Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections, 2026

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Last updated on March 19, 2026

There are 6,122 state legislative seats up for election on November 3, 2026, in 46 states. This page analyzes incumbents defeated in those elections. An incumbent may be defeated at two points in an election cycle: during a primary and during a general election.

Four states—Arkansas, Illinois, North Carolina, and Texas—have held state legislative primaries. In those states, 14 incumbents lost to primary challengers, 2.6% of incumbents who ran for re-election and 13.5% of contested incumbents. As of March 19, there was one incumbent in an uncalled race.

In 2026 primaries:

Five Democratic incumbents lost, 2.1% of the 235 Democratic incumbents who ran.

Nine Republican incumbents lost, 3.0% of the 301 Republican incumbents who ran.

The total number of incumbents defeated in primaries—14—was below the average of 19 since 2010 and represented a 33% decrease from 2024 in those states that have held primaries so far this year.

In 2026

Click [show] on the table below to view primary incumbent defeat statistics by state in 2026. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents defeated in primaries, 2026
State
	Democratic			Republican			Total
	Filed	Def.	%	Filed	Def.	%	Filed	Def.	%
Nationwide	340	5	1.5%	596	9	1.5%	936	14	1.5%
Arkansas	15	0	0.0%	77	1	1.3%	92	1	1.1%
Illinois	92	1	1.1%	51	1	2.0%	143	2	1.4%
North Carolina	68	3	4.4%	92	5	5.4%	160	8	5.0%
Texas	60	1	1.7%	81	2	2.5%	141	3	2.1%

Historical comparison

The chart below shows a partisan breakdown of incumbents defeated in primaries from 2010 to 2026.

Click [show] on the table below to view primary incumbent defeat statistics by state from 2010 to 2026. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents defeated in primaries, 2010-2026
State
	2010		2012		2014		2016		2018		2020		2022		2024		2026
	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%	Def.	%
Nationwide	14	2.8%	26	5.1%	22	4.2%	10	1.8%	23	4.4%	10	1.9%	23	4.1%	21	3.9%	14	2.6%
Arkansas	1	1.6%	2	2.3%	4	4.6%	2	2.0%	3	3.2%	2	1.9%	8	7.7%	0	0.0%	1	1.1%
Illinois	1	0.8%	6	4.1%	3	2.4%	1	0.7%	3	2.3%	2	1.6%	6	3.9%	1	0.8%	2	1.4%
North Carolina	5	3.3%	7	5.5%	4	2.6%	2	1.3%	8	5.2%	2	1.4%	7	4.9%	4	2.7%	8	5.0%
Texas	7	4.5%	11	7.5%	11	7.3%	5	3.3%	9	6.0%	4	2.6%	2	1.3%	16	10.8%	3	2.1%

List of defeated incumbents

Click [show] on the header below to see a full list of incumbents defeated in primaries by state. Winners marked with (i) were incumbents from the same chamber.

Arkansas

Primary defeats

There are 117 seats up for election in Arkansas. Overall, 92 incumbents filed for re-election, including 15 Democrats and 77 Republicans. Of that total, one incumbent lost in primaries—a Republican—representing 1.1% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

Statistics from 2026 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

Incumbents defeated in primaries in Arkansas, 2026
Chamber
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
House	14	0	0	0.0%	66	6	0	0.0%	80	6	0	0.0%
Senate	1	0	0	0.0%	11	3	1	9.1%	12	3	1	8.3%
Total	15	0	0	0.0%	77	9	1	1.3%	92	9	1	1.1%

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

Incumbents defeated in primaries in Arkansas, 2010-2026
Year
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
2010	42	3	1	2.4%	22	1	0	0.0%	64	4	1	1.6%
2012	40	6	1	2.5%	48	6	1	2.1%	88	12	2	2.3%
2014	44	1	1	2.3%	43	7	3	7.0%	87	8	4	4.6%
2016	36	2	1	2.8%	66	8	1	1.5%	102	10	2	2.0%
2018	21	4	0	0.0%	73	11	3	4.1%	95	15	3	3.2%
2020	27	3	0	0.0%	80	8	2	2.5%	107	11	2	1.9%
2022	22	3	0	0.0%	82	26	8	9.8%	104	29	8	7.7%
2024	15	4	0	0.0%	90	6	0	0.0%	105	10	0	0.0%
2026	15	0	0	0.0%	77	9	1	1.3%	92	9	1	1.1%

Illinois

Primary defeats

There are 157 seats up for election in Illinois. Overall, 143 incumbents filed for re-election, including 92 Democrats and 51 Republicans. Of that total, two incumbents lost in primaries—one Democrat and one Republican—representing 1.4% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

Statistics from 2026 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

Incumbents defeated in primaries in Illinois, 2026
Chamber
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
House	72	6	1	1.4%	37	5	1	2.7%	109	11	2	1.8%
Senate	20	2	0	0.0%	14	0	0	0.0%	34	2	0	0.0%
Total	92	8	1	1.1%	51	5	1	2.0%	143	13	2	1.4%

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

Incumbents defeated in primaries in Illinois, 2010-2026
Year
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
2010	76	14	0	0.0%	51	7	1	2.0%	127	21	1	0.8%
2012	82	21	1	1.2%	63	12	5	7.9%	145	33	6	4.1%
2014	82	9	2	2.4%	43	5	1	2.3%	125	14	3	2.4%
2016	92	11	1	1.1%	52	6	0	0.0%	144	17	1	0.7%
2018	77	10	2	2.6%	52	7	1	1.9%	129	17	3	2.3%
2020	84	18	2	2.4%	38	4	0	0.0%	122	22	2	1.6%
2022	103	15	4	3.9%	52	10	2	3.8%	155	25	6	3.9%
2024	92	14	1	1.1%	40	5	0	0.0%	132	19	1	0.8%
2026	92	8	1	1.1%	51	5	1	2.0%	143	13	2	1.4%

North Carolina

Primary defeats

There are 170 seats up for election in North Carolina. Overall, 160 incumbents filed for re-election, including 68 Democrats and 92 Republicans. Of that total, eight incumbents lost in primaries—three Democrats and five Republicans—representing 5.0% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

Statistics from 2026 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

Incumbents defeated in primaries in North Carolina, 2026
Chamber
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
House	48	8	3	6.3%	63	22	4	6.3%	111	30	7	6.3%
Senate	20	2	0	0.0%	29	7	1	3.4%	49	9	1	2.0%
Total	68	10	3	4.4%	92	29	5	5.4%	160	39	8	5.0%

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

Incumbents defeated in primaries in North Carolina, 2010-2026
Year
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
2010	88	24	4	4.5%	64	15	1	1.6%	152	39	5	3.3%
2012	50	15	2	4.0%	77	22	5	6.5%	127	37	7	5.5%
2014	54	9	2	3.7%	102	20	2	2.0%	156	29	4	2.6%
2016	57	13	1	1.8%	93	18	1	1.1%	150	31	2	1.3%
2018	57	11	3	5.3%	96	28	5	5.2%	153	39	8	5.2%
2020	69	12	1	1.4%	75	12	1	1.3%	144	24	2	1.4%
2022	56	9	2	3.6%	88	24	5	5.7%	144	33	7	4.9%
2024	58	8	2	3.4%	91	11	2	2.2%	149	19	4	2.7%
2026	68	10	3	4.4%	92	29	5	5.4%	160	39	8	5.0%

Texas

Primary defeats

There are 166 seats up for election in Texas. Overall, 141 incumbents filed for re-election, including 60 Democrats and 81 Republicans. Of that total, three incumbents lost in primaries—one Democrat and two Republicans—representing 2.1% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

Statistics from 2026 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

Incumbents defeated in primaries in Texas, 2026
Chamber
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
House	55	11	1	1.8%	74	29	2	2.7%	129	40	3	2.3%
Senate	5	1	0	0.0%	7	2	0	0.0%	12	3	0	0.0%
Total	60	12	1	1.7%	81	31	2	2.5%	141	43	3	2.1%

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

Incumbents defeated in primaries in Texas, 2010-2026
Year
	Democratic incumbents				Republican incumbents				Total incumbents
	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%	Filed	Cont.	Def.	%
2010	75	8	4	5.3%	82	20	3	3.7%	157	28	7	4.5%
2012	53	8	0	0.0%	94	43	11	11.7%	147	51	11	7.5%
2014	57	11	2	3.5%	93	28	9	9.7%	150	39	11	7.3%
2016	54	13	0	0.0%	95	33	5	5.3%	150	46	5	3.3%
2018	57	17	5	8.8%	94	33	4	4.3%	151	50	9	6.0%
2020	70	21	2	2.9%	85	11	2	2.4%	155	32	4	2.6%
2022	68	13	1	1.5%	84	32	1	1.2%	152	45	2	1.3%
2024	65	14	1	1.5%	83	46	15	18.1%	148	60	16	10.8%
2026	60	12	1	1.7%	81	31	2	2.5%	141	43	3	2.1%

See also

• Election results, 2026: State legislatures
• State legislative elections, 2026
  • Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2026
  • Open seats in state legislative elections, 2026
  • Contested state legislative primaries, 2026
  • State legislative incumbents in contested primaries, 2026
  • Major party competition in state legislative elections, 2026
  • State legislative incumbents without general election challengers, 2026
• Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

Footnotes

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

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