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Contested state legislative primaries, 2023

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Last updated on December 1, 2023
2023 State Legislative Competitiveness
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There were 578 state legislative seats up for election in November 2023 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 538 state legislative districts up for election nationwide, creating 877 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 204 contested primaries, meaning 23% of all primaries were contested. This was lower than in 2019 (25%), the last time all four states held elections.

In 2023:

  • There were 62 contested Democratic primaries, representing 16% of all possible Democratic primaries and a 7% decrease from 2019.
  • There were 66 contested Republican primaries, representing 20% of all possible Republican primaries and an 18% increase from 2019.
  • There were 76 contested top-two/four primaries, representing 53% of all possible top-two/four primaries and a 17% decrease from 2019.
  • The total number of contested primaries—204—was down from 2019 (215), the last time all four states held elections, representing a 5% decrease.



    • Contested state legislative primaries, 2023
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Top-two/four Total
    # % # % # % # %
    House 367 35 13.4% 45 20.5% 57 54.3% 137 23.3%
    Senate 171 27 20.5% 21 17.6% 19 48.7% 67 23.1%
    Total 538 62 15.7% 66 19.5% 76 52.8% 204 23.3%


    Click [show] on the table below to view contested primary statistics by state in 2023. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Historical comparison

    The chart below shows a breakdown of contested primaries from 2011 to 2023.


    Click [show] on the table below to view overall contested primary statistics by state from 2011 to 2023. 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 76 contested elections, meaning 52.8% of all possible primaries were contested.

    In 2023

    Statistics from 2023 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Contested state legislative primaries in Louisiana, 2023
    Chamber Districts
    Total
    # %
    House 105 57 54.3%
    Senate 39 19 48.7%
    Total 144 76 52.8%

    2011-2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in Louisiana, 2011-2023
    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%
    2021 Did not hold elections
    2023 144 76 52.8%


    See also:

    Mississippi

    There were 174 state legislative districts up for election in Mississippi, creating 348 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 60 contested primaries—19 by Democrats and 41 by Republicans—meaning 17.2% of all primaries were contested.

    In 2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in Mississippi, 2023
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    House 122 14 11.5% 30 24.6% 44 18.0%
    Senate 52 5 9.6% 11 21.2% 16 15.4%
    Total 174 19 10.9% 41 23.6% 60 17.2%

    2011-2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in Mississippi, 2011-2023
    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%
    2021 Did not hold elections
    2023 174 19 10.9% 41 23.6% 60 17.2%


    See also:

    New Jersey

    There were 80 state legislative districts up for election in New Jersey, creating 160 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 21 contested primaries—12 by Democrats and nine by Republicans—meaning 13.1% of all primaries were contested.

    In 2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in New Jersey, 2023
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    House 40 5 12.5% 6 15.0% 11 13.8%
    Senate 40 7 17.5% 3 7.5% 10 12.5%
    Total 80 12 15.0% 9 11.3% 21 13.1%

    2011-2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in New Jersey, 2011-2023
    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%
    2021 80 9 11.3% 10 12.5% 19 11.9%
    2023 80 12 15.0% 9 11.3% 21 13.1%


    See also:

    Virginia

    There were 140 state legislative districts up for election in Virginia, creating 225 possible primaries. The number of potential primaries decreased because 55 races held conventions as the sole means of nomination: zero for Democrats and 55 for Republicans. There were 47 contested primaries—31 by Democrats and 16 by Republicans—meaning 20.9% of all primaries were contested.

    In 2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in Virginia, 2023
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Total
    # % # % # %
    House 100 16 16.0% 9 15.5% 25 15.8%
    Senate 40 15 37.5% 7 25.9% 22 32.8%
    Total 140 31 22.1% 16 18.8% 47 20.9%

    2011-2023

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

    Contested state legislative primaries in Virginia, 2011-2023
    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%
    2021 100[4] 18 19.8% 7 8.6% 25 14.5%
    2023 140[5] 31 22.1% 16 18.8% 47 20.9%


    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 2023, 55 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.
    4. ↑ There were 28 races that used conventions as the sole means of nomination, decreasing the total number of possible primaries.
    5. ↑ There were 55 races that used conventions as the sole means of nomination, decreasing the total number of possible primaries.
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