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State house elections, 2011

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Four state lower houses hold general elections for state representatives in November, 2011. This is in addition to the 4 state senates that hold general elections in November.

There are 49 state houses (Nebraska doesn't have one). The 4 state houses that are holding a general election for state representatives in November 2011 are Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia.

See also: State legislative elections, 2011 and State senate elections, 2011

By the numbers

Number of seats in all 50 houses: 5,413
Number of seats in the 4 houses with November 2011 elections: 407
Number of seats up for election in the 4 houses with November 2011 elections: 407
% of total (all 50 states) houses seats up for election in 2011: 7.5%
Number of houses with a November 2011 election with a current Democratic majority: 2
Number of houses with a November 2011 election with a current Republican majority: 2

Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2011

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Going into the November 2011 elections, the Republican Party was the majority party in 31 state houses, including Louisiana. One chamber (Nebraska) is officially nonpartisan, and in one chamber (Alaska), several Republicans vote with a caucus other than the Republican caucus. In 19 states, the Democratic Party was the majority party.

In the other three states with state House elections in 2011, the Republican Party held the majority party in Virginia, while the Democratic Party held the majority party in Mississippi and New Jersey.

The partisan composition of the Louisiana House of Representatives before and after the election:

Louisiana House of Representatives
Party As of November 2011 After the 2011 Election
     Democratic Party 46 45
     Republican Party 57 58
     Independent 2 2
Total 105 105

Candidates unopposed by a major party

2011 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

Forty-three incumbents (41%) faced no competition in the November 8 general election and were thus, barring unforeseen circumstances, guaranteed re-election in November.

  • 14 Democratic incumbents faced no November challenger.
  • 29 Republican incumbents faced no November challenger

One Republican challenger faced no competition in the November 8 general election and was thus, barring unforeseen circumstances, guaranteed re-election in November.

Primary challenges

Nine incumbents faced competition in the October 22 primary.

The following nine incumbents faced primary opposition:

Retiring incumbents

Twenty-eight incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 77 (73.3%) ran for re-election. Of the 28 incumbents who did not run for re-election, 14 were Democrats, 13 were Republicans, and one was an independent. Furthermore, 10 of the retiring incumbents were ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits, and two incumbents were displaced by redistricting.

Incumbents who retired were:

Incumbents displaced by redistricting

Two incumbent representatives were displaced by the 2011 redistricting process. Of the two displaced incumbents, one was a Democrat and one was a Republican.

Incumbents who were displaced by redistricting:

  • District 81: Incumbent Republican John LaBruzzo, Jr. now resided in District 94, where he sought election.
  • District 101: Incumbent Democrat Wesley Bishop now resided in District 99, where he sought election.

Mississippi House of Representatives elections, 2011

See also: Ballotpedia news report on Mississippi primary competitiveness

As in 2007, roughly 2/3 of the state's major party candidates proceeded to the general election without a primary challenge. In addition, over 1/4 of the possible primaries were not held, since no candidate filed to run. Of the 168 party primaries, only 51 featured two or more candidates competing for the nomination. On top of that, 75 party primaries were not held because no candidate ran.

Comparing Contested Primaries of past MS Senate Elections
Democrats Republicans Total
2007 2011 2007 2011 2007 2011
Open Contested 9 8 11 15 20 23
Open Uncontested 12 21 27 19 39 40
Incumbent Contested 23 18 10 10 33 28
Incumbent Uncontested 51 40 26 37 77 77
No candidates 27 35 48 41 75 76
Total contested 32 26 21 25 53 51
Total uncontested 63 61 53 56 116 117
See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Going into the November 2011 elections, the Republican Party was the majority party in 31 state houses. One chamber (Nebraska) is officially nonpartisan, and in one chamber (Alaska), several Republicans vote with a caucus other than the Republican caucus. In 19 states, the Democratic Party was the majority party. The Mississippi House of Representatives was one of the 19 chambers with a Democratic Party majority.

In the other 3 states with state house elections in 2011, the Republican Party held the majority in Louisiana and Virginia, while the Democratic Party was the majority party in New Jersey.

The partisan composition of the Mississippi House of Representatives before and after the election:


Mississippi House of Representatives
Party As of November 2011 After the 2011 Election
     Democratic Party 68 58
     Republican Party 54 64
Total 122 122

After the 2011 election, the Republican Party took control of the Mississippi House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction.[1]

House control

Before the 2011 election, the Democratic Party had controlled the Mississippi House of Representatives since Reconstruction. Democrats had a 13-seat advantage heading into the election. In the 2010 elections, Republicans made gains in state legislatures in southern states. According to an August 2011 Wall Street Journal article, Republicans identified 21 House seats to target on November 8, 2011. Tim Saler, executive director of the state GOP, said the party planned to spend more than $1 million supporting candidates.[2] Meanwhile, Richard Wilbourn, an attorney, led a tea party effort called "Move the House" to help candidates in Democratic-held districts where Governor Haley Barbour received at least 50% in 2007.[3]

TEA Party sought control

In early September 2011, the Mississippi TEA Party announced they were targeting six incumbent Democrats for defeat as part of their "Move the House" effort to put the chamber in conservative control.[4] The five incumbents were as follows:

The TEA Party also targeted four open seats:

Candidates unopposed by a major party

2011 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

Sixty incumbents (49.2%) faced no competition in the November 8 general election and were thus, barring unforeseen circumstances, guaranteed re-election in November.

  • 35 Democratic incumbents faced no November challenger.
  • 25 Republican incumbents faced no November challenger

Primary challenges

Twenty-five incumbents faced competition in the August 22 primary. Incumbent Democrat Walter Robinson, Jr. (District 63) was defeated by challenger Deborah Butler Dixon, incumbent Democrat Wilbert Jones (District 82) was defeated by challenger Charles Young, incumbent Republican Harvey Fillingane (District 101) was defeated by challenger Hank Lott, and incumbent Democrat Roger Ishee (District 118) was defeated by challenger Greg Haney in a runoff election.

The following 21 incumbents (14 Democrats, 7 Republicans) won their primaries:

Retiring incumbents

Eighteen incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 104 (85.3%) ran for re-election. Of the 18 incumbents who did not run for re-election, 11 were Democrats and seven were Republicans.

Incumbents who retired were:

New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2011

See also: Ballotpedia news report on New Jersey primary competitiveness

As in previous years, a large majority of the state's major party candidates proceeded to the general election without a primary challenge. Of the 79 party primaries, only 15 were contested.

Comparing Contested Primaries in Past General Assembly Elections
Democrats Republicans Total
2007 2009 2011 2007 2009 2011 2007 2009 2011
Open contested 2 0 2 1 6 6 3 6 8
Open uncontested 15 15 14 24 17 18 39 32 32
Incumbent contested 3 9 5 3 8 2 6 6 7
Incumbent uncontested 20 16 18 9 7 14 29 23 32
No Candidates 0 0 1 3 2 0 3 2 1
Total contested 5 9 7 4 14 8 9 23 15
Total uncontested 35 31 32 33 24 32 68 55 64
See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Heading into the November 2011 elections, the Republican Party was the majority party in 31 state houses. One chamber (Nebraska) was officially nonpartisan, and in one chamber (Alaska), several Republicans voted with a caucus other than the Republican caucus. In 19 states, the Democratic Party was the majority party. The New Jersey General Assembly was one of the 19 chambers with a Democratic Party majority.

In the other 3 states with state house elections in 2011, the Republican Party was the majority party in Louisiana and Virginia, while the Democratic Party was the majority party in Mississippi.


New Jersey General Assembly
Party As of November 2011 After the 2011 Election
     Democratic Party 47 48
     Republican Party 33 32
Total 80 80

Christie predicted "historic" results

About two weeks before the general election, Governor Chris Christie (R) predicted that his party would retain its legislative seats on November 8.[5]

Candidates unopposed by a major party

2011 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

All 80 district seats in the New Jersey General Assembly had three or more candidates on the 2011 general election ballot, leaving no districts uncontested.

Primary challenges

Twelve incumbents faced competition in the June 7 primary.

The following 12 incumbents (8 Democrats, 4 Republicans) won their primaries:

Retiring incumbents

Eighteen incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 62 (77.5%) ran for re-election. Of the 18 incumbents who did not run for re-election, three were Democrats, six were Republicans, and one was an independent.

Incumbents who retired were:

Incumbents displaced by redistricting

Eight incumbent representatives were displaced by the 2011 redistricting process. Of the eight displaced incumbents, one was a Democrat and seven were Republicans.

Incumbents who were displaced by redistricting:

  • District 4: Incumbent Republican Domenick DiCicco, redistricted to District 3.
  • District 11: Incumbent Republican David Rible, redistricted to District 30.
  • District 12: Incumbent Republican Caroline Casagrande, redistricted to District 11.
  • District 12: Incumbent Republican Declan O'Scanlon, Jr., redistricted to District 13.
  • District 16: Incumbent Republican Denise Coyle, did not seek re-election.
  • District 30: Incumbent Republican Joseph Malone, III, redistricted to District 7.
  • District 30: Incumbent Republican Ronald Dancer, redistricted to District 12.
  • District 32: Incumbent Democrat Joan Quigley, did not seek re-election.

Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2011

The total number of contested primaries remained low from 2009 to 2011.

Comparing Contested Primaries in Past VA House Elections
Democrats Republicans Total
2009 2011 2009 2011 2009 2011
Open contested 6 1 3 5 9 6
Incumbent contested 2 1 0 0 2 1
Total contested 8 2 3 5 11 7

Uncontested primaries

There are a total of 100 districts in the Virginia House of Delegates, meaning that normally there would be 200 primaries. However, some districts use a caucus or convention rather than a primary to decide which candidate to send to the general election. 39 out of the 200 potential primaries decided on a candidate this way, leaving 161 that used primaries. Of these 161 primaries, only seven were contested (4.3%).

District without primaries

The following district/party combinations did not use a primary.

Democratic Party Democrats: Districts 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 31, 32, 33, 50, 51, 56, 57, 59, 67, 72, 73, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, and 98

Republican Party Republicans: Districts 1, 3, 15, 26, 47, 59, 64, 75, and 88

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Going into the November 2011 elections, the Republican Party was the majority party in 31 state houses, including Virginia. One chamber (Nebraska) is officially nonpartisan, and in one chamber (Alaska), several Republicans voted with a caucus other than the Republican caucus. In 19 states, the Democratic Party was the majority party.

In the other three states with state house elections in 2011, the Republican Party held the majority party in Louisiana, while the Democratic Party held the majority party in Mississippi and New Jersey.

The partisan composition of the Virginia House of Delegates before and after the 2011 election was:

Virginia House of Delegates
Party As of November 2011 After the 2011 Election
     Democratic Party 39 32
     Republican Party 58 67
     Independent 2 1
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 100 100


Candidates unopposed by a major party

2011 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

Fifty-nine incumbents (59%) faced no competition in the November 8 general election and were thus, barring unforeseen circumstances, guaranteed re-election in November.

  • 18 Democratic incumbents faced no November challenger
  • 41 Republican incumbents faced no November challenger

Primary challenges

Only one incumbent faced competition in the August 23 primary. That incumbent, Algie Howell, defeated his challenger, Richard James.

Retiring incumbents

Ten incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 90 (90%) ran for re-election. Of the 10 incumbents who did not run for re-election, three were Democrats, six were Republicans, and one was an independent.

Incumbents who retired were:

Incumbents displaced by redistricting

Four incumbent representatives were displaced by the 2011 redistricting process. Of the four displaced incumbents, three were Democrats and one was a Republican.

Incumbents who were displaced by redistricting:

  • District 2: Incumbent Democrat Clarence E. Phillips was moved to District 4.
  • District 10: Incumbent Democrat Ward Armstrong was moved to District 16, but moved his residence to District 9.
  • District 18: Incumbent Republican Clay Athey was moved to District 29.
  • District 87: Incumbent Democrat Paula Miller was moved to District 100.

Projected outcomes of state house elections, 2011

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Mississippi House Likely to See Shift in Power," November 9, 2011
  2. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Mississippi Republicans Aim for a Sweep in State," August 25, 2011
  3. ↑ Real Clear Politics, "Tea party targets some Dem seats in Miss. House," August 10, 2011
  4. ↑ Sun Herald, "TEA Party targets 10 Mississippi House seats," September 6, 2011
  5. ↑ The Republic, "Christie: NJ GOP won't lose any legislative seats to Democrats in upcoming midterm elections," November 1, 2011
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