Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Primary change: Three incumbents fall in Wyoming legislative primaries
August 22, 2012
By Geoff Pallay
MADISON, Wisconsin: Wyoming was the only state to hold full primaries last night, as challengers defeated three current sitting members of the state legislature. The three defeated incumbents is an increase from 2010, when 0 incumbents fell in Wyoming legislative primaries.
On July 26, 2012, Ballotpedia released an analysis of the rate at which incumbents are being defeated by challengers in state legislative primaries. That study was conducted roughly halfway through the primary season, and found that 76 incumbents had been defeated through the first 48 percent of primaries. After each primary, we will update those figures. This update focuses on Georgia and Wyoming. A total of four incumbents fell to opponents on August 21, 2012. That brings the total incumbents defeated in 2012 legislative primaries to 155.
Of the 155 incumbents that have lost a primary in 2012, 57 are Democratic incumbents and 98 are Republican incumbents.
Georgia
Georgia held primary runoff elections last night. A total of four incumbents had advanced to runoffs. Three of them were victorious, with the only incumbent to fall being State Senator Miriam Paris (D).
Her defeat brings Georgia's total to 12 incumbents, which compares to four incumbents who fell in 2010.
Wyoming
A total of 60 Wyoming legislative incumbents filed for re-election. Twenty-one incumbents faced a primary, and opponents were victorious in three of those races. Thus, 14.29 percent of opposed incumbents were defeated by their primary challenger.
The three total incumbents who lost last night is significantly higher than the 0 total incumbents who lost a 2010 primary in Wyoming. Wyoming's legislature is highly partisan, with Republicans holding 76 of 90 legislative seats. Under 30 percent of the 90 seats will have a major party candidate from both parties on the general election ballot.
What's next
The next state legislative primaries takes place next Tuesday, August 28 in Alaska, Arizona and Vermont.
Cumulative table of results
Individual State Results | Nationwide Cumulative Results | ||||||||
State | Primary date | Total Incumbents Running | Total Incumbents Facing Primary | Total Incumbents Defeated | % Incumbents Defeated*** | Total Incumbents Defeated | Total Incumbents Facing primary | % Incumbents Defeated*** | |
Wyoming | 8/21/2012 | 60 | 21 | 3 | 14.29% | 155 | 858 | 18.07% | |
Connecticut | 8/14/2012 | 161 | 9 | 4 | 44.44% | 152 | 837 | 18.16% | |
Florida | 8/14/2012 | 111 | 36 | 3 | 8.33% | 152 | 837 | 18.16% | |
Minnesota | 8/14/2012 | 158 | 11 | 1 | 9.09% | 152 | 837 | 18.16% | |
Wisconsin | 8/14/2012 | 94 | 16 | 2 | 12.50% | 152 | 837 | 18.16% | |
Hawaii | 8/11/2012 | 71 | 27 | 5 | 18.5% | 142 | 765 | 18.56% | |
Kansas | 8/7/2012 | 129 | 53 | 20 | 37.74% | 137 | 738 | 18.56% | |
Michigan | 8/7/2012 | 91 | 36 | 5 | 13.89% | 137 | 738 | 18.56% | |
Missouri | 8/7/2012 | 126 | 35 | 8 | 22.86% | 137 | 738 | 18.56% | |
Washington | 8/7/2012 | 93 | 14 | 0 | 0% | 137 | 738 | 18.56% | |
Tennessee | 8/2/2012 | 104 | 37 | 12 | 32.43% | 104 | 600 | 17.33% | |
Georgia | 7/31/2012 | 210 | 50 | 12+++ | 24.00% | 92 | 563 | 16.34% | |
Utah | 6/26/2012 | 78 | 29 | 8 | 27.59% | 80 | 513 | 15.59% | |
Colorado | 6/26/2012 | 54 | 5 | 2 | 40.00% | 72 | 484 | 14.88% | |
Oklahoma | 6/26/2012 | 105 | 12 | 1 | 8.33% | 70 | 479 | 14.61% | |
Maine | 6/12/2012 | 121 | 5 | 0 | 0.00% | 69 | 467 | 14.78% | |
Nevada | 6/12/2012 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 16.67% | 69 | 462 | 14.94% | |
South Carolina | 6/12/2012 | 146 | 37 | 6 | 16.22% | 67 | 450 | 14.89% | |
North Dakota | 6/12/2012 | 75 | 7 | 4 | 57.14% | 61 | 413 | 14.77% | |
California | 6/5/2012 | 56 | 20 | 0 | 0.00% | 57 | 406 | 14.04% | |
Montana | 6/5/2012 | 82 | 17 | 4 | 23.53% | 57 | 386 | 14.77% | |
Iowa | 6/5/2012 | 97 | 16 | 3 | 18.75% | 53 | 369 | 14.36% | |
New Mexico | 6/5/2012 | 92 | 29 | 5 | 17.24% | 50 | 353 | 14.16% | |
South Dakota | 6/5/2012 | 74 | 23 | 5 | 21.74% | 45 | 324 | 13.89% | |
Texas | 5/29/2012 | 147 | 45 | 11 | 24.44% | 40 | 301 | 13.29% | |
Kentucky | 5/22/2012 | 106 | 21 | 1 | 4.76% | 29 | 256 | 11.33% | |
Arkansas | 5/22/2012 | 88 | 14 | 2 | 14.29% | 28 | 235 | 11.91% | |
Nebraska | 5/15/2012 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0.00% | 26 | 221 | 11.76% | |
Oregon | 5/15/2012 | 66 | 4 | 2 | 50.00% | 26 | 216 | 12.04% | |
Idaho | 5/15/2012 | 70 | 34 | 3 | 8.82% | 24 | 212 | 11.32% | |
West Virginia | 5/8/2012 | 98 | 37 | 2 | 5.41% | 21 | 178 | 11.80% | |
Indiana | 5/8/2012 | 105 | 17 | 0 | 0.00% | 19 | 141 | 13.48% | |
North Carolina | 5/8/2012 | 128 | 39 | 7 | 17.95% | 19 | 124 | 15.32% | |
Pennsylvania | 4/24/2012 | 210 | 37 | 5 | 13.51% | 12 | 85 | 14.12% | |
Illinois | 3/20/2012 | 149 | 33 | 6 | 18.18% | 7 | 48 | 14.58% | |
Ohio | 3/6/2012 | 101 | 15 | 1 | 6.67% | 1 | 15 | 6.67% | |
***Note: The percent is calculated by dividing the total number of incumbents who lost by the number of incumbents who actually faced a primary. It is not using the total number of incumbents who ran for re-election.
+++A 12th incumbent lost in the Georgia August 21, 2012 runoff. Eleven incumbents lost in the July 31 primary. |
Full study
See also
- Incumbents defeated in 2012's state legislative elections
- State legislative elections, 2012
- 2012 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index
- Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis for 2012
- Major party candidates with no major party challengers in the November 2012 state legislative elections
- Open seats in the 2012 state legislative elections
- Incumbents with a primary challenger in the 2012 state legislative elections
|