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Contested state legislative primaries, 2019

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Last updated on November 18, 2024
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There were 538 state legislative seats up for election on November 5, 2019, in four states. This page analyzes contested primaries in those races. A primary is contested when there are more candidates running than nominations available, meaning at least one candidate on the primary ballot must lose. Learn more about the terms and methodologies used in this analysis.

Ballotpedia uses the number and percentage of contested primaries to help determine the overall competitiveness of an election cycle. A greater number of contested primaries indicates more candidates running for office and more choices voters must make. A smaller number of contested primaries indicates fewer candidates and choices on the ballot.

There were 498 state legislative districts up for election nationwide, creating 850 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 215 contested primaries, meaning 25% of all primaries were contested. This was the highest number and percentage of contested primaries since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2011.

In 2019:

  • There were 67 contested Democratic primaries, representing 19% of all possible Democratic primaries and a 37% increase from 2015.
  • There were 56 contested Republican primaries, representing 16% of all possible Republican primaries and a 12% increase from 2015.
  • There were 92 contested top-two/four primaries, representing 64% of all possible top-two/four primaries and a 31% increase from 2015.
  • The total number of contested primaries—215—was up from 169 in 2015, the last time all four states held elections, representing a 27% increase.



    • Contested state legislative primaries, 2019
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Top-two/four Total
    # % # % # % # %
    House 367 45 17.2% 35 13.5% 65 61.9% 145 23.1%
    Senate 131 22 23.9% 21 22.8% 27 69.2% 70 31.4%
    Total 498 67 18.9% 56 15.9% 92 63.9% 215 25.3%


    Click [show] on the table below to view contested primary statistics by state in 2019. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Historical comparison

    The chart below shows a breakdown of contested primaries from 2011 to 2019.


    Click [show] on the table below to view overall contested primary statistics by state from 2011 to 2019. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    By state

    Overview

    Louisiana

    Note: Louisiana does not have true primaries but instead uses a unique majority-vote system. For the purpose of this analysis, primaries in Louisiana are considered contested if more than one person files to run.

    There were 144 state legislative districts up for election in Louisiana, creating 144 possible primaries because of the state’s unique voting system. Of that total, there were 92 contested elections, meaning 63.9% of all possible primaries were contested.

    In 2019

    Statistics from 2019 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Louisiana, 2019
    Chamber Districts
    Total
    # %
    House 105 65 61.9%
    Senate 39 27 69.2%
    Total 144 92 63.9%

    2011-2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Louisiana, 2011-2019
    Year Districts
    Total
    # %
    2011 144 81 56.3%
    2013 Did not hold elections
    2015 144 70 48.6%
    2017 Did not hold elections
    2019 144 92 63.9%


    See also:

    Mississippi

    There were 174 state legislative districts up for election in Mississippi, creating 348 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 72 contested primaries—31 by Democrats and 41 by Republicans—meaning 20.7% of all primaries were contested.

    In 2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Mississippi, 2019
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    House 122 20 16.4% 25 20.5% 45 18.4%
    Senate 52 11 21.2% 16 30.8% 27 26.0%
    Total 174 31 17.8% 41 23.6% 72 20.7%

    2011-2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Mississippi, 2011-2019
    Year Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    2011 174 33 19.0% 39 22.4% 72 20.7%
    2013 Did not hold elections
    2015 174 37 21.3% 39 22.4% 76 21.8%
    2017 Did not hold elections
    2019 174 31 17.8% 41 23.6% 72 20.7%


    See also:

    New Jersey

    There were 40 state legislative districts up for election in New Jersey, creating 80 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 16 contested primaries—13 by Democrats and three by Republicans—meaning 20.0% of all primaries were contested.

    In 2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in New Jersey, 2019
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    House 40 13 32.5% 3 7.5% 16 20.0%
    Senate Did not hold elections
    Total 40 13 32.5% 3 7.5% 16 20.0%

    2011-2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in New Jersey, 2011-2019
    Year Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    2011 80 11 13.8% 14 17.5% 25 15.6%
    2013 80 9 11.3% 11 13.8% 20 12.5%
    2015 40 3 7.5% 2 5.0% 5 6.3%
    2017 80 14 17.5% 11 13.8% 25 15.6%
    2019 40 13 32.5% 3 7.5% 16 20.0%


    See also:

    Virginia

    There were 140 state legislative districts up for election in Virginia, creating 278 possible primaries. The number of potential primaries decreased because two races held conventions as the sole means of nomination: zero for Democrats and two for Republicans. There were 35 contested primaries—23 by Democrats and 12 by Republicans—meaning 12.6% of all primaries were contested.

    In 2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Virginia, 2019
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    House 100 12 12.0% 7 7.1% 19 9.6%
    Senate 40 11 27.5% 5 12.5% 16 20.0%
    Total 140 23 16.4% 12 8.7% 35 12.6%

    2011-2019

    Historical statistics are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Virginia, 2011-2019
    Year Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    2011 140[1] 4 4.0% 12 9.8% 16 7.2%
    2013 100 3 3.0% 9 9.0% 12 6.0%
    2015 140 9 6.4% 9 6.4% 18 6.4%
    2017 100[2] 19 20.0% 7 7.2% 26 13.5%
    2019 140[3] 23 16.4% 12 8.7% 35 12.6%


    See also:


    Terms and methodologies

    Primary

    See also: Primary election

    A primary is an election used either to narrow the field of candidates or to determine political parties' nominees in advance of a general election. Broadly, a state might use one of two types of primary systems for its state legislative elections: partisan or top-two/four.

    Partisan primaries

    See also: Open, closed, and semi-closed primary

    Partisan primaries are those where candidates from the same party compete against one another. The winning candidates receive their parties' nominations in order to appear on the general election ballot.

    Top-two/four primaries

    See also: Top-two primary and Top-four primary

    Top-two/four primaries are those where all candidates, regardless of their party affiliations, appear on the same primary ballot. Depending on the system in place, either the top-two or top-four vote-getters advance to the general election.

    Contested primary

    A contested primary is one where there are more candidates running than nominations available, meaning at least one candidate on the primary ballot must lose.

    The number of candidates needed to create a contested primary depends on the primary system in place and the number of seats up for election in a state legislative district.

    In states with partisan primaries, a primary is typically contested when two or more candidates from the same political party file to run since only one candidate can receive their party's nomination. In states with multi-member state legislative districts, the number of candidates a party can nominate to the general election ballot depends on the number of seats in the district. In these cases, a primary is contested when at least one more candidate files to run than there are seats in the district. In states with top-two/four primaries, a primary is contested when more than two (in states with a top-two system) or more than four (in states with a top-four system) candidates file to run.

    Possible primaries

    The number of possible primaries is determined by the number of districts holding elections and the primary system in place.

    In states with partisan primaries, there are two possible primaries per district, one for each of the two major parties. In states with top-two/four primaries, there is one possible primary per district, since every candidate appears on the same primary ballot.

    Methodology

    This page analyzes the total number of contested state legislative primaries by comparing the number of such primaries to the number of possible primaries.

    Ballotpedia considers a primary as contested when there are more candidates on the ballot than nominations available. If a candidate unofficially withdraws before the primary but remains on the ballot, that candidate is included in the total towards determining whether a primary is contested.

    In states with partisan primaries, only major party candidates and primaries are counted. In states with top-two/four primaries, all candidates—major party and otherwise—are counted.

    If a district uses a convention—a nominating contested reserved to a smaller number of participants usually referred to as delegates—as the sole means of nominating a candidate, that district is not included in the calculation of possible primaries. In 2019, two state legislative districts used conventions as the sole means of nomination.

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ There were 58 races that used conventions as the sole means of nomination, decreasing the total number of possible primaries.
    2. ↑ There were eight races that used conventions as the sole means of nomination, decreasing the total number of possible primaries.
    3. ↑ There were two races that used conventions as the sole means of nomination, decreasing the total number of possible primaries.
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