Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 3, 2013

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
2014 →
← 2012
2013 badge.jpg
2013 State Legislative Elections
States
New Jersey • Virginia
Other 2013 Election coverage
Primary elections • Statewide elections, 2013 • State legislative special elections, 2013 • State executive official elections, 2013 • 2013 ballot measures


A total of 220 seats of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats were up for election in the November 5, 2013, state legislative elections. With 93% of incumbents running for re-election, 24 faced a primary challenger.

This is an overview of our analysis of the degree of competitiveness in 2013's state legislative elections. The analysis utilizes the 3-factor "Competitiveness Index".

This report is organized into four sections. They are:

Competitiveness overview

Competitiveness refers to the presence of choice throughout the election cycle. A greater level of competitiveness means voters have the ability to make more decisions. A lower level of competitiveness equals fewer choices.

Ballotpedia uses three factors to determine state legislative competitiveness:

These percentages are averaged to produce a State Legislative Competitiveness Index, which can range from zero (least competitive) to 100 (most competitive).

The table below shows the Competitiveness Indices from 2011 to 2013 as well as the three factors used to calculate the indices. Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's methodology used when calculating Competitiveness Indices.

State legislative Competitiveness Indices, 2011-2013
2011 2013 AVERAGE
Competitiveness Index 28.1 30.3 29.2
Open seats 17.0% 6.8% 11.9%
Inc. in contested primaries 21.4% 11.7% 16.6%
Seats with major party competition 46.0% 72.3% 59.2%

Open seats

See also: Open seats in state legislative elections, 2013

There were 180 state legislative districts up for election nationwide, creating 360 possible primaries. Of that total, there were 32 contested primaries, meaning 9% of all primaries were contested. This represented a decrease from 2011 when 22% of primaries were contested.

In 2013:

  • There were 12 contested Democratic primaries, representing 7% of all possible Democratic primaries.
  • There were 20 contested Republican primaries, representing 11% of all possible Republican primaries.
  • No states held top-two/four primaries.



    • Contested state legislative primaries, 2013
    Chamber Districts
    Democratic Republican Top-two/four Total
    # % # % # % # %
    House 140 8 5.7% 14 10.0% 0 - 22 7.9%
    Senate 40 4 10.0% 6 15.0% 0 - 10 12.5%
    Total 180 12 6.7% 20 11.1% 0 N/A 32 8.9%

    Historical comparison

    The chart below shows a breakdown of contested primaries between 2011 and 2013.

    See also

    v • e
    Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections
    Background
    Competitive Analysis Main Logo.JPG
    2024
    2023
    2022
    2021
    2020
    2019
    2018
    2017
    2016
    2015
    2014
    2013
    2012
    2011
    2010
    2009
    2007
    v • e
    State legislatures
    Legislatures
    Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)
    SLP badge.png
    2025
    2024
    2023
    Historical elections
    2022 •  2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
    Features of
    state legislatures
    State senates
    State houses
    Leadership positions
    v • e
    Ballotpedia
    About
    Editorial Content
    Geoff Pallay, Director of Editorial Content and Editor-in-Chief • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Daniel Anderson, Managing Editor • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor • Cory Eucalitto, Managing Editor • Mandy Gillip, Managing Editor • Doug Kronaizl, Local Elections Project Manager • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Thomas Ellis • Frank Festa • Nicole Fisher • Brianna Hosea • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Nathan Maxwell • Ellie Mikus • Jackie Mitchell • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Maddie Sinclair Johnson • Abbey Smith • Alexis Thacker • Janie Valentine • Joel Williams • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox • Mercedes Yanora
    1. ↑ Totals may include minor party or independent officeholders.
    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annual_State_Legislative_Competitiveness_Report:_Vol._3,_2013&oldid=10179860"