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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Does the decline in Democratic Party power in state legislatures date back to the 1990s?

By Austin Tannenbaum
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YES

While Democrats' control of state legislatures has fluctuated over the past three decades, overall numbers have trended downward.

One state, Nebraska, has a nonpartisan, unicameral legislature. In the 49 others, Democrats held at least a two-thirds majority of the 98 chambers (two per state) in all but one term between 1978 and 1992.

In 1994, the number of Democrat-held chambers dropped from 68 to 56. It then fell to 52 in 1996. In 2000, Democrats lost their majority and did not regain it until 2006.

Obama's first two years in office coincided with a brief upsurge, with Democrats controlling 62 chambers in 2008 and 2010.

Setbacks at the polls left Democrats in control of only 37 chambers by 2012. They have not regained a majority since.

After the 2020 election, Democrats again control 37 chambers, leaving them at a disadvantage in the reapportionment process following the 2020 census.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Partisan Balance in State Legislature Party Composition
Politico: ‘A decade of power’—Statehouse wins position GOP to dominate redistricting
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.