Have Democrats lost congressional and statehouse seats since 2008?
Thursday, December 3, 2020
By Austin Tannenbaum
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YES
The 2020 election results leave Democrats with fewer congressional and state-level elected officials than they had after the 2008 election.
With two Senate seats not to be decided until Jan. 5, Democrats control at least 48 seats, down from 57 in 2008. Their House majority of 233 seats in 2008 compares with at least 222 seats in 2020, with two seats still to be decided.
Democrats held 29 governorships in 2008, compared with 23 following the 2020 election. In 2008 Democrats controlled 62 state legislative bodies out of 98 partisan chambers (Nebraska's are non-partisan). After the 2020 election, Democrats controlled 37 chambers and 45% of the country's 7,383 legislative seats — down from 39 chambers and 47% of the seats pre-election.
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