State legislative incumbents in contested primaries, 2011

Last updated on November 18, 2024

2011 State Legislative Competitiveness
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There were 578 state legislative seats up for election in November in four states. Overall, 485 incumbents filed for re-election and were running at the time of their respective primaries. Of that total, 104 incumbents faced contested primaries, representing 21% of all incumbents who filed for re-election.

A primary is contested when there are more candidates running than nominations available. When this occurs, and an incumbent is present, it means the incumbent could possibly lose the primary. Learn more about the terms and methodologies used in this analysis.

Ballotpedia uses the number and percentage of incumbents in contested primaries to help determine the overall competitiveness of an election cycle. A larger number of contested primaries indicates more opportunities for voters to elect a non-incumbent to office. A smaller number indicates fewer of those opportunities.

In 2011:

There were 58 Democratic incumbents in contested primaries, representing 24% of all Democratic incumbents who filed for re-election.

There were 45 Republican incumbents in contested primaries, representing 19% of all Republican incumbents who filed for re-election.

There was one minor party or independent incumbent in a contested primary, representing 33% of all minor party or independent incumbents who filed for re-election.

State legislative incumbents in contested primaries, 2011
Chamber	Seats
		Democratic			Republican			Total
		Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%
House	407	164	44	26.8%	172	30	17.4%	339	75	22.1%
Senate	171	76	14	18.4%	70	15	21.4%	146	29	19.9%
Total	578	240	58	24.2%	242	45	18.6%	485	104	21.4%

Click [show] on the table below to view incumbents in contested primaries statistics by state in 2011. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents in contested primaries, 2011
State	Seats
		Democratic			Republican			Total
		Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%
Nationwide	578	240	58	24.2%	242	45	18.6%	485	104	21.4%
Louisiana	144	46	27	58.7%	63	22	34.9%	110	50	45.5%
Mississippi	174	78	18	23.1%	68	16	23.5%	147	34	23.1%
New Jersey	120	63	12	19.0%	43	6	14.0%	106	18	17.0%
Virginia	140	53	1	1.9%	68	1	1.5%	122	2	1.6%

Louisiana

There were 144 seats up for election in Louisiana. A total of 110 incumbents filed for re-election: 46 Democrats. 63 Republicans, and one minor party or independent incumbent. Of that total, 50 incumbents—27 Democrats, 22 Republicans, and one minor party or independent incumbent—faced contested primaries, representing 45.5% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

In 2011

Statistics from 2011 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents in contested primaries in Louisiana, 2011
Chamber	Seats
		Democratic			Republican			Total
		Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%
House	105	34	20	58.8%	44	16	36.4%	79	37	46.8%
Senate	39	12	7	58.3%	19	6	31.6%	31	13	41.9%
Total	144	46	27	58.7%	63	22	34.9%	110	50	45.5%

See also:

• Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2011
• Louisiana State Senate elections, 2011

Mississippi

There were 174 seats up for election in Mississippi. A total of 147 incumbents filed for re-election: 78 Democrats, 68 Republicans, and one minor party or independent incumbent. Of that total, 34 incumbents—18 Democrats and 16 Republicans—faced contested primaries, representing 23.1% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

In 2011

Statistics from 2011 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents in contested primaries in Mississippi, 2011
Chamber	Seats
		Democratic			Republican			Total
		Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%
House	122	56	14	25.0%	47	10	21.3%	104	24	23.1%
Senate	52	22	4	18.2%	21	6	28.6%	43	10	23.3%
Total	174	78	18	23.1%	68	16	23.5%	147	34	23.1%

See also:

• Mississippi House of Representatives elections, 2011
• Mississippi State Senate elections, 2011

New Jersey

There were 120 seats up for election in New Jersey. A total of 106 incumbents filed for re-election: 63 Democrats and 43 Republicans. Of that total, 18 incumbents—12 Democrats and six Republicans—faced contested primaries, representing 17.0% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

In 2011

Statistics from 2011 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents in contested primaries in New Jersey, 2011
Chamber	Seats
		Democratic			Republican			Total
		Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%
House	80	40	9	22.5%	29	4	13.8%	69	13	18.8%
Senate	40	23	3	13.0%	14	2	14.3%	37	5	13.5%
Total	120	63	12	19.0%	43	6	14.0%	106	18	17.0%

See also:

• New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2011
• New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011

Virginia

There were 140 seats up for election in Virginia. A total of 122 incumbents filed for re-election: 53 Democrats, 68 Republicans, and one minor party or independent incumbent. Of that total, two incumbents—one Democrat and one Republican—faced contested primaries, representing 1.6% of incumbents who filed for re-election.

In 2011

Statistics from 2011 are shown below. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

State legislative incumbents in contested primaries in Virginia, 2011
Chamber	Seats
		Democratic			Republican			Total
		Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%	Filed	Cont.	%
House	100	34	1	2.9%	52	0	0.0%	87	1	1.1%
Senate	40	19	0	0.0%	16	1	6.3%	35	1	2.9%
Total	140	53	1	1.9%	68	1	1.5%	122	2	1.6%

See also:

• Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2011
• Virginia State Senate elections, 2011

Terms and definitions

Incumbent

See also: Incumbent

Ballotpedia defines incumbency by chamber. Under this definition, if an incumbent in House District 1 filed for re-election in House District 2, they would still be counted as an incumbent due to their remaining in the same chamber even though they ran for a different seat. If an incumbent in House District 1 filed to run in Senate District 2, they would not be counted as an incumbent in the Senate race since they are coming from a different chamber.

Ballotpedia uses the term re-elect to refer to any incumbent who is running in an election to retain their office, including incumbents who were originally appointed to their position.

Contested primary

See also: Primary election

A contested primary is one where there are more candidates running than nominations available, meaning at least one candidate on the primary ballot must lose.

The number of candidates needed to create a contested primary depends on the primary system in place and the number of seats up for election in a state legislative district.

In states with partisan primaries, a primary is typically contested when two or more candidates from the same political party file to run since only one candidate can receive their party's nomination. In states with multi-member state legislative districts, the number of candidates a party can nominate to the general election ballot depends on the number of seats in the district. In these cases, a primary is contested when at least one more candidate files to run than there are seats in the district. In states with top-two/four primaries, a primary is contested when more than two (in states with a top-two system) or more than four (in states with a top-four system) candidates file to run.

Methodology

Counting incumbents in contested primaries

An incumbent is counted as facing a contested primary when there is a chance that incumbent could lose to a primary challenger. Each incumbent is counted individually.

Typically, in a single-member district, this means the incumbent filed for re-election and faced one or more primary challengers.

But in states with multi-member districts, several incumbents might be seeking re-election. If such a primary becomes contested, every incumbent running for re-election is counted as facing a contested primary even if it is not possible for every incumbent to lose.

For example, in a district with two seats where two Democratic incumbents file for re-election, if a third Democrat joins the primary, both of the Democratic incumbents are counted as facing a contested primary even though the third primary challenger can only potentially defeat one.

In the event of an incumbent v. incumbent primary, where there are more incumbents running in the primary than nominations available, every incumbent present is counted as facing a contested primary.

Candidacy withdrawals

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2011 state government elections

In order to have their names printed on election ballots, candidates must submit information prior to a filing deadline. Filing deadlines are the dates by which candidates must submit required paperwork to state election administrators.

For major party candidates, filing deadlines always precede primaries. However, candidates may choose to withdraw before the primary takes place. Withdrawals include decisions to leave the race, disqualifications, and deaths. These withdrawals are either official or unofficial.

An official withdrawal means the candidate withdrew before a specific date set in state law and their name was removed from the primary ballot. If an incumbent officially withdrew before the primary, they are not included in any of the totals of this analysis, unless they later re-entered the race as a minor party or independent candidate.

An unofficial withdrawal means the candidate withdrew after a specific date set in state law, typically after ballots have been printed, meaning their name remains on the ballot even though they are not actively campaigning. If an incumbent unofficially withdrew, they are included in the totals of this analysis.

Minor party and independent incumbents

Minor party and independent incumbents typically do not participate in primaries in the same way major party incumbents might.

For minor party incumbents, nominations are normally carried out via conventions, which are limited to a smaller number of voting delegates. Ballotpedia does not count conventions as primaries.

Independent incumbents normally do not participate in primaries, qualifying instead for the general election ballot directly.

If a minor party or independent incumbent participates in a contested primary (partisan or top-two/four), they are included in the total number of incumbents in contested primaries.

All minor party or independent incumbents who have filed for re-election are included in the total number of incumbents running at the time of the primary even if the filing deadline was later than the primary date.

Convention defeats

If an incumbent is defeated in a convention and did not appear in any later elections, that incumbent is still included in the total number of incumbents who filed for re-election even though they were not running at the time of the primary.

See also

• State legislative elections, 2011
  • Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2011
  • Open seats in state legislative elections, 2011
  • Contested state legislative primaries, 2011
  • Major party competition in state legislative elections, 2011
  • State legislative incumbents without general election challengers, 2011
  • Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections, 2011

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