Comparing the competitiveness index for state legislative elections

Competitiveness Studies by Year
2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024

This page details a year-by-year breakdown of absolute competitiveness in state legislative elections.

Three factors determine how competitive a state's legislative elections are: how many seats are open, meaning no incumbents are running, how many incumbents faced primary challengers, and how many seats are contested between a Democratic and a Republican candidate in the general election.

Ballotpedia calculates a competitiveness index for each state holding regularly-scheduled elections in a given year.

Each state is given 1 point for each percentage based on the three factors. Then, the points were added and divided by three to establish the index. 1 is least competitive and 100 is most competitive.

The rows below mean the following:

• % open seats: This refers to the percentage of seats in that year's elections where the incumbent did not run for re-election.
• % face primary: This refers to the percentage of incumbents who faced primary opposition
• % face major party opp: This refers to the percentage of seats where a major party candidate faced major party opposition in the general election.

Overall comparison

This chart compares the total percentages for state legislative competitiveness by year.

Overall Comparison between years
	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Competitiveness Index	34.6	28.1	35.2	30.3	30.8	25.4	31.7	34.9	36.1	30.8	33.4	40.0	36.6	31.6	33.2
% Open Seats	18.7%	17.0%	21.9%	6.8%	16.8%	14.7%	17.4%	9.1%	19.7%	19.5%	14.9%	7.7%	23.8%	23.9%	16.6%
% Inc in contested primary	20.0%	21.4%	23.3%	11.7%	19.5%	23.3%	20.2%	16.0%	22.2%	28.9%	20.1%	19.7%	26.8%	26.0%	21.4%
% Candidates with major party opp	65.0%	46.0%	60.4%	72.3%	56.0%	38.3%	57.6%	79.5%	66.3%	44.1%	65.2%	92.7%	59.2%	44.8%	61.7%

By state

Click on the tabs below to view state-specific competitiveness information from 2010 to 2023 for each of the metrics described above.

• Competitiveness Indices by state, 2010-2024

  Competitiveness Indices by state, 2010-2024
  State	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
  Alabama	28.9	-	-	-	29.3	-	-	-	36.0	-	-	-	24.1	-	-
  Alaska	26.4	-	39.2	-	30.0	-	33.1	-	43.9	-	30.1	-	24.9	-	16.8
  Arizona	50.3	-	41.5	-	42.7	-	34.7	-	50.3	-	38.6	-	50.3	-	44.5
  Arkansas	28.0	-	31.9	-	22.3	-	15.5	-	25.0	-	19.4	-	29.1	-	22.1
  California	46.6	-	52.4	-	47.4	-	44.3	-	43.3	-	43.3	-	51.5	-	51.3
  Colorado	36.6	-	44.1	-	36.1	-	39.4	-	42.4	-	39.6	-	48.6	-	41.3
  Connecticut	30.4	-	31.9	-	30.0	-	30.7	-	34.2	-	30.9	-	31.3	-	28.3
  Delaware	29.2	-	29.0	-	26.4	-	20.7	-	34.1	-	22.6	-	26.9	-	22.7
  Florida	33.5	-	35.4	-	23.6	-	32.9	-	37.1	-	41.9	-	37.9	-	39.7
  Georgia	23.3	-	19.2	-	16.3	-	16.8	-	23.9	-	26.6	-	34.2	-	24.9
  Hawaii	48.1	-	36.3	-	36.9	-	30.8	-	29.5	-	33.3	-	46.6	-	35.8
  Idaho	29.0	-	52.4	-	31.6	-	33.3	-	34.8	-	32.9	-	46.0	-	42.0
  Illinois	27.6	-	28.3	-	19.6	-	19.3	-	26.7	-	25.1	-	29.1	-	23.1
  Indiana	33.4	-	33.8	-	22.1	-	31.1	-	33.6	-	31.7	-	31.2	-	29.4
  Iowa	29.4	-	37.3	-	23.0	-	28.8	-	31.2	-	28.5	-	35.1	-	28.0
  Kansas	28.3	-	47.9	-	29.7	-	38.7	-	27.5	-	33.7	-	27.6	-	31.5
  Kentucky	27.0	-	25.4	-	24.2	-	27.3	-	40.6	-	28.0	-	31.3	-	26.5
  Louisiana	-	40.2	-	-	-	22.2	-	-	-	38.7	-	-	-	28.3	-
  Maine	40.0	-	43.0	-	38.7	-	36.2	-	38.5	-	33.8	-	40.3	-	34.7
  Maryland	49.1	-	-	-	53.2	-	-	-	51.6	-	-	-	44.2	-	-
  Massachusetts	24.5	-	16.0	-	19.7	-	13.4	-	17.8	-	13.6	-	18.0	-	13.1
  Michigan	59.0	-	52.8	-	54.5	-	57.3	-	58.9	-	50.4	-	65.2	-	46.9
  Minnesota	37.8	-	42.8	-	36.2	-	38.9	-	40.4	-	38.8	-	44.2	-	38.6
  Mississippi	-	26.3	-	-	-	25.3	-	-	-	23.1	-	-	-	18.7	-
  Missouri	37.6	-	37.0	-	27.6	-	25.9	-	41.7	-	31.8	-	32.3	-	40.6
  Montana	42.5	-	45.0	-	47.5	-	44.2	-	36.0	-	41.4	-	38.4	-	52.8
  Nebraska	26.2	-	37.7	-	39.5	-	38.9	-	39.6	-	30.2	-	51.5	-	62.0
  Nevada	54.2	-	47.0	-	36.5	-	45.9	-	39.1	-	36.1	-	52.3	-	42.4
  New Hampshire	49.6	-	52.6	-	46.3	-	49.3	-	44.9	-	47.6	-	53.0	-	43.7
  New Jersey	-	45.3	-	39.1	-	35.8	-	44.2	-	45.1	-	41.8	-	44.4	-
  New Mexico	24.1	-	31.4	-	25.9	-	18.4	-	22.8	-	33.7	-	28.8	-	27.3
  New York	36.3	-	30.4	-	27.2	-	27.9	-	28.3	-	32.9	-	33.7	-	26.4
  North Carolina	34.5	-	37.8	-	26.4	-	28.9	-	45.0	-	41.3	-	36.2	-	34.1
  North Dakota	32.2	-	41.0	-	30.5	-	41.5	-	34.4	-	31.6	-	33.4	-	37.9
  Ohio	42.1	-	38.7	-	43.0	-	38.5	-	51.2	-	38.4	-	39.9	-	45.7
  Oklahoma	24.2	-	24.1	-	24.8	-	45.2	-	50.8	-	25.4	-	23.2	-	24.3
  Oregon	37.7	-	32.7	-	31.3	-	29.4	-	30.2	-	37.9	-	45.4	-	36.7
  Pennsylvania	27.5	-	26.2	-	25.6	-	24.3	-	28.7	-	28.9	-	32.1	-	23.8
  Rhode Island	36.9	-	26.7	-	16.9	-	18.1	-	23.9	-	21.6	-	33.7	-	18.0
  South Carolina	20.9	-	23.2	-	16.3	-	20.3	-	24.6	-	26.3	-	27.7	-	29.2
  South Dakota	33.5	-	41.1	-	33.4	-	43.8	-	45.0	-	37.6	-	42.2	-	47.0
  Tennessee	25.9	-	34.8	-	24.1	-	28.4	-	41.2	-	23.3	-	22.6	-	31.6
  Texas	20.8	-	30.2	-	22.8	-	24.7	-	35.5	-	30.6	-	33.8	-	36.9
  Utah	33.3	-	37.1	-	32.1	-	28.6	-	36.4	-	31.9	-	26.1	-	32.7
  Vermont	25.2	-	18.5	-	19.3	-	26.9	-	23.0	-	28.5	-	32.4	-	24.0
  Virginia	-	19.6	-	20	-	17.6	-	24.5	-	27.5	-	38.0	-	39.8	-
  Washington	34.9	-	33.3	-	31.3	-	32.7	-	39.7	-	41.1	-	37.3	-	36.7
  West Virginia	42.5	-	42.6	-	41.8	-	51.5	-	47.7	-	50.0	-	42.7	-	34.1
  Wisconsin	35.1	-	35.8	-	26.7	-	23.2	-	27.2	-	35.1	-	36.6	-	46.2
  Wyoming	26.1	-	27.2	-	29.5	-	45.5	-	25.7	-	33.2	-	35.6	-	36.2

• Percentage of open seats by state, 2010-2024

  Percentage of open seats by state, 2010-2024
  State	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
  Alabama	13.6%	-	-	-	15.0%	-	-	-	27.1%	-	-	-	18.6%	-	-
  Alaska	10.0%	-	18.6%	-	14.8%	-	18.0%	-	26.0%	-	6.0%	-	33.9%	-	14.0%
  Arizona	43.3%	-	35.6%	-	26.7%	-	28.9%	-	36.7%	-	18.9%	-	47.8%	-	22.2%
  Arkansas	45.3%	-	34.8%	-	26.3%	-	12.8%	-	19.5%	-	8.5%	-	23.7%	-	11.0%
  California	38.0%	-	44.0%	-	33.0%	-	26.0%	-	14.0%	-	14.0%	-	34.0%	-	34.0%
  Colorado	23.8%	-	38.8%	-	28.0%	-	28.9%	-	30.5%	-	24.1%	-	39.0%	-	28.9%
  Connecticut	10.2%	-	12.8%	-	12.8%	-	12.3%	-	12.8%	-	9.1%	-	16.0%	-	5.9%
  Delaware	7.7%	-	16.1%	-	3.9%	-	3.8%	-	27.5%	-	3.8%	-	11.3%	-	9.8%
  Florida	32.2%	-	33.1%	-	12.9%	-	38.8%	-	27.1%	-	28.6%	-	29.4%	-	22.1%
  Georgia	16.1%	-	11.9%	-	7.2%	-	8.9%	-	8.5%	-	11.0%	-	21.6%	-	7.2%
  Hawaii	12.1%	-	10.5%	-	7.9%	-	4.7%	-	14.3%	-	12.5%	-	19.7%	-	7.9%
  Idaho	8.6%	-	34.3%	-	10.5%	-	8.6%	-	15.2%	-	17.1%	-	34.3%	-	5.7%
  Illinois	8.6%	-	19.2%	-	8.8%	-	8.9%	-	17.8%	-	10.9%	-	12.4%	-	4.3%
  Indiana	9.6%	-	18.4%	-	6.4%	-	13.6%	-	11.2%	-	8.0%	-	11.2%	-	7.2%
  Iowa	13.6%	-	23.8%	-	12.0%	-	10.4%	-	17.6%	-	13.6%	-	34.3%	-	12.8%
  Kansas	8.0%	-	31.5%	-	10.4%	-	20.0%	-	10.4%	-	13.9%	-	19.2%	-	18.8%
  Kentucky	5.9%	-	10.9%	-	9.2%	-	8.4%	-	17.6%	-	14.3%	-	17.6%	-	13.4%
  Louisiana	-	26.0%	-	-	-	22.2%	-	-	-	41.7%	-	-	-	29.2%	-
  Maine	23.1%	-	33.9%	-	27.4%	-	19.9%	-	30.1%	-	20.4%	-	37.6%	-	21.0%
  Maryland	13.8%	-	-	-	27.7%	-	-	-	20.7%	-	-	-	20.7%	-	-
  Massachusetts	17.0%	-	5.0%	-	11.0%	-	6.5%	-	12.0%	-	7.5%	-	12.0%	-	9.5%
  Michigan	54.1%	-	20.0%	-	34.5%	-	38.2%	-	47.3%	-	23.6%	-	44.6%	-	7.3%
  Minnesota	11.9%	-	25.4%	-	11.2%	-	13.9%	-	17.2%	-	9.5%	-	31.3%	-	14.9%
  Mississippi	-	15.0%	-	-	-	12.1%	-	-	-	13.8%	-	-	-	13.8%	-
  Missouri	41.7%	-	33.9%	-	18.3%	-	21.1%	-	35.0%	-	31.7%	-	27.2%	-	31.7%
  Montana	40.5%	-	34.9%	-	36.0%	-	37.6%	-	28.8%	-	32.8%	-	31.2%	-	41.6%
  Nebraska	12.5%	-	36.0%	-	70.8%	-	44.0%	-	33.3%	-	24.0%	-	54.2%	-	60.0%
  Nevada	50.9%	-	30.8%	-	18.9%	-	21.2%	-	28.3%	-	25.0%	-	35.8%	-	28.8%
  New Hampshire	24.1%	-	29.5%	-	26.7%	-	27.8%	-	24.8%	-	19.1%	-	29.7%	-	22.4%
  New Jersey	-	18.3%	-	4.2%	-	8.8%	-	10.0%	-	5.0%	-	10.0%	-	23.3%	-
  New Mexico	4.3%	-	19.6%	-	15.7%	-	8.9%	-	12.9%	-	9.8%	-	17.1%	-	17.0%
  New York	11.8%	-	11.3%	-	9.9%	-	8.9%	-	8.5%	-	15.5%	-	11.7%	-	8.0%
  North Carolina	10.6%	-	27.1%	-	8.2%	-	11.8%	-	11.2%	-	15.3%	-	17.6%	-	12.4%
  North Dakota	20.8%	-	24.0%	-	18.1%	-	21.7%	-	16.7%	-	8.7%	-	26.5%	-	24.6%
  Ohio	25.0%	-	16.2%	-	22.4%	-	25.2%	-	36.2%	-	20.0%	-	26.7%	-	24.3%
  Oklahoma	17.6%	-	18.4%	-	24.0%	-	32.8%	-	34.4%	-	8.8%	-	16.0%	-	17.6%
  Oregon	9.2%	-	13.2%	-	20.0%	-	22.7%	-	11.0%	-	20.0%	-	32.0%	-	18.7%
  Pennsylvania	9.2%	-	11.0%	-	11.8%	-	8.3%	-	14.0%	-	8.3%	-	18.0%	-	7.0%
  Rhode Island	13.3%	-	11.5%	-	7.1%	-	7.1%	-	13.3%	-	8.0%	-	12.4%	-	8.0%
  South Carolina	9.7%	-	14.1%	-	7.3%	-	10.0%	-	6.5%	-	8.2%	-	12.1%	-	11.8%
  South Dakota	32.4%	-	29.5%	-	29.5%	-	40.0%	-	24.8%	-	27.6%	-	32.4%	-	34.3%
  Tennessee	8.6%	-	18.3%	-	10.3%	-	5.2%	-	23.3%	-	5.2%	-	14.7%	-	7.0%
  Texas	5.4%	-	19.3%	-	9.1%	-	9.6%	-	8.5%	-	6.6%	-	16.6%	-	10.3%
  Utah	10.0%	-	16.5%	-	13.5%	-	15.6%	-	27.0%	-	14.4%	-	8.9%	-	18.0%
  Vermont	11.7%	-	14.4%	-	15.0%	-	15.6%	-	17.8%	-	12.2%	-	31.7%	-	22.2%
  Virginia	-	13.6%	-	9.0%	-	10.7%	-	7.0%	-	10.7%	-	5.0%	-	31.4%	-
  Washington	16.3%	-	21.0%	-	9.8%	-	16.9%	-	13.8%	-	13.0%	-	21.3%	-	21.1%
  West Virginia	12.0%	-	16.2%	-	9.4%	-	21.4%	-	15.4%	-	20.5%	-	19.7%	-	16.2%
  Wisconsin	19.8%	-	20.0%	-	25.0%	-	11.3%	-	13.8%	-	17.4%	-	25.9%	-	26.1%
  Wyoming	20.0%	-	20.0%	-	14.7%	-	26.7%	-	13.3%	-	20.0%	-	26.9%	-	20.8%

• Percentage of incumbents in contested primaries by state, 2010-2024

  Percentage of incumbents in contested primaries by state, 2010-2024
  State	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
  Alabama	28.1%	-	-	-	33.6%	-	-	-	35.3%	-	-	-	30.7%	-	-
  Alaska	13.3%	-	29.6%	-	8.5%	-	29.3%	-	29.7%	-	40.4%	-	-	-	2.3%
  Arizona	51.0%	-	40.0%	-	42.4%	-	29.7%	-	47.4%	-	37.0%	-	52.0%	-	45.7%
  Arkansas	6.3%	-	13.6%	-	9.2%	-	9.8%	-	15.8%	-	10.3%	-	27.9%	-	9.5%
  California	9.7%	-	39.3%	-	34.3%	-	33.8%	-	43.0%	-	43.0%	-	46.4%	-	40.9%
  Colorado	1.6%	-	7.5%	-	3.4%	-	8.5%	-	8.8%	-	7.9%	-	14.0%	-	11.9%
  Connecticut	6.0%	-	4.3%	-	5.5%	-	6.1%	-	3.1%	-	2.9%	-	2.5%	-	5.1%
  Delaware	14.6%	-	20.8%	-	18.4%	-	12.0%	-	8.1%	-	14.0%	-	14.5%	-	15.2%
  Florida	18.6%	-	28.2%	-	17.2%	-	14.3%	-	18.6%	-	17.0%	-	28.1%	-	11.9%
  Georgia	20.7%	-	22.9%	-	21.5%	-	22.9%	-	24.5%	-	20.0%	-	33.5%	-	19.5%
  Hawaii	41.4%	-	36.6%	-	34.5%	-	39.3%	-	42.6%	-	35.7%	-	39.7%	-	32.8%
  Idaho	27.1%	-	48.6%	-	31.9%	-	32.3%	-	34.8%	-	32.2%	-	60.8%	-	49.0%
  Illinois	16.5%	-	22.8%	-	11.2%	-	11.8%	-	13.2%	-	18.0%	-	16.1%	-	14.4%
  Indiana	18.6%	-	16.5%	-	9.4%	-	15.7%	-	20.7%	-	20.0%	-	26.3%	-	25.0%
  Iowa	7.4%	-	16.0%	-	7.3%	-	8.0%	-	4.9%	-	5.6%	-	15.1%	-	6.4%
  Kansas	20.0%	-	42.5%	-	18.8%	-	29.5%	-	23.2%	-	21.8%	-	15.7%	-	12.7%
  Kentucky	18.8%	-	20.8%	-	13.9%	-	14.7%	-	19.4%	-	12.7%	-	31.0%	-	23.3%
  Louisiana	-	38.3%	-	-	-	24.3%	-	-	-	48.8%	-	-	-	38.2%	-
  Maine	2.8%	-	4.1%	-	2.2%	-	2.7%	-	1.5%	-	4.7%	-	2.6%	-	4.1%
  Maryland	64.8%	-	-	-	68.1%	-	-	-	71.8%	-	-	-	62.9%	-	-
  Massachusetts	8.4%	-	10.0%	-	9.6%	-	10.7%	-	11.4%	-	12.4%	-	11.9%	-	9.9%
  Michigan	25.0%	-	40.2%	-	28.9%	-	33.8%	-	29.5%	-	28.6%	-	52.4%	-	34.3%
  Minnesota	4.5%	-	7.1%	-	4.2%	-	6.4%	-	6.3%	-	10.4%	-	14.1%	-	6.1%
  Mississippi	-	23.1%	-	-	-	30.5%	-	-	-	32.0%	-	-	-	28.0%	-
  Missouri	14.3%	-	27.8%	-	15.0%	-	14.8%	-	16.2%	-	13.8%	-	26.5%	-	21.1%
  Montana	14.7%	-	20.7%	-	22.5%	-	17.5%	-	11.2%	-	27.4%	-	15.1%	-	32.0%
  Nebraska	28.6%	-	25.0%	-	14.3%	-	28.6%	-	31.3%	-	10.5%	-	54.5%	-	50.0%
  Nevada	19.2%	-	33.3%	-	30.2%	-	41.5%	-	21.1%	-	17.9%	-	38.2%	-	21.6%
  New Hampshire	38.5%	-	46.0%	-	33.2%	-	40.7%	-	27.2%	-	29.1%	-	38.4%	-	26.1%
  New Jersey	-	18.4%	-	14.8%	-	8.7%	-	24.3%	-	34.2%	-	21.3%	-	18.3%	-
  New Mexico	20.9%	-	26.4%	-	11.9%	-	8.8%	-	9.8%	-	19.8%	-	20.7%	-	23.7%
  New York	19.8%	-	17.5%	-	14.1%	-	17.0%	-	15.9%	-	19.4%	-	24.1%	-	9.2%
  North Carolina	25.7%	-	29.1%	-	18.6%	-	20.7%	-	25.5%	-	16.7%	-	22.9%	-	12.8%
  North Dakota	3.5%	-	16.4%	-	6.8%	-	13.0%	-	10.0%	-	7.9%	-	36.0%	-	38.5%
  Ohio	16.1%	-	14.3%	-	25.6%	-	16.3%	-	27.0%	-	15.2%	-	23.3%	-	27.6%
  Oklahoma	11.7%	-	18.6%	-	13.7%	-	33.3%	-	45.1%	-	28.9%	-	24.8%	-	28.2%
  Oregon	13.0%	-	6.1%	-	10.0%	-	6.9%	-	13.8%	-	8.3%	-	17.6%	-	18.0%
  Pennsylvania	14.0%	-	15.8%	-	20.7%	-	13.4%	-	11.2%	-	13.4%	-	22.1%	-	9.9%
  Rhode Island	34.7%	-	26.0%	-	17.1%	-	17.1%	-	20.4%	-	25.0%	-	30.3%	-	11.5%
  South Carolina	23.2%	-	15.5%	-	17.4%	-	27.5%	-	31.0%	-	23.1%	-	30.6%	-	34.0%
  South Dakota	9.9%	-	33.8%	-	23.0%	-	28.6%	-	25.3%	-	32.9%	-	49.3%	-	60.9%
  Tennessee	11.3%	-	35.7%	-	24.0%	-	31.2%	-	27.0%	-	24.8%	-	15.2%	-	26.2%
  Texas	17.8%	-	34.7%	-	26.0%	-	30.7%	-	33.1%	-	20.6%	-	29.6%	-	40.5%
  Utah	11.1%	-	17.9%	-	5.2%	-	7.9%	-	4.6%	-	15.6%	-	18.3%	-	16.2%
  Vermont	8.2%	-	7.7%	-	5.2%	-	17.8%	-	12.8%	-	16.5%	-	14.4%	-	14.3%
  Virginia	-	1.7%	-	7.0%	-	7.1%	-	6.5%	-	11.9%	-	17.9%	-	17.3%	-
  Washington	23.3%	-	15.3%	-	20.7%	-	31.1%	-	32.1%	-	35.5%	-	32.3%	-	24.7%
  West Virginia	50.5%	-	45.9%	-	32.1%	-	40.9%	-	40.4%	-	48.4%	-	36.7%	-	30.6%
  Wisconsin	14.0%	-	16.0%	-	3.4%	-	7.8%	-	4.0%	-	9.5%	-	10.5%	-	31.5%
  Wyoming	25.0%	-	35.0%	-	40.6%	-	36.4%	-	29.2%	-	51.7%	-	49.1%	-	65.6%

• Percentage of seats with major party competition by state, 2010-2024

  Percentage of seats with major party competition by state, 2010-2024
  State	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
  Alabama	45.0%	-	-	-	39.3%	-	-	-	45.7%	-	-	-	22.9%	-	-
  Alaska	56.0%	-	69.5%	-	66.7%	-	52.0%	-	76.0%	-	44.0%	-	40.7%	-	34.0%
  Arizona	56.7%	-	48.9%	-	58.9%	-	45.6%	-	66.7%	-	60.0%	-	51.1%	-	65.6%
  Arkansas	32.5%	-	47.4%	-	31.4%	-	23.9%	-	39.8%	-	39.3%	-	35.6%	-	45.8%
  California	92.0%	-	74.0%	-	75.0%	-	73.0%	-	73.0%	-	73.0%	-	74.0%	-	79.0%
  Colorado	84.5%	-	85.9%	-	76.8%	-	80.7%	-	87.8%	-	86.7%	-	92.7%	-	83.1%
  Connecticut	74.9%	-	78.6%	-	71.7%	-	73.8%	-	86.6%	-	80.7%	-	75.4%	-	73.8%
  Delaware	65.4%	-	50.0%	-	56.9%	-	46.2%	-	66.7%	-	50.0%	-	54.8%	-	43.1%
  Florida	49.7%	-	45.0%	-	40.7%	-	45.6%	-	65.7%	-	80.0%	-	56.3%	-	85.0%
  Georgia	33.1%	-	22.9%	-	20.3%	-	18.6%	-	38.6%	-	48.7%	-	47.5%	-	47.9%
  Hawaii	90.9%	-	61.8%	-	68.3%	-	48.4%	-	31.7%	-	51.6%	-	80.3%	-	66.7%
  Idaho	51.4%	-	74.3%	-	52.4%	-	59.0%	-	54.3%	-	49.5%	-	42.9%	-	71.4%
  Illinois	57.6%	-	42.9%	-	38.7%	-	37.3%	-	49.0%	-	46.4%	-	58.8%	-	50.7%
  Indiana	72.0%	-	66.4%	-	50.4%	-	64.0%	-	68.8%	-	67.2%	-	56.0%	-	56.0%
  Iowa	67.2%	-	72.2%	-	49.6%	-	68.0%	-	71.2%	-	66.4%	-	56.0%	-	64.8%
  Kansas	56.8%	-	69.7%	-	60.0%	-	66.7%	-	48.8%	-	65.5%	-	48.0%	-	63.0%
  Kentucky	56.3%	-	44.5%	-	49.6%	-	58.8%	-	84.9%	-	57.1%	-	45.4%	-	42.9%
  Louisiana	-	56.2%	-	-	-	20.1%	-	-	-	25.7%	-	-	-	17.4%	-
  Maine	94.1%	-	90.9%	-	86.6%	-	86.0%	-	83.9%	-	76.3%	-	80.6%	-	79.0%
  Maryland	68.6%	-	-	-	63.8%	-	-	-	62.2%	-	-	-	48.9%	-	-
  Massachusetts	48.0%	-	33.0%	-	38.5%	-	23.0%	-	30.0%	-	21.0%	-	30.0%	-	20.0%
  Michigan	98.0%	-	98.2%	-	100.0%	-	100.0%	-	100.0%	-	99.1%	-	98.6%	-	99.1%
  Minnesota	97.0%	-	96.0%	-	93.3%	-	96.5%	-	97.8%	-	96.5%	-	87.1%	-	94.8%
  Mississippi	-	40.8%	-	-	-	33.3%	-	-	-	23.6%	-	-	-	14.4%	-
  Missouri	56.7%	-	49.4%	-	49.4%	-	41.7%	-	73.9%	-	50.0%	-	43.3%	-	68.9%
  Montana	72.2%	-	79.4%	-	84.0%	-	77.6%	-	68.0%	-	64.0%	-	68.8%	-	84.8%
  Nebraska	37.5%	-	52.0%	-	33.3%	-	44.0%	-	54.2%	-	56.0%	-	45.8%	-	76.0%
  Nevada	92.5%	-	76.9%	-	60.4%	-	75.0%	-	67.9%	-	65.4%	-	83.0%	-	76.9%
  New Hampshire	86.3%	-	82.3%	-	79.0%	-	79.5%	-	82.8%	-	94.6%	-	91.0%	-	82.5%
  New Jersey	-	99.1%	-	98.3%	-	90.0%	-	98.3%	-	96.2%	-	94.2%	-	91.7%	-
  New Mexico	47.1%	-	48.2%	-	50.0%	-	37.5%	-	45.7%	-	71.4%	-	48.6%	-	41.1%
  New York	77.4%	-	62.4%	-	57.7%	-	57.7%	-	60.6%	-	63.8%	-	65.3%	-	62.0%
  North Carolina	67.1%	-	57.1%	-	52.4%	-	54.1%	-	98.2%	-	91.8%	-	68.2%	-	77.1%
  North Dakota	72.2%	-	82.7%	-	66.7%	-	89.9%	-	76.4%	-	78.3%	-	37.8%	-	50.7%
  Ohio	85.3%	-	85.5%	-	81.0%	-	73.9%	-	90.5%	-	80.0%	-	69.8%	-	85.2%
  Oklahoma	43.2%	-	35.2%	-	36.8%	-	69.6%	-	72.8%	-	38.4%	-	28.8%	-	27.2%
  Oregon	90.8%	-	78.9%	-	64.0%	-	58.7%	-	65.8%	-	85.3%	-	86.7%	-	73.3%
  Pennsylvania	59.2%	-	51.8%	-	44.3%	-	51.3%	-	61.0%	-	64.9%	-	56.1%	-	54.4%
  Rhode Island	62.8%	-	42.5%	-	26.5%	-	30.1%	-	38.1%	-	31.9%	-	58.4%	-	34.5%
  South Carolina	29.8%	-	40.0%	-	24.2%	-	23.5%	-	36.3%	-	47.6%	-	40.3%	-	41.8%
  South Dakota	58.1%	-	60.0%	-	47.6%	-	62.9%	-	84.8%	-	52.4%	-	44.8%	-	45.7%
  Tennessee	57.8%	-	50.4%	-	37.9%	-	48.7%	-	73.3%	-	40.0%	-	37.9%	-	61.7%
  Texas	39.2%	-	36.5%	-	33.3%	-	33.7%	-	64.8%	-	64.5%	-	55.2%	-	60.0%
  Utah	78.9%	-	76.9%	-	77.5%	-	62.2%	-	77.5%	-	65.6%	-	51.1%	-	64.0%
  Vermont	55.6%	-	33.3%	-	37.8%	-	47.2%	-	38.3%	-	56.7%	-	51.1%	-	35.6%
  Virginia	-	43.6%	-	44.0%	-	35.0%	-	60.0%	-	60.0%	-	91.0%	-	70.7%	-
  Washington	65.0%	-	63.7%	-	63.4%	-	50.0%	-	73.2%	-	74.8%	-	58.2%	-	64.2%
  West Virginia	65.0%	-	65.8%	-	83.8%	-	92.3%	-	87.2%	-	81.2%	-	71.8%	-	55.6%
  Wisconsin	71.6%	-	71.3%	-	51.7%	-	50.4%	-	63.8%	-	78.3%	-	73.3%	-	80.9%
  Wyoming	33.3%	-	26.7%	-	33.3%	-	73.3%	-	34.7%	-	28.0%	-	30.8%	-	22.1%

Most recent

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 14, 2024

Ballotpedia's 14th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 5,807 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 5, 2024, in 44 states.

State legislative competitiveness in 2024 was below average for even years from 2010 to 2024.

In 2024, the nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index was 33.2, down from the last three election cycles: 2022 (36.6), 2020 (33.4), and 2018 (36.1).

State legislative competitiveness in 2024 (33.2) was below the 14-year competitiveness index average of 34.0. This average was for even-year elections only. Looking at averages across the last three even-year election cycles: 2024 had fewer open seats, incumbents in contested primaries, and seats with major competition.

Key findings of this report include:

962 seats were open (16.6%). This was the second-smallest number of open seats since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2010.

1,039 incumbents faced contested primaries (21.4%). This was roughly average compared to previous years, down from 26.8% in 2022 but higher than the 20.1% in 2020.

3,583 seats were contested by both major parties (61.7%), higher than in 2022 (59.2%) but lower than in 2018 (66.3%) and 2020 (65.2%).

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2024
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	15.7%	21.1%	61.7%	32.8
Senate	20.4%	22.8%	61.9%	35.0
Total	16.6%	21.4%	61.7%	33.2

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2024 along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2024
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	16.6%	-	21.4%	-	61.7%	-	33.2	-
Alaska	14.0%	25	2.3%	44	34.0%	41	16.8	43
Arizona	22.2%	12	45.7%	5	65.6%	19	44.5	8
Arkansas	11.0%	30	9.5%	38	45.8%	33	22.1	41
California	34.0%	4	40.9%	6	79.0%	9	51.3	3
Colorado	28.9%	6	11.9%	33	83.1%	6	41.3	12
Connecticut	5.9%	42	5.1%	42	73.8%	14	28.3	30
Delaware	9.8%	32	15.2%	28	43.1%	35	22.7	40
Florida	22.1%	14	11.9%	33	85.0%	4	39.7	14
Georgia	7.2%	38	19.5%	25	47.9%	32	24.9	35
Hawaii	7.9%	36	32.8%	11	66.7%	18	35.8	21
Idaho	5.7%	43	49.0%	4	71.4%	16	42.0	11
Illinois	4.3%	44	14.4%	29	50.7%	30	23.1	39
Indiana	7.2%	38	25.0%	19	56.0%	27	29.4	28
Iowa	12.8%	27	6.4%	40	64.8%	20	28.0	31
Kansas	18.8%	18	12.7%	32	63.0%	23	31.5	27
Kentucky	13.4%	26	23.3%	22	42.9%	36	26.5	33
Maine	21.0%	16	4.1%	43	79.0%	9	34.7	22
Massachusetts	9.5%	33	9.9%	36	20.0%	44	13.1	44
Michigan	7.3%	37	34.3%	9	99.1%	1	46.9	5
Minnesota	14.9%	24	6.1%	41	94.8%	2	38.6	15
Missouri	31.7%	5	21.1%	24	68.9%	17	40.6	13
Montana	41.6%	2	32.0%	12	84.8%	5	52.8	2
Nebraska	60.0%	1	50.0%	3	76.0%	13	62.0	1
Nevada	28.8%	7	21.6%	23	76.9%	12	42.4	10
New Hampshire	22.4%	11	26.1%	18	82.5%	7	43.7	9
New Mexico	17.0%	22	23.7%	21	41.1%	38	27.3	32
New York	8.0%	34	9.2%	39	62.0%	24	26.4	34
North Carolina	12.4%	28	12.8%	31	77.1%	11	34.1	23
North Dakota	24.6%	9	38.5%	8	50.7%	30	37.9	16
Ohio	24.3%	10	27.6%	16	85.2%	3	45.7	7
Oklahoma	17.6%	21	28.2%	15	27.2%	42	24.3	36
Oregon	18.7%	19	18.0%	26	73.3%	15	36.7	18
Pennsylvania	7.0%	40	9.9%	36	54.4%	29	23.8	38
Rhode Island	8.0%	34	11.5%	35	34.5%	40	18.0	42
South Carolina	11.8%	29	34.0%	10	41.8%	37	29.2	29
South Dakota	34.3%	3	60.9%	2	45.7%	34	47.0	4
Tennessee	7.0%	40	26.2%	17	61.7%	25	31.6	26
Texas	10.3%	31	40.5%	7	60.0%	26	36.9	17
Utah	18.0%	20	16.2%	27	64.0%	22	32.7	25
Vermont	22.2%	12	14.3%	30	35.6%	39	24.0	37
Washington	21.1%	15	24.7%	20	64.2%	21	36.7	18
West Virginia	16.2%	23	30.6%	14	55.6%	28	34.1	23
Wisconsin	26.1%	8	31.5%	13	80.9%	8	46.2	6
Wyoming	20.8%	17	65.6%	1	22.1%	43	36.2	20

Historical years

Use the tabs below to view state-specific competitiveness data from previous election cycles.

2023

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 13, 2023

Ballotpedia's 13th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 578 state legislative seats that were up for election in November 2023 in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia.

In 2023, the overall State Legislative Competitiveness Index increased from a decade high 30.8 in 2019 to 31.6. This analysis only includes odd years when all four states held elections (2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023). The data show that 138 (24%) legislative seats up for election were open. This was the largest number and percentage of open seats since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2011. 

Of the four states holding elections this year (and previously together in 2011, 2015, and 2019), New Jersey had the highest competitiveness index in all four cycles.

This year's index score was higher than in 2019 because there were more head-to-head matchups between Republican and Democratic candidates. Additionally, the number of open seat contests was the largest since at least 2011.

Key findings of this report include:

138 seats were open (23.9%), the largest number and percentage since 2011.

115 incumbents faced contested primaries (26.0%), the second-largest number and percentage since 2011.

259 seats were contested by both major parties (44.8%), the second-largest number since 2011.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2023
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	25.3%	24.3%	42.0%	30.5
Senate	20.5%	29.7%	51.5%	33.9
Total	23.9%	26.0%	44.8%	31.6

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2023 along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2023
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	23.9%	-	26.0%	-	44.8%	-	31.6	-
Louisiana	29.2%	2	38.2%	1	17.4%	3	28.3	3
Mississippi	13.8%	4	28.0%	2	14.4%	4	18.7	4
New Jersey	23.3%	3	18.3%	3	91.7%	1	44.4	1
Virginia	31.4%	1	17.3%	4	70.7%	2	39.8	2

2022

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 12, 2022

Ballotpedia's 12th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 6,278 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 8, 2022, in 46 states.

State legislative competitiveness in 2022 reached its highest level compared to all even-year election cycles since 2010.

In 2022, the nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index was 36.6, beating out 2018 (36.1) and the 2012 post-redistricting cycle (35.2).

The overall rise in competitiveness in 2022 was due to the presence of more open seat contests and incumbents facing more primary challenges. At the same time, there was a decline in head-to-head matchups between Republican and Democratic candidates in the general election.

Key findings of this report include:

1,492 seats were open (23.8%), the largest percentage since 2010.

1,299 incumbents faced contested primaries (26.8%), the largest percentage since 2010.

3,719 seats were contested by both major parties (59.2%), the lowest percentage since 2016.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2022
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	23.1%	26.7%	58.7%	36.2
Senate	26.3%	27.2%	61.3%	38.3
Total	23.8%	26.8%	59.2%	36.6

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2022 along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2022
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	23.8%	-	26.8%	-	59.2%	-	36.6	-
Alabama	18.6%	30	30.7%	17	22.9%	46	24.1	43
Alaska	33.9%	10	0.0%	46	40.7%	38	24.9	42
Arizona	47.8%	2	52.0%	5	51.1%	26	50.3	6
Arkansas	23.7%	23	27.9%	22	35.6%	42	29.1	35
California	34.0%	9	46.4%	8	74.0%	10	51.5	4
Colorado	39.0%	4	14.0%	41	92.7%	2	48.6	7
Connecticut	16.0%	36	2.5%	45	75.4%	9	31.3	32
Delaware	11.3%	44	14.5%	38	54.8%	25	26.9	40
Florida	29.4%	17	28.1%	21	56.3%	20	37.9	18
Georgia	21.6%	24	33.5%	14	47.5%	32	34.2	24
Hawaii	19.7%	27	39.7%	9	80.3%	8	46.6	8
Idaho	34.3%	7	60.8%	2	42.9%	37	46.0	9
Illinois	12.4%	39	16.1%	33	58.8%	17	29.1	35
Indiana	11.2%	45	26.3%	24	56.0%	22	31.2	34
Iowa	34.3%	7	15.1%	36	56.0%	22	35.1	23
Kansas	19.2%	29	15.7%	34	48.0%	31	27.6	39
Kentucky	17.6%	32	31.0%	16	45.4%	34	31.3	32
Maine	37.6%	5	2.6%	44	80.6%	7	40.3	15
Maryland	20.7%	26	62.9%	1	48.9%	29	44.2	11
Massachusetts	12.0%	42	11.9%	42	30.0%	44	18.0	46
Michigan	44.6%	3	52.4%	4	98.6%	1	65.2	1
Minnesota	31.3%	14	14.1%	40	87.1%	4	44.2	11
Missouri	27.2%	18	26.5%	23	43.3%	36	32.3	30
Montana	31.2%	15	15.1%	36	68.8%	14	38.4	17
Nebraska	54.2%	1	54.5%	3	45.8%	33	51.5	4
Nevada	35.8%	6	38.2%	11	83.0%	6	52.3	3
New Hampshire	29.7%	16	38.4%	10	91.0%	3	53.0	2
New Mexico	17.1%	34	20.7%	30	48.6%	30	28.8	37
New York	11.7%	43	24.1%	26	65.3%	16	33.7	26
North Carolina	17.6%	32	22.9%	28	68.2%	15	36.2	21
North Dakota	26.5%	21	36.0%	13	37.8%	41	33.4	28
Ohio	26.7%	20	23.3%	27	69.8%	13	39.9	16
Oklahoma	16.0%	36	24.8%	25	28.8%	45	23.2	44
Oregon	32.0%	12	17.6%	32	86.7%	5	45.4	10
Pennsylvania	18.0%	31	22.1%	29	56.1%	21	32.1	31
Rhode Island	12.4%	39	30.3%	19	58.4%	18	33.7	26
South Carolina	12.1%	41	30.6%	18	40.3%	39	27.7	38
South Dakota	32.4%	11	49.3%	6	44.8%	35	42.2	14
Tennessee	14.7%	38	15.2%	35	37.9%	40	22.6	45
Texas	16.6%	35	29.6%	20	55.2%	24	33.8	25
Utah	8.9%	46	18.3%	31	51.1%	26	26.1	41
Vermont	31.7%	13	14.4%	39	51.1%	26	32.4	29
Washington	21.3%	25	32.3%	15	58.2%	19	37.3	19
West Virginia	19.7%	27	36.7%	12	71.8%	12	42.7	13
Wisconsin	25.9%	22	10.5%	43	73.3%	11	36.6	20
Wyoming	26.9%	19	49.1%	7	30.8%	43	35.6	22

2021

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 11, 2021

Ballotpedia's 11th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 220 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 2, 2021.

Overall, the 2021 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 38.5, the largest index recorded since Ballotpedia began tracking state legislative competitiveness in 2010. The figure in 2021 represented a 7.7-point increase from 2019 and a 3.6-point increase from 2017, the most recent comparable election year in terms of chambers holding elections.

Key findings of this report include:

17 seats were open (7.7%), down 11.8 percentage points from 2019 and 1.4 percentage points from 2017.

27 incumbents faced contested primaries (15.2%), down 13.7 percentage points from 2019 and 0.8 percentage points from 2017.

204 seats were contested by both major parties (92.7%), up 48.6 percentage points from 2019 and 13.2 percentage points from 2017.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2021
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	7.2%	21.6%	92.2%	40.3
Senate	10.0%	11.1%	95.0%	38.7
Total	7.7%	15.2%	92.7%	38.5

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2021, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2021
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	7.7%	-	15.2%	-	92.7%	-	38.5	-
New Jersey	10.0%	1	12.0%	2	94.2%	1	38.7	1
Virginia	5.0%	2	17.9%	1	91.0%	2	38.0	2

2020

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 10, 2020

Ballotpedia's 10th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 5,875 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 3, 2020.

Overall, the 2020 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 33.4, a decrease of 2.7 points from 2018 but up 1.7 points from 2016, the most recent presidential election year.

Key findings of this report include:

876 seats were open (14.9%), down 4.8 percentage points from 2018 and 2.5 percentage points from 2016.

1,006 incumbents faced contested primaries (20.1%), down 1.1 percentage points from 2018 and 0.1 percentage points from 2016.

3,831 seats were contested by both major parties (65.2%), down 1.1 percentage points from 2018 but up 7.6 percentage points from 2016.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2020
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	14.4%	19.9%	64.7%	33.0
Senate	17.0%	21.1%	67.3%	35.1
Total	14.9%	20.1%	65.2%	33.4

The lists below show the five states with the highest and lowest Competitiveness Indices:

Most competitive:

• Michigan (50.4)
• West Virginia (50.0)
• New Hampshire (47.6)
• California (43.3)
• Florida (41.9)

Least competitive:

• Massachusetts (13.6)
• Arkansas (19.4)
• Rhode Island (21.6)
• Delaware (22.6)
• Tennessee (23.3)

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2020, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2020
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	14.9%	-	20.1%	-	65.2%	-	33.4	-
Alaska	6.0%	42	40.4%	4	44.0%	38	30.1	31
Arizona	18.9%	15	37.0%	5	60.0%	26	38.6	11
Arkansas	8.5%	35	10.3%	37	39.3%	40	19.4	43
California	14.0%	22	43.0%	3	73.0%	15	43.3	4
Colorado	24.1%	6	7.9%	40	86.7%	5	39.6	9
Connecticut	9.1%	32	2.9%	44	80.7%	8	30.9	28
Delaware	3.8%	44	14.0%	30	50.0%	32	22.6	41
Florida	28.6%	3	17.0%	25	80.0%	9	41.9	5
Georgia	11.0%	28	20.0%	19	48.7%	35	26.6	36
Hawaii	12.5%	26	35.7%	6	51.6%	31	33.3	20
Idaho	17.1%	17	32.2%	9	49.5%	34	32.9	22
Illinois	10.9%	29	18.0%	23	46.4%	37	25.1	39
Indiana	8.0%	38	20.0%	19	67.2%	17	31.7	26
Iowa	13.6%	24	5.6%	42	66.4%	18	28.5	33
Kansas	13.9%	23	21.8%	17	65.5%	20	33.7	18
Kentucky	14.3%	21	12.7%	33	57.1%	27	28.0	35
Maine	20.4%	10	4.7%	43	76.3%	13	33.8	17
Massachusetts	7.5%	40	12.4%	34	21.0%	44	13.6	44
Michigan	23.6%	8	28.6%	12	99.1%	1	50.4	1
Minnesota	9.5%	31	10.4%	36	96.5%	2	38.8	10
Missouri	31.7%	2	13.8%	31	50.0%	32	31.8	25
Montana	32.8%	1	27.4%	13	64.0%	24	41.4	6
Nebraska	24.0%	7	10.5%	35	56.0%	29	30.2	30
Nevada	25.0%	5	17.9%	24	65.4%	21	36.1	15
New Hampshire	19.1%	14	29.1%	10	94.6%	3	47.6	3
New Mexico	9.8%	30	19.8%	21	71.4%	16	33.7	18
New York	15.5%	18	19.4%	22	63.8%	25	32.9	22
North Carolina	15.3%	19	16.7%	26	91.8%	4	41.3	7
North Dakota	8.7%	34	7.9%	40	78.3%	11	31.6	27
Ohio	20.0%	11	15.2%	29	80.0%	9	38.4	12
Oklahoma	8.8%	33	28.9%	11	38.4%	41	25.4	38
Oregon	20.0%	11	8.3%	39	85.3%	6	37.9	13
Pennsylvania	8.3%	36	13.4%	32	64.9%	22	28.9	32
Rhode Island	8.0%	38	25.0%	14	31.9%	42	21.6	42
South Carolina	8.2%	37	23.1%	16	47.6%	36	26.3	37
South Dakota	27.6%	4	32.9%	8	52.4%	30	37.6	14
Tennessee	5.2%	43	24.8%	15	40.0%	39	23.3	40
Texas	6.6%	41	20.6%	18	64.5%	23	30.6	29
Utah	14.4%	20	15.6%	28	65.6%	19	31.9	24
Vermont	12.2%	27	16.5%	27	56.7%	28	28.5	33
Washington	13.0%	25	35.5%	7	74.8%	14	41.1	8
West Virginia	20.5%	9	48.4%	2	81.2%	7	50.0	2
Wisconsin	17.4%	16	9.5%	38	78.3%	11	35.1	16
Wyoming	20.0%	11	51.7%	1	28.0%	43	33.2	21

2019

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 9, 2019

Ballotpedia's 9th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 538 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 5, 2019.

Overall, the 2019 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 30.8, a decrease of 4.1 points from 2017 but up 5.4 points from 2015, the most recent comparable election year in terms of chambers holding elections.

Key findings of this report include:

105 seats were open (19.5%), up 10.4 percentage points from 2017 and 4.8 percentage points from 2015.

125 incumbents faced contested primaries (28.9%), up 12.9 percentage points from 2017 and 5.6 percentage points from 2015.

237 seats were contested by both major parties (44.1%), down 35.4 percentage points from 2017 but up 5.8 percentage points from 2015.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2019
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	17.9%	27.2%	46.2%	30.4
Senate	17.9%	27.2%	46.2%	30.4
Total	19.5%	28.9%	44.1%	30.8

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2019, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2019
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	19.5%	-	28.9%	-	44.1%	-	30.8	-
Louisiana	41.7%	1	46.4%	1	25.0%	3	37.7	2
Mississippi	14.4%	2	31.5%	3	23.0%	4	23.0	4
New Jersey	5.0%	4	32.9%	2	95.0%	1	44.3	1
Virginia	11.4%	3	11.3%	4	60.7%	2	27.8	3

2018

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 8, 2018

Ballotpedia's 8th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 6,065 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 6, 2018.

Overall, the 2018 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 36.1, an increase of 4.4 points from 2016 and up 5.3 points from 2014, the most recent midterm election cycle. At the time, this was the largest index recorded since Ballotpedia began tracking state legislative competitiveness in 2010.

Key findings of this report include:

1,194 seats were open (19.7%), up 2.3 percentage points from 2016 and 2.9 percentage points from 2014.

1,082 incumbents faced contested primaries (22.2%), up 2.0 percentage points from 2016 and 2.7 percentage points from 2014.

4,020 seats were contested by both major parties (66.3%), up 8.7 percentage points from 2016 and 10.3 percentage points from 2014.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2018
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	19.0%	21.8%	65.5%	35.4
Senate	22.5%	23.9%	69.7%	38.7
Total	19.7%	22.2%	66.3%	36.1

The lists below show the five states with the highest and lowest Competitiveness Indices:

Most competitive:

• Michigan (58.9)
• Maryland (51.6)
• Ohio (51.2)
• Oklahoma (50.8)
• Arizona (50.3)

Least competitive:

• Massachusetts (17.8)
• New Mexico (22.8)
• Vermont (23.0)
• Georgia (23.9)
• Rhode Island (23.9)

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2018, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2018
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	19.7%	-	22.2%	-	66.3%	-	36.1	-
Alabama	27.1%	12	35.3%	7	45.7%	37	36.0	23
Alaska	26.0%	15	29.7%	13	78.0%	12	44.6	10
Arizona	36.7%	2	47.4%	2	66.7%	24	50.3	5
Arkansas	19.5%	20	15.8%	30	39.8%	39	25.0	40
California	14.0%	30	43.0%	4	73.0%	18	43.3	11
Colorado	30.5%	7	8.8%	39	87.8%	5	42.4	12
Connecticut	12.8%	37	3.1%	45	86.6%	7	34.2	28
Delaware	27.5%	11	8.1%	40	66.7%	24	34.1	29
Florida	27.1%	12	18.6%	27	65.7%	27	37.1	21
Georgia	8.5%	43	24.5%	21	38.6%	40	23.9	42
Hawaii	14.3%	29	42.6%	5	31.7%	45	29.5	33
Idaho	15.2%	28	34.8%	8	54.3%	33	34.8	26
Illinois	17.8%	21	13.2%	32	49.0%	35	26.7	38
Indiana	11.2%	39	20.7%	24	68.8%	21	33.6	30
Iowa	17.6%	23	4.9%	42	71.2%	20	31.2	31
Kansas	10.4%	42	23.2%	22	48.8%	36	27.5	36
Kentucky	17.6%	23	19.4%	26	84.9%	8	40.6	15
Maine	30.1%	8	1.5%	46	83.9%	10	38.5	20
Maryland	20.7%	19	71.8%	1	62.2%	30	51.6	2
Massachusetts	12.0%	38	11.4%	34	30.0%	46	17.8	46
Michigan	47.3%	1	29.5%	14	100.0%	1	58.9	1
Minnesota	17.2%	25	6.3%	41	97.8%	3	40.4	16
Missouri	35.0%	4	16.2%	28	73.9%	15	41.7	13
Montana	28.8%	9	11.2%	35	68.0%	22	36.0	23
Nebraska	33.3%	6	31.3%	11	54.2%	34	39.6	18
Nevada	28.3%	10	21.1%	23	67.9%	23	39.1	19
New Hampshire	24.8%	16	27.2%	16	82.8%	11	44.9	9
New Mexico	12.9%	36	9.8%	38	45.7%	37	22.8	45
New York	8.5%	43	15.9%	29	60.6%	32	28.3	35
North Carolina	11.2%	39	25.5%	19	98.2%	2	45.0	7
North Dakota	16.7%	26	10.0%	37	76.4%	14	34.4	27
Ohio	36.2%	3	27.0%	17	90.5%	4	51.2	3
Oklahoma	34.4%	5	45.1%	3	72.8%	19	50.8	4
Oregon	11.0%	41	13.8%	31	65.8%	26	30.2	32
Pennsylvania	14.0%	30	11.2%	35	61.0%	31	28.7	34
Rhode Island	13.3%	34	20.4%	25	38.1%	42	23.9	42
South Carolina	6.5%	46	31.0%	12	36.3%	43	24.6	41
South Dakota	24.8%	16	25.3%	20	84.8%	9	45.0	7
Tennessee	23.3%	18	27.0%	17	73.3%	16	41.2	14
Texas	8.5%	43	33.1%	9	64.8%	28	35.5	25
Utah	27.0%	14	4.6%	43	77.5%	13	36.4	22
Vermont	17.8%	21	12.8%	33	38.3%	41	23.0	44
Washington	13.8%	32	32.1%	10	73.2%	17	39.7	17
West Virginia	15.4%	27	40.4%	6	87.2%	6	47.7	6
Wisconsin	13.8%	32	4.0%	44	63.8%	29	27.2	37
Wyoming	13.3%	34	29.2%	15	34.7%	44	25.7	39

2017

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 7, 2017

Ballotpedia's 7th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 220 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 7, 2017.

Overall, the 2017 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 34.9, an increase of 9.5 points from 2015 and 4.6 points from 2013, the most recent comparable election year in terms of chambers holding elections.

Key findings of this report include:

20 seats were open (9.1%), down 5.6 percentage points from 2015 but up 2.3 percentage points from 2013.

32 incumbents faced contested primaries (16.0%), down 7.3 percentage points from 2015 but up 4.3 percentage points from 2013.

175 seats were contested by both major parties (79.5%), up 41.2 percentage points from 2015 and 7.2 percentage points from 2013.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2017
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	8.3%	17.0%	76.7%	34.0
Senate	8.3%	17.0%	76.7%	34.0
Total	8.3%	17.0%	76.7%	34.0

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2017, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2017
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	9.1%	-	16.0%	-	79.5%	-	34.9	-
New Jersey	10.8%	1	24.3%	1	95.8%	1	43.6	1
Virginia	7.0%	2	6.5%	2	60.0%	2	24.5	2

2016

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 6, 2016

Ballotpedia's 6th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 5,916 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 8, 2016.

Overall, the 2016 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 31.7, an increase of 0.9 points from 2014 but down 3.5 points from 2012, the most recent presidential election year.

Key findings of this report include:

1,032 seats were open (17.4%), an increase of 0.6 percentage points from 2014.

985 incumbents faced contested primaries (20.2%), an increase of 0.7 percentage points from 2014.

3,408 seats were contested by both major parties (57.6%), an increase of 1.6 percentage points from 2014.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2016
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	16.9%	20.3%	57.8%	31.7
Senate	19.7%	19.6%	56.8%	32.0
Total	17.4%	20.2%	57.6%	31.7

The lists below show the five states with the highest and lowest Competitiveness Indices:

Most competitive:

• Michigan (57.3)
• West Virginia (51.5)
• New Hampshire (49.3)
• Nevada (45.9)
• Wyoming (45.5)

Least competitive:

• Massachusetts (13.4)
• Arkansas (15.5)
• Georgia (16.8)
• Rhode Island (18.1)
• New Mexico (18.4)

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2016, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2016
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	17.4%	-	20.2%	-	57.6%	-	31.7	-
Alaska	18.0%	20	29.3%	15	52.0%	25	33.1	19
Arizona	28.9%	7	29.7%	13	45.6%	33	34.7	17
Arkansas	12.8%	26	9.8%	35	23.9%	41	15.5	43
California	26.0%	11	33.8%	6	73.0%	13	44.3	7
Colorado	28.9%	7	8.5%	37	80.7%	6	39.4	11
Connecticut	12.3%	27	6.1%	43	73.8%	11	30.7	24
Delaware	3.8%	44	12.0%	32	46.2%	32	20.7	37
Florida	38.8%	3	14.3%	29	45.6%	33	32.9	20
Georgia	8.9%	33	22.9%	19	18.6%	44	16.8	42
Hawaii	4.7%	43	39.3%	4	48.4%	30	30.8	23
Idaho	8.6%	37	32.3%	9	59.0%	20	33.3	18
Illinois	8.9%	33	11.8%	33	37.3%	38	19.3	39
Indiana	13.6%	25	15.7%	26	64.0%	17	31.1	22
Iowa	10.4%	30	8.0%	38	68.0%	15	28.8	27
Kansas	20.0%	18	29.5%	14	66.7%	16	38.7	14
Kentucky	8.4%	38	14.7%	28	58.8%	21	27.3	31
Maine	19.9%	19	2.7%	44	86.0%	5	36.2	16
Massachusetts	6.5%	41	10.7%	34	23.0%	43	13.4	44
Michigan	38.2%	4	33.8%	6	100.0%	1	57.3	1
Minnesota	13.9%	24	6.4%	42	96.5%	2	38.9	12
Missouri	21.1%	17	14.8%	27	41.7%	36	25.9	33
Montana	37.6%	5	17.5%	22	77.6%	8	44.2	8
Nebraska	44.0%	1	28.6%	16	44.0%	35	38.9	12
Nevada	21.2%	16	41.5%	1	75.0%	9	45.9	4
New Hampshire	27.8%	9	40.7%	3	79.5%	7	49.3	3
New Mexico	8.9%	33	8.8%	36	37.5%	37	18.4	40
New York	8.9%	33	17.0%	24	57.7%	23	27.9	30
North Carolina	11.8%	28	20.7%	20	54.1%	24	28.9	26
North Dakota	21.7%	14	13.0%	31	89.9%	4	41.5	10
Ohio	25.2%	12	16.3%	25	73.9%	10	38.5	15
Oklahoma	32.8%	6	33.3%	8	69.6%	14	45.2	6
Oregon	22.7%	13	6.9%	41	58.7%	22	29.4	25
Pennsylvania	8.3%	39	13.4%	30	51.3%	26	24.3	35
Rhode Island	7.1%	40	17.1%	23	30.1%	40	18.1	41
South Carolina	10.0%	31	27.5%	18	23.5%	42	20.3	38
South Dakota	40.0%	2	28.6%	16	62.9%	18	43.8	9
Tennessee	5.2%	42	31.2%	10	48.7%	29	28.4	29
Texas	9.6%	32	30.7%	12	33.7%	39	24.7	34
Utah	15.6%	22	7.9%	39	62.2%	19	28.6	28
Vermont	15.6%	22	17.8%	21	47.2%	31	26.9	32
Washington	16.9%	21	31.1%	11	50.0%	28	32.7	21
West Virginia	21.4%	15	40.9%	2	92.3%	3	51.5	2
Wisconsin	11.3%	29	7.8%	40	50.4%	27	23.2	36
Wyoming	26.7%	10	36.4%	5	73.3%	12	45.5	5

2015

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 5, 2015

Ballotpedia's 5th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 538 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 3, 2015.

Overall, the 2015 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 25.4, a decrease of 4.9 points from 2013 and 2.7 points from 2011, the most recent comparable election year in terms of chambers holding elections.

Key findings of this report include:

79 seats were open (14.7%), up 7.9 percentage points from 2013 but down 2.3 percentage points from 2011.

107 incumbents faced contested primaries (23.3%), up 11.6 percentage points from 2013 and 1.9 percentage points from 2011.

206 seats were contested by both major parties (38.3%), down 34.0 percentage points from 2013 and 7.7 percentage points from 2011.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2015
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	13.8%	21.7%	39.6%	25.0
Senate	13.8%	21.7%	39.6%	25.0
Total	13.8%	21.7%	39.6%	25.0

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2015, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2015
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	14.7%	-	23.3%	-	38.3%	-	25.4	-
Louisiana	23.6%	1	34.5%	1	16.0%	4	24.7	3
Mississippi	13.2%	2	34.2%	2	32.8%	3	26.7	2
New Jersey	8.8%	4	9.6%	3	96.3%	1	38.2	1
Virginia	10.7%	3	8.0%	4	35.0%	2	17.9	4

2014

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 4, 2014

Ballotpedia's 4th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 6,051 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 4, 2014.

Overall, the 2014 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 30.8, a decrease of 4.4 points from 2012.

Key findings of this report include:

1,019 seats were open (16.8%), down 4.8 percentage points from 2012 and 1.9 percentage points from 2010.

983 incumbents faced contested primaries (19.5%), down 3.8 percentage points from 2012 and 0.5 percentage points from 2012.

3,388 seats were contested by both major parties (56.0%), down 4.4 percentage points from 2012 and 9.0 percentage points from 2012.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2014
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	16.3%	19.4%	55.7%	30.5
Senate	19.1%	20.0%	57.4%	32.2
Total	16.8%	19.5%	56.0%	30.8

The lists below show the five states with the highest and lowest Competitiveness Indices:

Most competitive:

• Michigan (54.5)
• Maryland (53.2)
• Montana (47.5)
• California (47.4)
• New Hampshire (46.3)

Least competitive:

• Georgia (16.3)
• South Carolina (16.3)
• Rhode Island (16.9)
• Vermont (19.3)
• Illinois (19.6)

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2014, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2014
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	16.8%	-	19.5%	-	56.0%	-	30.8	-
Alabama	15.0%	20	33.6%	6	39.3%	34	29.3	25
Alaska	14.8%	22	8.5%	37	66.7%	13	30.0	21
Arizona	26.7%	9	42.4%	2	58.9%	20	42.7	7
Arkansas	26.3%	11	9.2%	36	31.4%	43	22.3	39
California	33.0%	4	34.3%	5	75.0%	10	47.4	4
Colorado	28.0%	6	3.4%	44	76.8%	9	36.1	14
Connecticut	12.8%	26	5.5%	40	71.7%	11	30.0	21
Delaware	3.9%	46	18.4%	22	56.9%	22	26.4	29
Florida	12.9%	25	17.2%	24	40.7%	33	23.6	36
Georgia	7.2%	43	21.5%	17	20.3%	46	16.3	45
Hawaii	7.9%	41	34.5%	4	68.3%	12	36.9	11
Idaho	10.5%	31	31.9%	9	52.4%	23	31.6	17
Illinois	8.8%	39	11.2%	32	38.7%	35	19.6	42
Indiana	6.4%	45	9.4%	35	50.4%	26	22.1	40
Iowa	12.0%	27	7.3%	38	49.6%	28	23.0	37
Kansas	10.4%	32	18.8%	20	60.0%	19	29.7	23
Kentucky	9.2%	37	13.9%	29	49.6%	28	24.2	34
Maine	27.4%	8	2.2%	46	86.6%	3	38.7	10
Maryland	27.7%	7	68.1%	1	63.8%	16	53.2	2
Massachusetts	11.0%	30	9.6%	34	38.5%	36	19.7	41
Michigan	34.5%	3	28.9%	11	100.0%	1	54.5	1
Minnesota	11.2%	29	4.2%	43	93.3%	2	36.2	13
Missouri	18.3%	17	15.0%	26	49.4%	30	27.6	26
Montana	36.0%	2	22.5%	16	84.0%	4	47.5	3
Nebraska	70.8%	1	14.3%	27	33.3%	40	39.5	9
Nevada	18.9%	16	30.2%	10	60.4%	18	36.5	12
New Hampshire	26.7%	9	33.2%	7	79.0%	7	46.3	5
New Mexico	15.7%	19	11.9%	31	50.0%	27	25.9	31
New York	9.9%	34	14.1%	28	57.7%	21	27.2	27
North Carolina	8.2%	40	18.6%	21	52.4%	23	26.4	29
North Dakota	18.1%	18	6.8%	39	66.7%	13	30.5	20
Ohio	22.4%	14	25.6%	13	81.0%	6	43.0	6
Oklahoma	24.0%	13	13.7%	30	36.8%	39	24.8	33
Oregon	20.0%	15	10.0%	33	64.0%	15	31.3	18
Pennsylvania	11.8%	28	20.7%	18	44.3%	32	25.6	32
Rhode Island	7.1%	44	17.1%	25	26.5%	44	16.9	44
South Carolina	7.3%	42	17.4%	23	24.2%	45	16.3	45
South Dakota	29.5%	5	23.0%	15	47.6%	31	33.4	15
Tennessee	10.3%	33	24.0%	14	37.9%	37	24.1	35
Texas	9.1%	38	26.0%	12	33.3%	40	22.8	38
Utah	13.5%	24	5.2%	41	77.5%	8	32.1	16
Vermont	15.0%	20	5.2%	41	37.8%	38	19.3	43
Washington	9.8%	35	20.7%	18	63.4%	17	31.3	18
West Virginia	9.4%	36	32.1%	8	83.8%	5	41.8	8
Wisconsin	25.0%	12	3.4%	44	51.7%	25	26.7	28
Wyoming	14.7%	23	40.6%	3	33.3%	40	29.5	24

2013

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 3, 2013

Ballotpedia's 3rd Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 220 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 5, 2013.

Overall, the 2013 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 30.3, an increase of 2.2 points from 2011.

Key findings of this report include:

15 seats were open (6.8%), down 10.2 percentage points from 2011.

24 incumbents faced contested primaries (11.7%), down 9.7 percentage points from 2011.

159 seats were contested by both major parties (72.3%), up 26.3 percentage points from 2011.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2013
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	7.8%	10.8%	67.2%	28.6
Senate	2.5%	15.4%	95.0%	37.6
Total	6.8%	11.7%	72.3%	30.3

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2013, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2013
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	6.8%	-	11.7%	-	72.3%	-	30.3	-
New Jersey	5.0%	2	14.9%	1	96.7%	1	38.9	1
Virginia	9.0%	1	7.7%	2	43.0%	2	19.9	2

2012

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 2, 2012

Ballotpedia's 2nd Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 6,013 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 6, 2012.

Overall, the 2012 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 35.2, an increase of 0.6 points from 2010.

Key findings of this report include:

1,314 seats were open (21.9%), up 3.2 percentage points from 2010.

1,117 incumbents faced contested primaries (23.3%), up 3.3 percentage points from 2010.

3,629 seats were contested by both major parties (60.4%), down 4.6 percentage points from 2010.

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2012
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	21.7%	23.3%	60.2%	35.1
Senate	22.4%	23.4%	60.8%	35.5
Total	21.9%	23.3%	60.4%	35.2

The lists below show the five states with the highest and lowest Competitiveness Indices:

Most competitive:

• Michigan (52.8)
• New Hampshire (52.6)
• California (52.4)
• Idaho (52.4)
• Kansas (47.9)

Least competitive:

• Massachusetts (16.0)
• Vermont (18.5)
• Georgia (19.2)
• South Carolina (23.2)
• Oklahoma (24.1)

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2012, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2012
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	21.9%	-	23.3%	-	60.4%	-	35.2	-
Alaska	18.6%	26	29.6%	14	69.5%	18	39.2	15
Arizona	35.6%	4	40.0%	6	48.9%	31	41.5	12
Arkansas	34.8%	6	13.6%	37	47.4%	33	31.9	29
California	44.0%	1	39.3%	7	74.0%	14	52.4	3
Colorado	38.8%	2	7.5%	40	85.9%	4	44.1	8
Connecticut	12.8%	37	4.3%	43	78.6%	10	31.9	29
Delaware	16.1%	33	20.8%	23	50.0%	29	29.0	34
Florida	33.1%	10	28.2%	16	45.0%	34	35.4	24
Georgia	11.9%	38	22.9%	21	22.9%	44	19.2	42
Hawaii	10.5%	43	36.6%	8	61.8%	23	36.3	22
Idaho	34.3%	7	48.6%	1	74.3%	13	52.4	3
Illinois	19.2%	25	22.8%	22	42.9%	36	28.3	35
Indiana	18.4%	27	16.5%	29	66.4%	19	33.8	26
Iowa	23.8%	18	16.0%	31	72.2%	15	37.3	19
Kansas	31.5%	11	42.5%	4	69.7%	17	47.9	5
Kentucky	10.9%	42	20.8%	23	44.5%	35	25.4	39
Maine	33.9%	8	4.1%	44	90.9%	3	43.0	9
Massachusetts	5.0%	44	10.0%	38	33.0%	42	16.0	44
Michigan	20.0%	20	40.2%	5	98.2%	1	52.8	1
Minnesota	25.4%	16	7.1%	41	96.0%	2	42.8	10
Missouri	33.9%	8	27.8%	17	49.4%	30	37.0	21
Montana	34.9%	5	20.7%	25	79.4%	8	45.0	7
Nebraska	36.0%	3	25.0%	20	52.0%	26	37.7	18
Nevada	30.8%	12	33.3%	13	76.9%	11	47.0	6
New Hampshire	29.5%	13	46.0%	2	82.3%	7	52.6	2
New Mexico	19.6%	23	26.4%	18	48.2%	32	31.4	31
New York	11.3%	40	17.5%	28	62.4%	22	30.4	32
North Carolina	27.1%	15	29.1%	15	57.1%	25	37.8	17
North Dakota	24.0%	17	16.4%	30	82.7%	6	41.0	14
Ohio	16.2%	31	14.3%	36	85.5%	5	38.7	16
Oklahoma	18.4%	27	18.6%	26	35.2%	40	24.1	40
Oregon	13.2%	36	6.1%	42	78.9%	9	32.7	28
Pennsylvania	11.0%	41	15.8%	33	51.8%	27	26.2	38
Rhode Island	11.5%	39	26.0%	19	42.5%	37	26.7	37
South Carolina	14.1%	35	15.5%	34	40.0%	38	23.2	41
South Dakota	29.5%	13	33.8%	12	60.0%	24	41.1	13
Tennessee	18.3%	29	35.7%	9	50.4%	28	34.8	25
Texas	19.3%	24	34.7%	11	36.5%	39	30.2	33
Utah	16.5%	30	17.9%	27	76.9%	11	37.1	20
Vermont	14.4%	34	7.7%	39	33.3%	41	18.5	43
Washington	21.0%	19	15.3%	35	63.7%	21	33.3	27
West Virginia	16.2%	31	45.9%	3	65.8%	20	42.6	11
Wisconsin	20.0%	20	16.0%	31	71.3%	16	35.8	23
Wyoming	20.0%	20	35.0%	10	26.7%	43	27.2	36

2011

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 1, 2011

Ballotpedia's 1st Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 578 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 8, 2011.

Overall, the 2011 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 28.1.

Key findings of this report include:

98 seats were open (17.0%).

104 incumbents faced contested primaries (21.4%).

206 seats were contested by both major parties (46.0%).

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2011
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	14.4%	19.9%	64.7%	33.0
Senate	17.0%	21.1%	67.3%	35.1
Total	14.9%	20.1%	65.2%	33.4

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2011, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2011
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	17.0%	-	21.4%	-	46.0%	-	28.1	-
Louisiana	25.0%	1	45.5%	1	22.2%	4	30.9	2
Mississippi	15.5%	2	23.1%	2	37.4%	2	25.3	3
New Jersey	12.5%	4	17.0%	3	97.5%	1	42.3	1
Virginia	14.3%	3	1.6%	4	37.1%	3	17.7	4

2010

See also: 2010 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

Ballotpedia's inaugural State Legislative Competitiveness Report analyzed all 6,127 state legislative seats that were up for election on November 2, 2010.

Overall, the 2010 election cycle had a Competitiveness Index of 34.6

Key findings of this report include:

1,143 seats were open (18.7%).

995 incumbents faced contested primaries (20.0%).

3,985 seats were contested by both major parties (65.0%).

Nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index, 2010
Chamber	Open seats	Incs. in contested primaries	Major party competition	Competitiveness Index
House	17.5%	20.0%	63.6%	33.7
Senate	23.4%	20.0%	71.0%	38.1
Total	18.7%	20.0%	65.0%	34.6

The lists below show the five states with the highest and lowest Competitiveness Indices:

Most competitive:

• Michigan (59.0)
• Nevada (54.2)
• Arizona (50.3)
• New Hampshire (49.6)
• Maryland (49.1)

Least competitive:

• Texas (20.8)
• South Carolina (20.9)
• Georgia (23.3)
• New Mexico (24.1)
• Oklahoma (24.2)

Click [show] on the table below to view each state's State Legislative Competitiveness Index in 2010, along with their respective values for the three criteria and ranks.

State Legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2010
State	Open seats		Incs. in contested primaries		Major party competition		Competitiveness Index
	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	%	Rk.	#	Rk.
Nationwide	18.7%	-	20.0%	-	65.0%	-	34.6	-
Alabama	13.6%	22	28.1%	8	45.0%	39	28.9	30
Alaska	10.0%	33	13.3%	31	56.0%	33	26.4	36
Arizona	43.3%	4	51.0%	2	56.7%	30	50.3	3
Arkansas	45.3%	3	6.3%	41	32.5%	45	28.0	32
California	38.0%	7	9.7%	37	92.0%	5	46.6	7
Colorado	23.8%	12	1.6%	46	84.5%	10	36.6	16
Connecticut	10.2%	32	6.0%	42	74.9%	13	30.4	26
Delaware	7.7%	43	14.6%	27	65.4%	21	29.2	28
Florida	32.2%	9	18.6%	21	49.7%	36	33.5	21
Georgia	16.1%	20	20.7%	16	33.1%	44	23.3	44
Hawaii	12.1%	26	41.4%	4	90.9%	6	48.1	6
Idaho	8.6%	39	27.1%	9	51.4%	35	29.0	29
Illinois	8.6%	39	16.5%	24	57.6%	28	27.6	33
Indiana	9.6%	36	18.6%	21	72.0%	16	33.4	23
Iowa	13.6%	22	7.4%	40	67.2%	19	29.4	27
Kansas	8.0%	42	20.0%	17	56.8%	29	28.3	31
Kentucky	5.9%	44	18.8%	20	56.3%	32	27.0	35
Maine	23.1%	13	2.8%	45	94.1%	3	40.0	11
Maryland	13.8%	21	64.8%	1	68.6%	18	49.1	5
Massachusetts	17.0%	18	8.4%	38	48.0%	37	24.5	41
Michigan	54.1%	1	25.0%	11	98.0%	1	59.0	1
Minnesota	11.9%	28	4.5%	43	97.0%	2	37.8	12
Missouri	41.7%	5	14.3%	28	56.7%	30	37.6	14
Montana	40.5%	6	14.7%	26	72.2%	14	42.5	8
Nebraska	12.5%	25	28.6%	7	37.5%	42	26.2	37
Nevada	50.9%	2	19.2%	19	92.5%	4	54.2	2
New Hampshire	24.1%	11	38.5%	5	86.3%	8	49.6	4
New Mexico	4.3%	46	20.9%	15	47.1%	38	24.1	43
New York	11.8%	29	19.8%	18	77.4%	12	36.3	17
North Carolina	10.6%	31	25.7%	10	67.1%	20	34.5	20
North Dakota	20.8%	14	3.5%	44	72.2%	14	32.2	25
Ohio	25.0%	10	16.1%	25	85.3%	9	42.1	10
Oklahoma	17.6%	17	11.7%	33	43.2%	40	24.2	42
Oregon	9.2%	37	13.0%	32	90.8%	7	37.7	13
Pennsylvania	9.2%	37	14.0%	29	59.2%	25	27.5	34
Rhode Island	13.3%	24	34.7%	6	62.8%	24	36.9	15
South Carolina	9.7%	35	23.2%	14	29.8%	46	20.9	45
South Dakota	32.4%	8	9.9%	36	58.1%	26	33.5	21
Tennessee	8.6%	39	11.3%	34	57.8%	27	25.9	39
Texas	5.4%	45	17.8%	23	39.2%	41	20.8	46
Utah	10.0%	33	11.1%	35	78.9%	11	33.3	24
Vermont	11.7%	30	8.2%	39	55.6%	34	25.2	40
Washington	16.3%	19	23.3%	13	65.0%	22	34.9	19
West Virginia	12.0%	27	50.5%	3	65.0%	22	42.5	8
Wisconsin	19.8%	16	14.0%	29	71.6%	17	35.1	18
Wyoming	20.0%	15	25.0%	11	33.3%	43	26.1	38

See also

• Portal:State Legislatures
• A "Competitiveness Index" for capturing competitiveness in state legislative elections