Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection report
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2023 statistics |
Survey respondents About the survey |
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Since 2018, Ballotpedia has invited candidates to take part in our Candidate Connection initiative. We survey candidates at the federal, state, and local levels to help voters choose representatives who reflect their values and uphold their ideals.
A total of 845 candidates responded to the survey in 2023.[1] This report compares 2023 respondents to 2018-2022 respondents and examines where those respondents lived, what offices they ran for, and how they did in their races. It also highlights several notable candidates who completed the survey, features the respondents who won their elections, and lists all of the 845 candidates who sent in answers.
The greatest number of respondents came from Colorado, with 116 candidates answering Ballotpedia's survey. Incumbents accounted for 7.1% of respondents, with challengers making up the remaining 92.9%. Candidates running for city offices were the largest group at 36.2% of respondents.
Survey statistics
By year
Respondents compared to total candidates
In 2023, Ballotpedia had 845 survey respondents out of 30,519 total candidates. Of those, 111 respondents and 24,737 candidates were part of Ballotpedia's expansion to collect surveys from local candidates beyond Ballotpedia's core coverage scope. Excluding the expansion project, 734 candidates took the survey out of 5,782, equaling a 12.7% completion rate.[2]
Even-year elections compared to odd-year elections
In the past two even-year cycles, a majority of respondents ran for state offices: 58.9% in 2020 and 57.2% in 2022. By contrast, the 2023 election saw a majority of respondents (74.9%) running for local offices.
By state
Candidates from 38 states responded to Ballotpedia's candidate survey in 2023. Colorado had the most respondents with 116, followed by Virginia at 100 respondents and Texas at 67.
A table of respondents by state may be viewed by clicking [show] at the right. | |
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By office
Candidates for city offices made up the greatest percentage of respondents at 36.2%, followed by school board candidates at 31.0%.
A table of respondents by office may be viewed by clicking [show] at the right. | |
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Respondents within offices
A table of respondents within offices may be viewed by clicking [show] at the right. | |
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By election outcome
Out of the 845 candidates who completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey, 200 won and 505 lost their elections. A total of 28 respondents withdrew or were disqualified from their races. One candidate's election remained undecided. The election outcomes of an additional 111 candidates were not tracked.
Survey respondents
Notable respondents
The following five candidates completed the Candidate Connection survey in 2023. We have highlighted their stories, as well as their responses to one of the survey questions, as a small sampling of the 845 respondents. They are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Gabe Amo
Gabe Amo (D) completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey during his run to represent Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He defeated Republican candidate Gerry Leonard in the general election, earning 64.9% of the vote.
When asked what areas of public policy he was personally passionate about, Amo answered:
| “ |
Preventing gun violence is personal to me. I have had the experience of calling mayors across the country on behalf of the President following a mass shooting in their community. We have to end the scourge of gun violence in our nation, and I firmly believe that my experience working for two presidents and a governor makes me the best person in this race to go to Congress and advocate on behalf of Rhode Islanders, on this issue and so many others.[3] |
” |
| —Gabe Amo[4] | ||
John Fleming
John Fleming (R) completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey during his run for Louisiana State Treasurer. He defeated Democratic candidate Dustin Granger in the general election, earning 65.5% of the vote.
When asked what areas of public policy he was personally passionate about, Fleming answered:
| “ |
I am very passionate about how much Louisiana has dropped in standing among other states in the nation, especially when it comes to the economy. I want to be part of a leadership team including the governor and legislature that brings Louisiana's economy into the 21st century to be competitive with the rest of the ascending Southern states.[3] |
” |
| —John Fleming[5] | ||
Angela Lawson
Angela Lawson completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey during her run for Ward V of the Aurora City Council. She defeated Chris Rhodes in the nonpartisan general election, earning 60.4% of the vote.
When asked what areas of public policy she was personally passionate about, Lawson answered:
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Public Safety- It is essential that public safety keeps pace with growth and assures the safety of our residents. This means bringing down the crime rate by engaging with residents, local businesses, and community leaders in crime prevention efforts. ensuring that we have a public safety infrastructure plan to address the needs of residents and businesses. Affordable housing- Although Aurora is more affordable than many of our neighboring cities and has been a model for the number of affordable housing units we have built, we still have to address the issues of many of our residents being overburdened with rising rents and housing prices and to have housing options that meet the needs of all household incomes. The development of a balanced transportation system to accommodate the current and future growth of our city through various transportation options, connectivity planning, and investments in street infrastructure and maintenance of our current roads.[3] |
” |
| —Angela Lawson[6] | ||
Saddam Salim
Saddam Salim (D) completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey during his run for District 37 of the Virginia State Senate. He defeated Republican candidate Ken Reid in the general election, earning 68.7% of the vote.
When asked what areas of public policy he was personally passionate about, Salim answered:
| “ |
Affordable housing is very important to me because I've been homeless before and I've struggled to get affordable housing in this region, so I know how much it matters to quality of life, to education, to socioeconomic opportunity, etc. I'm also passionate about reproductive rights because I've seen first hand how much it matters - my mother's life was saved by reproductive healthcare and I know it is vital that people be able to make decisions with their doctors without government interference. I'm also passionate about Virginia's future - as a person of color, an immigrant and a young person, I know we have a lot of challenges ahead of us and we must begin now to pave the way for a brighter future for all Virginians.[3] |
” |
| —Saddam Salim[7] | ||
Paul Young
Paul Young completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey during his run for Mayor of Memphis. He defeated 16 other candidates in the nonpartisan general election, earning 27.6% of the vote.
When asked what areas of public policy he was personally passionate about, Young answered:
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Access to quality affordable housing is something I'm deeply passionate about, and have spent much of my career focused on. Housing is an issue that touches many others - I believe that when residents have a safe space to raise their family, it has a positive impact on public safety, education, the local economy, and so much more.[3] |
” |
| —Paul Young[8] | ||
List of winners
List of all respondents
About the survey
- See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ballotpedia surveyed candidates at the federal, state, and local levels in 2023 to find out what motivated them on political and personal levels. These surveys did not contain simple issue questions. They were designed to elicit insightful and thoughtful responses from candidates on what they cared about, what they stood for, and what they hoped to achieve. With these surveys, we aimed to both enlighten voters on the core components of candidates' political philosophy and provide candidates with the chance to show who they really were as people.
See also
- Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection report
- Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection report
- Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection report
- Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection report
- Ballotpedia's 2018 Candidate Connection report
- Candidate survey
- Newsletters
- Contact us
Footnotes
- ↑ Out of the 845 candidates who submitted a survey, 111 were part of a pilot program to collect surveys from local candidates outside of Ballotpedia's core coverage scope. As indicated below, these candidates have been excluded from some of the analysis that follows.
- ↑ Excluding candidates from Ballotpedia's 2023 ultra-local expansion project made the survey completion rate more comparable year over year.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Gabe Amo’s responses," August 7, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "John Fleming's responses," July 17, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Angela Lawson's responses," October 10, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Saddam Salim's responses," May 6, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Paul Young's responses," August 21, 2023
