Senate.

### Minnesota

All of the seats of the Minnesota Legislature were up. Republicans won control of both chambers.

### Missouri

All of the seats of the Missouri House of Representatives and half of the Missouri Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Montana

All of the seats of the Montana House of Representatives and half of the Montana Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of the House and maintained control of the Senate.

### Nebraska

Nebraska is the only U.S. state with a unicameral legislature; half of the seats of the Nebraska Legislature were up for election. Nebraska is also unique in that its legislature is officially non-partisan and holds non-partisan elections, although the Democratic and Republican parties each endorse legislative candidates. Republicans maintained control.

### Nevada

All of the seats of the Nevada House of Representatives and half of the Nevada Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### New Hampshire

All of the seats of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the New Hampshire Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of both legislative chambers.

### New Mexico

All of the seats of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Democrats maintained control of the chamber.

### New York

All of the seats of the New York Legislature were up for election. Republicans won control of the Senate, and Democrats maintained control of the Assembly.

### North Carolina

All of the seats of the North Carolina House of Representatives and half of the North Carolina Senate were up for election. Republicans made massive gains, flipping control of both state legislative chambers, winning them both simultaneously for the first time in over a century.

### North Dakota

All of the seats of the North Dakota House of Representatives and half of the North Dakota Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Ohio

All of the seats of the Ohio House of Representatives and half of the Ohio Senate were up for election. Republicans won control of the House of Representatives and maintained control of the Senate.

### Oklahoma

All of the seats of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and half of the Oklahoma Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Oregon

All of the seats of the Oregon House of Representatives and half of the Oregon Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of the Senate, and the House of Representatives became tied.

### Pennsylvania

All of the seats of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and half of the Pennsylvania Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of the Senate and won control of the House of Representatives.

### Rhode Island

All of the seats of the Rhode Island Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### South Carolina

All of the seats of the South Carolina House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### South Dakota

All of the seats of the South Dakota Legislature were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Tennessee

All of the seats of the Tennessee House of Representatives and half of the Tennessee Senate were up for election. After having narrowly won control of both chambers in the 2008 election, Republicans greatly expanded their majority in the House and picked up one seat in the Senate.

### Texas

All of the seats of the Texas House of Representatives and half of the Texas Senate were up for election. After having nearly lost control of the Texas House in 2008, Republicans routed the Democrats, flipping 22 seats. Republicans erased all of the gains Democrats had made in 2006 and 2008, and they defeated almost every Democrat representing a rural, Republican-leaning district.

### Utah

All of the seats of the Utah House of Representatives and half of the Utah Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Vermont

All of the seats of the Vermont Legislature were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Washington

All of the seats of the Washington House of Representatives and half of the Washington Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both legislative chambers.

### West Virginia

All of the seats of the West Virginia House of Delegates and half of the West Virginia Senate were up for election. Democrats maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

### Wisconsin

All of the seats of the Wisconsin Assembly and half of the Wisconsin Senate were up for election. Republicans flipped control of both state legislative chambers, as well as the governorship, winning complete control of state government for the first time since 1998.

### Wyoming

All of the seats of the Wyoming House of Representatives and half of the Wyoming Senate were up for election. Republicans maintained control of both state legislative chambers.

## Territorial and federal district summaries
### American Samoa

All of the seats of the American Samoa Senate and the American Samoa House of Representatives were up for election. Members of the Senate serve four-year terms, while members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Gubernatorial and legislative elections are conducted on a nonpartisan basis in American Samoa.

### Washington, D.C.
## Special elections

There were 30 state legislative special elections held in 2010 across 10 states. No seats changed party control through these elections.