Incumbents with no primary or general election challengers in the 2010 state legislative elections
By Geoff Pallay and Leslie Graves
There were 6,125 state legislative districts with a seat up for election on November 2, 2010, in 46 states. We took a look at each of the 46 states to see how many state legislative incumbents who chose to run for re-election in 2010 faced no primary or general election challenger.
Our main findings:
- The incumbent chose to run for re-election in 4,985 (81.4%) of the 6,125 districts holding state legislative elections in 2010.
- In 1,295 (26.12%) of those 4,985 districts, the incumbent faced no challenger in the primary or general election.
Comparing states:
- Arkansas, Wyoming, Georgia, Massachusetts and Oklahoma had the fewest incumbents facing general election opposition -- in other words, these five states had the least amount of competitiveness at the general election level.
- The five states with the most competitive general elections in terms of incumbents facing challengers were Nevada, New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon and California.
The score that states received based on their ratio of incumbents facing a primary challenger was not one of 3 factors used in evaluating which states had the highest, and which the lowest, overall competitiveness in the 2010 state legislative elections. However, this data was complementary to the results found in the index.
States compared by primary and general competition
The state that was least competitive as defined by the % of its seats where the incumbent did not have a general election challenger in 2010 is defined as #46, while the state that was most competitive as defined by the % of its seats where the incumbent did have a general election challenger is defined as #1; that is, 1 = "most competitive", 46 = "least competitive".
| State | Senate at stake | Incumbents w/o general | House at stake | Incumbents w/o general | % w/o general | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 35 | 8 | 105 | 35 | 35.83% | 32 |
| Alaska | 10 | 5 | 40 | 11 | 35.56% | 31 |
| Arizona | 30 | 1 | 60 | 1 | 4.00% | 8 |
| Arkansas | 17 | 3 | 100 | 44 | 73.44% | 46 |
| California | 20 | 0 | 80 | 2 | 3.23% | 5 |
| Colorado | 19 | 0 | 65 | 4 | 6.25% | 12 |
| Connecticut | 36 | 6 | 151 | 34 | 23.81% | 22 |
| Delaware | 11 | 3 | 41 | 16 | 40.43% | 38 |
| Florida | 23 | 5 | 120 | 26 | 31.96% | 26 |
| Georgia | 56 | 25 | 180 | 85 | 55.56% | 44 |
| Hawaii | 13 | 0 | 51 | 3 | 5.26% | 10 |
| Idaho | 35 | 10 | 70 | 22 | 33.33% | 29 |
| Illinois | 21 | 8 | 118 | 30 | 29.69% | 24 |
| Indiana | 25 | 7 | 100 | 30 | 32.17% | 27 |
| Iowa | 25 | 8 | 100 | 36 | 40.74% | 39 |
| Kansas | NA | NA | 125 | 37 | 32.17% | 28 |
| Kentucky | 19 | 2 | 100 | 40 | 37.50% | 33 |
| Maine | 35 | 0 | 151 | 2 | 1.41% | 3 |
| Maryland | 47 | 10 | 141 | 0 | 6.13% | 11 |
| Massachusetts | 40 | 13 | 160 | 76 | 52.98% | 43 |
| Michigan | 38 | 0 | 110 | 3 | 4.41% | 9 |
| Minnesota | 67 | 3 | 134 | 4 | 3.95% | 7 |
| Missouri | 17 | 1 | 163 | 40 | 38.32% | 36 |
| Montana | 26 | 2 | 100 | 14 | 21.05% | 19 |
| Nebraska | 24 | 8 | NA | NA | 38.10% | 35 |
| Nevada | 11 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0% | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 0 | 400 | 4 | 1.24% | 2 |
| New Mexico | NA | NA | 70 | 28 | 41.79% | 40 |
| New York | 62 | 4 | 150 | 30 | 18.18% | 17 |
| North Carolina | 50 | 8 | 120 | 28 | 23.68% | 21 |
| North Dakota | 24 | 8 | 48 | 7 | 26.79% | 23 |
| Ohio | 17 | 1 | 99 | 8 | 10.59% | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 24 | 6 | 101 | 46 | 50.49% | 42 |
| Oregon | 16 | 0 | 60 | 2 | 2.90% | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 25 | 9 | 203 | 70 | 38.16% | 37 |
| Rhode Island | 38 | 6 | 75 | 3 | 9.00% | 13 |
| South Carolina | NA | NA | 124 | 50 | 44.25% | 41 |
| South Dakota | 35 | 7 | 70 | 7 | 19.72% | 18 |
| Tennessee | 17 | 6 | 99 | 34 | 37.74% | 34 |
| Texas | 16 | 7 | 150 | 46 | 33.54% | 30 |
| Utah | 15 | 0 | 75 | 3 | 3.75% | 6 |
| Vermont | 30 | 3 | 150 | 44 | 29.75% | 25 |
| Washington | 25 | 3 | 98 | 20 | 22.77% | 20 |
| West Virginia | 17 | 5 | 100 | 10 | 14.56% | 15 |
| Wisconsin | 17 | 1 | 99 | 14 | 16.13% | 16 |
| Wyoming | 15 | 8 | 60 | 36 | 73.33% | 45 |
| Totals: | 1,167 | 210 | 4,958 | 1,085 | 26.12% | NA |
See also
- State legislative elections, 2010
- Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2010
- Ballotpedia:Competitiveness analysis and partisan impact
- Major party candidates with no major party challengers in the November 2010 state legislative elections
- Open seats in the 2010 state legislative elections
