Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.

U.S. House battleground primaries, 2018

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
← 2016
2020 →



CongressLogo.png

2018 U.S. House Elections
Election Date
November 6, 2018
U.S. Senate Elections by State
Battlegrounds • Battleground primaries
Arizona • California • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Hawaii • Indiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
U.S. House Elections by State
Battlegrounds • Battleground primaries
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Elections were held for all 435 U.S. House seats in 2018. In the majority of these races, at least one major-party primary election was uncontested. However, every year there are a few congressional primaries that capture the attention of the nation. This page served to highlight those primary races that Ballotpedia expected to be competitive or interesting in some other way. Primary races were added to this page as they developed, although that usually didn't happen until after filing deadlines.

Criteria

See also: Battlegrounds

It is typically difficult to predict how competitive primaries will be until after filing deadlines take place. However, Ballotpedia put together a number of factors that were used to give insight into the most interesting 2018 primary elections. Factors that were used to determine the competitiveness of primaries included:

  • Whether or not the seat was open (retiring or resigning incumbent)
  • Notable endorsements of multiple candidates
  • Significant fundraising from multiple candidates
  • Number of candidates
  • Incumbent's years in office (if seeking re-election)
  • Whether or not the district's general election was expected to be a battleground

Battleground primaries

Democratic primaries

Republican primaries

Battleground general elections

The following map identifies those races that were considered battleground elections. Mouse over a district for more detailed information. You can also zoom in for a closer look.

Cook Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

The chart above details the 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for each U.S. House district. The index, developed by Charles Cook of the The Cook Political Report, compares each congressional district's score to that of the nation as a whole. According to Politico, the PVI is designed to "provide a quick overall assessment of generic partisan strength in a congressional district."[1][2][3]

2016 stats

HIGHLIGHTS
  • In 2016, 44.53% of major-party primaries were contested, an increase from 39.5% in 2014.
  • Republican primaries were more competitive than Democratic primaries. Republicans saw a rate of competition of 46.17%, while only 36.89% of Democratic primaries were contested.
  • Five incumbents were defeated in 2016. This amounts to a very slim 1.3% of all incumbents who sought re-election.

    • Defeated incumbents

    Five incumbent members of Congress lost their primary elections in 2016—a slightly higher number than the past decade's average. This slight increase can be explained by the court-ordered redistricting that took place in several states. Redistricting played a role in three of the five incumbent losses, one of which was an incumbent-versus-incumbent battle.

    Redistricting also explains why so many incumbents were defeated in the primaries in 2012, the first election after maps were redrawn following the 2010 census. In 2012, eight incumbent members of Congress lost to another incumbent in the primary as a direct result of redistricting.

    Comparison of retirements

    See also: List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2018

    The following table includes figures on Democratic and Republican members of Congress who either left office during their term or announced that they would not seek re-election for each election year since 2012.

    Outgoing members of Congress, 2012-2018
    Year Chamber Democrats not seeking re-election Republicans not seeking re-election Total not seeking re-election Democrats leaving office early Republicans leaving office early Total leaving office early
    2018
    U.S. Senate 0 3 3 1 2 3
    U.S. House 18 34 52 3 14 17
    Total 18 37 55 4 16 20
    2016
    U.S. Senate 3 2 5 0 0 0
    U.S. House 16 24 40 2 5 7
    Total 19 26 45 2 5 7
    2014
    U.S. Senate 5 2 7 3 2 5
    U.S. House 16 25 41 3 6 9
    Total 21 27 48 6 8 14
    2012
    U.S. Senate 6 3 10[4] 0 0 0
    U.S. House 23 20 43 4 1 5
    Total 29 23 53 4 1 5

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Politico, "Charlie Cook's PVI," April 10, 2009
    2. ↑ RedState, "New Cook PVIs Show Big Opportunities for Conservatives in the House," October 11, 2012
    3. ↑ Swing State Project, "Just what is the Partisan Voter Index (PVI)?" November 16, 2008
    4. ↑ Figure includes Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).
    v • e
    2017-2018 Elections to the United States Congress
    Senate by StateCongressLogo.png
    House by State
    Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
    Election information
    Super PACs/Organizations


    v • e
    United States Congress
    BackgroundCongressLogo.png
    States' delegations
    Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming • Non-voting members
    Special elections
    2026
    2024
    2022
    2020
    2018
    2016
    2014
    Sessions
    Joint Congressional committees
    U.S. Senate Committees
    U.S. House Committees
    Super PACs
    Personal Gain Index
    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=U.S._House_battleground_primaries,_2018&oldid=9040316"