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 JerseyVirginia

Other 2013 Election coverage
Primary electionsStatewide elections, 2013State legislative special elections, 2013State executive official elections, 20132013 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

    1. Totals may include minor party or independent officeholders.