Congressional midterm primary election dates, 1918-2018

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This article details the dates of congressional midterm primary elections between 1918 and 2018. Dates are provided in 20-year intervals.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 1918, the duration between the earliest and latest primary election dates was 203 days. For the 2018 primary election cycle, the duration was 189 days.

In 1918, the first primary occurred on March 5 in Indiana and the last occurred on September 24 in Massachusetts and New Jersey. In 2018, the first primary occurred on March 6 in Texas and the last occurred on September 11 in New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

In 1918, the median primary date was August 20. In the 2018 primary election cycle, the median primary date was June 12.

The information in this article was provided to Ballotpedia by Richard Winger, publisher of Ballot Access News.

Congressional midterm primary dates by state

To sort the data presented in the table below, click the black arrows on the righthand side of each column header.

Congressional midterm primary election dates, 1918-2018
State	1918	1938	1958	1978	1998	2018
Alabama	August 13	May 3	May 6	September 5	June 2	June 5
Alaska	April 30	April 26	August 26	August 22	August 25	August 21
Arizona	September 10	September 13	September 9	September 12	September 8	August 28
Arkansas	—	August 9	July 29	May 30	May 19	May 22
California	August 27	August 30	June 3	June 6	June 2	June 5
Colorado	September 11	September 13	September 9	September 12	August 11	June 26
Connecticut	—	—	No primary	September 12	September 15	August 14
Delaware	—	—	No primary	September 9	September 12	September 6
Florida	June 4	May 3	September 9	September 12	September 1	August 28
Georgia	September 11	September 14	September 10	August 8	July 21	May 22
Hawaii	September 14	September 10	October 4	October 7	September 19	August 11
Idaho	—	August 9	August 12	August 7	May 26	May 15
Illinois	September 11	April 12	April 8	March 21	March 17	March 20
Indiana	March 5	May 3	May 6	May 2	May 5	May 8
Iowa	June 7	June 6	June 2	June 6	June 2	June 5
Kansas	August 6	August 2	August 5	August 1	August 4	August 7
Kentucky	August 3	August 6	May 27	May 23	May 26	May 22
Louisiana	September 10	September 13	August 23	September 16	—	—
Maine	June 17	June 20	June 16	June 13	June 9	June 12
Maryland	September 9	September 12	May 20	September 12	September 15	June 26
Massachusetts	September 24	September 20	September 9	September 19	September 15	September 4
Michigan	August 27	September 13	August 5	August 8	August 4	August 7
Minnesota	June 17	June 20	September 9	September 12	September 15	August 14
Mississippi	August 20	August 23	August 26	June 6	June 2	June 5
Missouri	August 6	August 2	August 5	August 8	August 4	August 7
Montana	August 27	July 19	June 3	June 6	June 2	June 5
Nebraska	August 20	August 9	May 13	May 9	May 12	May 15
Nevada	September 3	September 6	September 2	September 12	September 1	June 12
New Hampshire	September 3	September 13	September 9	September 12	September 8	September 11
New Jersey	September 24	September 20	April 15	June 6	June 2	June 5
New Mexico	—	—	May 13	June 6	June 2	June 5
New York	September 3	September 20	August 12	September 12	September 15	June 26
North Carolina	June 1	June 4	May 31	May 2	September 15	May 8
North Dakota	June 26	June 28	June 24	September 5	June 9	June 12
Ohio	August 13	August 9	May 6	June 6	May 5	May 8
Oklahoma	August 6	July 12	July 1	August 22	August 25	June 26
Oregon	May 17	May 20	May 16	May 23	May 19	May 15
Pennsylvania	May 21	May 17	May 20	May 16	May 19	May 15
Rhode Island	—	—	September 17	September 12	September 15	September 11
South Carolina	August 27	August 30	June 10	June 13	June 9	June 12
South Dakota	June 26	May 3	June 3	June 6	June 2	June 5
Tennessee	August 1	August 4	August 7	August 3	August 6	August 2
Texas	July 27	July 23	July 26	May 6	March 10	March 6
Utah	—	—	September 9	September 12	June 23	June 26
Vermont	September 17	September 13	September 9	September 12	September 8	August 14
Virginia	—	August 2	July 15	June 14	June 9	June 12
Washington	September 10	September 13	September 9	September 19	September 15	August 7
West Virginia	August 6	August 2	August 5	May 9	May 12	May 8
Wisconsin	September 3	September 20	September 9	September 12	September 8	August 14
Wyoming	August 20	August 16	August 19	September 12	August 18	August 21
Median	August 20	August 9	August 5	August 8	July 21	June 12
Range	203 days	161 days	179 days	200 days	193 days	189 days
Source: Ballot Access News, October 2017 print edition. Notes: For the purposes of the above table, the median date is the date that falls at the midpoint between the earliest and latest primary dates. The range is the duration between the earliest and latest primary dates. A "—" indicates that data for this state and year was not available.

External links

• Ballot Access News

See also

• Filing requirements for congressional candidates
• Calendar of election dates and filing deadlines
• Election coverage on Ballotpedia
• United States Congress

Footnotes

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