Major party competition in state legislative elections, 2024

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Last updated on November 5, 2024

There were 5,807 state legislative seats up for election on November 5, 2024, in 44 states. Of that total, 2,224 (38%) were uncontested and had no major party competition. This was roughly average compared to previous years, down from 41% in 2022 but higher than the 34% and 35% in 2018 and 2020, respectively. The remaining 3,583 (62%) seats were contested by both major parties.

A seat has major party competition when candidates from both major parties are on the general election ballot. When only one major party is running for a seat, it has no major party competition and is effectively guaranteed to the major party candidate on the ballot. Learn more about the terms and methodologies used in this analysis.

Ballotpedia uses the level of major party competition to help determine the overall competitiveness of an election cycle. A larger number of seats without major party competition indicates fewer options on the ballot. A smaller number indicates more options.

In 2024:

Democrats were guaranteed to win 1,111 seats (19%) that lacked Republican competition, an 8% increase from 2020, the last time all 44 states held elections.

Republicans were guaranteed to win 1,109 seats (19%) that lacked Democratic competition, a 10% increase from 2020, the last time all 44 states held elections.

Overall, Democrats ran for 4,694 seats (81%) and Republicans ran for 4,692 (81%).

There were four seats guaranteed to minor party or independent candidates because no major party candidates ran.

The total number of seats without major party competition—2,224—was more than in 2020 (2,044), the last time all 44 states held elections, representing a 9% increase.

One of the two major parties was guaranteed a simple majority in 19 chambers across 14 states due to the lack of major party competition.

Major party competition in state legislative elections, 2024
Chamber	Seats
		Uncontested						Contested
		Only Democrats		Only Republicans		Total
		#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
House	4,712	902	19.1%	901	19.1%	1,807	38.3%	2,905	61.7%
Senate	1,095	209	19.1%	208	19.0%	417	38.1%	678	61.9%
Total	5,807	1,111	19.1%	1,109	19.1%	2,224	38.3%	3,583	61.7%

The chart below compares states by the percentage of seats contested by each of the major parties. In states located in the upper-right corner, almost all seats were contested by both major parties.