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State legislative Democratic primaries, 2022

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Primaries by state

In 2022, there were 99 state legislative chambers and 7,386 state legislative seats. In November 2022, 88 state legislative chambers in 46 states held general elections.

This page provides an overview of state legislative Democratic primaries in 2022. For more information about the state legislative Republican primaries and general elections, see the following pages:

For more of our 2022 primary coverage, see the following pages:

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Democratic primaries

By date

2022 Democratic primaries by date
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March 1
May 3
May 10
May 17
May 24
June 7
June 14
June 28
July 19
August 2
August 4
August 9
August 13
August 16
August 23
September 6
September 13

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News and conflicts in the 2022 Democratic state legislative primaries

The following were reprinted from Ballotpedia's The Heart of the Primaries newsletter, which captured stories related to conflicts within each major party.

September 1, 2022

Ohio's state legislative primary voter turnout decreased amid split election

Due to redistricting-related court challenges, Ohio held two primaries this year. The first, its regularly scheduled primary, took place on May 3 for all except state legislative offices. State legislative primaries occurred on Aug. 2. Turnout in the May 2022 primary was comparable to 2018 and 2020 primary turnout, while state legislative primary turnout specifically was lower this year than in 2018 and 2020.

The chart below compares unofficial voter turnout numbers in the Aug. 2 primary with official turnout numbers in the May primary, along with the official turnout numbers in the state’s previous primary elections through 2012.

Ohio’s Aug. 2 primary had the lowest voter turnout in a statewide primary election in at least a decade, with 661,101 votes cast. A look at votes cast in General Assembly elections in previous years shows that fewer people voted in these primaries in 2022. Votes cast in state Senate elections were 38% of the 2020 figure and 46% of the 2018 figure. In state House elections, 2022 primary votes were 41% of the 2020 figure and 45% of the 2018 figure. The chart below shows the total votes cast in state House and state Senate elections in 2022, 2020, and 2018.

Note: Ohio holds elections for all state House districts and half its state Senate districts in even-numbered years.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission's state legislative maps underwent a lengthy legal challenge process involving several map submissions to the Ohio Supreme Court. A federal court order went into effect on May 28, selecting one of the submitted maps for use in the 2022 elections. The legal challenge to the legislative maps is ongoing before the state supreme court.

Ohio is one of two states that split its primaries this year due to redistricting legal challenges. Statewide turnout data is not yet available in New York, which held primaries on June 28 and Aug. 23.

July 14, 2022

Iwamoto challenging Hawaii House Speaker Saiki in rematch

Kim Coco Iwamoto is challenging state House Speaker Scott Saiki in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 25 primary. This is a rematch from last cycle—in the 2020 Democratic primary for District 26, Saiki defeated Iwamoto 51% to 49%.

Saiki was first elected to the state House in 1994. Iwamoto was a member of the state Board of Education from 2006 to 2011.

Development has been a major issue in the race. Hawaii News Now wrote that the district, which includes downtown Honolulu, "has grown from a semi-industrial area to a growing high rise residential area."

Saiki said, "Some of my greatest accomplishments were actually projects that were initiated by residents in our community. … Going … as far back as seven years ago when we took on a private company that had claimed ownership of roads in our community."

Iwamoto said Saiki hadn't done enough for the community in his 28 years in office. Iwamoto proposes a surcharge on vacant homes and "[using] that revenue to actually subsidize emergency housing vouchers so that we can house our unsheltered neighbors and also use that resource to … build more affordable housing."

The primary is Aug. 13.

July 7, 2022

Ohio Supreme Court allows four legislative candidates to qualify for primary ballot

In a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that two candidates for Ohio House and two candidates for Ohio Senate can appear on the primary ballot. Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) previously ruled that the candidates, who did not meet the initial February filing deadlines for a then-May 3 primary, would be unable to run.

The four candidates are Democrats William DeMora (Senate District 25), Elizabeth Thien (Senate District 25), Leronda Jackson (House District 39), and Anita Somani (House District 11).

The state supreme court consists of four Republican and three Democratic judges. The three Democratic judges and one Republican judge voted to allow the candidates on the ballot.

According to state law, candidates must file 90 days before an election or 72 days before if they're running as write-ins. Because a federal court ruling moved the state’s primary to Aug. 2, the candidates argued that they qualified by submitting paperwork enough in advance of the August primary date. LaRose previously ruled that any candidates for the Aug. 2 primary still needed to meet the previous February deadline.

June 2, 2022

Ocasio-Cortez endorses slate of Democratic Socialist state legislative candidates

On May 26, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed all 13 state legislative candidates that the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) endorsed. This is the largest slate of candidates the NYC-DSA has ever endorsed.

Jacobin’s Liza Featherstone wrote that the NYC-DSA’s "thirteen-person slate is ambitious; some have argued that the group may be biting off more than it can chew in terms of street-level organization. But AOC's endorsement is likely to bring significant resources to the campaigns, including grassroots dollars, volunteers, and media attention."

The 13 endorsed candidates are listed below.

Assembly

  • Phara Souffrant Forrest (incumbent)
  • Emily Gallagher (incumbent)
  • Zohran Kwame Mamdani (incumbent)
  • Marcela Mitaynes (incumbent)
  • Illapa Sairitupac (challenger, GOP incumbent)
  • Keron Alleyne (challenger, Democratic incumbent)
  • Samy Nemir Olivares (challenger, Democratic incumbent)
  • Vanessa Agudelo (open district)
  • Sarahana Shrestha (challenger, Democratic incumbent)

Senate (due to recently approved district maps, the filing deadline for these races is June 10)

  • Jabari Brisport (incumbent)
  • Julia Salazar (incumbent)
  • Kristen Gonzalez (SD-59)
  • David Alexis (SD-21)

In the 2018 primary elections, both candidates the NYC-DSA endorsed won their elections, including Ocasio-Cortez. In 2020, the organization endorsed four candidates: Brisport, Forrest, Mamdani, and Mitaynes. All four candidates won.

New York State Assembly primaries are on June 28. Primaries for state Senate are on Aug. 23. All 63 state Senate seats and all 150 Assembly districts are up for election. Democrats hold majorities in both chambers.

The Democratic Socialists of America says it is "the largest socialist organization in the United States, with over 92,000 members and chapters in all 50 states" and believes that "working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few."

March 17, 2022

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper endorses challenger to state Sen. Kirk deViere

On March 8, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) endorsed Val Applewhite, who is challenging incumbent state Sen. Kirk deViere in the Democratic primary for Senate District 19. Cooper said Applewhite "isn’t afraid to stand up to Right Wing Republicans."

DeViere said, "This primary challenge is a direct result of putting my community over partisan politics and not being a rubber stamp."

DeViere, first elected in 2018, was one of four Democrats who voted for a version of the 2021 state budget that the Republican majority supported. Among the items other Senate Democrats, along with Cooper, disagreed with Republicans on were raises for teachers and noncertified school employees. Cooper called for 10% teacher raises and a $15 minimum wage for noncertified employees. The Senate budget called for 3% teacher raises and a $13 minimum wage for noncertified employees. All four Senate Democrats who supported that version of the budget served on the committee responsible for negotiating a final budget with Cooper.

DeViere and Applewhite were candidates in the nonpartisan election for Fayetteville mayor in 2013. Applewhite finished first in the primary with 44% and DeViere was third with 20%. Applewhite lost the general election to Nat Robertson 50.5%-49.4%.

Ed Donaldson is also running in the Democratic Senate District 19 primary. The primary is scheduled for May 17 and will be open to registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters only.

February 10, 2022

Texans for Better Dems Coalition supports primary challenges to House incumbents

The Texans for Better Dems Coalition, a group formed in October 2021, is supporting two candidates challenging incumbent members of the Texas House of Representatives. According to The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek, "Campaign fundraising has been light across the two primaries, so the coalition's involvement could be significant." Svitek reported that the Coalition plans to spend $250,000 in these two state legislative races as well as a Harris County judicial primary.

In El Paso-area District 79, the Coalition is supporting Rep. Claudia Ordaz Perez over Rep. Art Fierro. Ordaz Perez currently represents District 76, which was moved across the state during redistricting. Svitek wrote that Ordaz Perez criticized Fierro for being among the first Democrats to return to the House floor during a quorum break last year. Fierro said he returned after Democrats achieved the goals they set out to achieve.

In July 2021, enough members of the Democratic caucus left the state during consideration of voting-related legislation to break quorum. The walkout ended in August.

In District 142, a Houston district, the Coalition is supporting Aldine American Federation of Teachers president Candis Houston against incumbent Rep. Harold Dutton. Svitek said, "Dutton is well known as an occasional outlier in his party," including Dutton's support for more charter schools as an example.

The Coalition’s website says the following:

“

[N]ot all Democratic legislators reflect the values and beliefs of what we have fought for. In response to this need and the recent fight to reach quorum on the House floor as the catalyst, Working Families Party, Communications Workers of America, and Texas Organizing Project have formed the Texans for Better Dems Coalition with the Working Families Party PAC.[1]

”

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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