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Open seats in state legislative elections, 2024

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Last updated on November 5, 2024
2024 State Legislative Competitiveness
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There were 5,807 state legislative seats up for election on November 5, 2024, in 44 states. Of that total, there were 962 open seats, guaranteeing at least 17% of all seats would be won by newcomers. This was the second-smallest number of open seats since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2010.

An open seat is one where no incumbent filed to run, meaning it is guaranteed to be won by a newcomer. Learn more about the terms and methodologies used in this analysis.

Ballotpedia uses the number and percentage of open seats to help determine the overall competitiveness of an election cycle. A greater number of open seats guarantees more newcomers entering legislatures and typically results in more candidates running for office. A smaller number of open seats guarantees fewer newcomers and typically results in fewer candidates running for office.

In 2024:

  • There were 407 open Democratic seats, those most recently held by Democrats at the time of filing.
  • There were 545 open Republican seats, those most recently held by Republicans at the time of filing.
  • There were 10 other open seats. This includes those most recently held by minor party or independent officeholders at the time of filing.
  • The total number of open seats—962—was higher than in 2020 (876), the last time all 44 states held elections, representing a 10% increase.



    • Open state legislative seats, 2024
    Chamber Seats
    Democratic Republican Other Total
    # %
    House 4,712 323 408 8 739 15.7%
    Senate 1,095 84 137 2 223 20.4%
    Total 5,807 407 545 10 962 16.6%


    Click [show] on the table below to view open seat statistics by state in 2024. Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.

    Historical comparison

    The chart below shows a breakdown of open seats from 2010 to 2024. The "Other" value includes seats left open by minor party and independent officeholders.

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Nebraska does not have a lower legislative chamber.
    2. ↑ Some of the 179 term-limited state legislators in 2024 may have resigned before their term ended. These legislators were still counted in the total number of term-limited legislators in 2024.
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