Single-Party Control Of State Executive Offices Rises To 44 States

Forty-four states have single-party control of state executive offices as of June 2023, which is up from 30 in 2010. This means that a single party controls the offices of Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, which is also known as a state government triplex. “ If a state does not have all three triplex offices, the state is a triplex if one party controls both triplex offices in that state,” said Ballotpedia.

“Twenty-four of the 44 states have Republican state government triplexes, and 20 have Democratic state government triplexes, with 6 having divided governments said Ballotpedia. Both of these figures represent the largest number of triplexes for either party since Zenger News began tracking this data in 2010,” 

In 2011 and 2012, Republicans held 23 state government triplexes, only one below their 2023 peak. In 2019 and 2020, Democrats held 17 state government triplexes, three below their 2023 peak. Democrats gained two triplexes and Republicans gained one triplex in the 2022 elections. 

So far in 2023, the Democratic Party has gained a net of two state government triplexes, while the Republican Party has gained a net of one state government triplex. Louisiana and Kentucky, which both currently have divided state executive offices, have the potential to become triplexes this year as they are both holding elections for state executive offices in 2023. 

“Louisiana state has eight state executive offices up for election in 2023 whereas Kentucky state has seven executive houses. Both have divided control of the top executive positions,” said Ballotpedia

Produced in association with Ballotpedia

Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Deborah .C. Amirize