2022 State Elections Toolkit

The year 2022 will feature major elections for statewide officials and state lawmakers, and the results will have significant impacts on the concentration of political power across the states. We're here to help you keep track and make sense of it all. You can view our 2022 state elections dashboard here.

Click the section buttons below to access MultiState’s in-depth issue pages on all the top 2022 state elections and analysis. Scroll to the bottom of the page to access MultiState's 2022 election resources including in-depth election data in our comprehensive state election database, slide deck, and a PDF quick-reference guide. 

On November 8, 2022, gubernatorial seats in 36 states are up for election. Of the 36 gubernatorial seats up for election in 2022, 16 seats are currently held by Democrats, and 20 seats are currently held by Republicans. Click here or the button above to access MultiState's in-depth coverage of the 2022 gubernatorial elections.

After the elections, Democrats flipped gubernatorial seats in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Arizona, while Republicans defeated the Democratic incumbent in Nevada. This nets Democrats 2 additional governor’s seats in 2023, with a total of 26 Republican governors to 24 Democratic governors. Out of 28 incumbents running for reelection this cycle, Nevada Gov. Sisolak (D) was the only one to lose reelection.

In 2022, legislative seats in 46 states are up for election, amounting to more than 6,000 races. Of the 46 states with legislative elections in 2022, 16 are controlled by Democrats, 28 are controlled by Republicans, and two are split governments. Click here or the button above to access MultiState's in-depth coverage of the 2022 state legislative elections. 

Democrats have flipped both chambers of the Michigan Legislature, the Minnesota Senate,  and the Pennsylvania House. Democrats will gain a total of 4 state legislative chambers in 2023.

Trifectas

A state government trifecta occurs when a political party controls both chambers of the legislature as well as the governor’s mansion. Currently, Republicans have 23 state trifectas, Democrats have 14 state trifectas, and 13 states have divided government.

Democrats gained trifectas in Massachusetts and Maryland after gubernatorial victories and scored another two trifectas by flipping the Michigan Legislature and Minnesota Senate.  Democrats lost a trifecta in Nevada with the gubernatorial loss, while Republicans lost their trifecta in Arizona by losing the governor’s mansion. 

Democrats have gained 3 trifectas net for 2023. There will be a record number of trifectas next year with a total of 39 states under single-party rule. This would be the highest number of one-party controlled states in the modern era.

This year, lieutenant gubernatorial seats in 30 states are up for election. Of the 30 lieutenant gubernatorial seats up for election in 2022, 15 seats are currently held by Democrats, and 15 seats are currently held by Republicans. Click here or the button above to access MultiState's in-depth coverage of the 2022 lieutenant governor elections.

Of the 26 lieutenant governor elections this cycle, only 3 seats switched political parties in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Nevada. Most are elected on joint tickets with the governor. Additionally, voters in Arizona approved a ballot measure to add a lieutenant governor’s office. 

Attorney general (AG) seats in 30 states are up for election this year. Currently, there are 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general.  Of the 30 attorney general seats up for election in 2022, 16 seats are currently held by Democrats, and 14 seats are currently held by Republicans. Click here or the button above to access MultiState's in-depth coverage of the 2022 AG elections.

Of the 30 AG seats up for election, two seats have flipped parties. In Iowa, challenger Brenna Bird (R) defeated long-time incumbent Tom Miller (D), who had held on to the AG seat for 10 terms — 40 years — the longest-serving official in that post in any state. And Democrat Kris Mayes appears to have captured the open Arizona AG seat by about 500 votes (out of 2.5 million).