In 2020, Ballotpedia tracked 344 officials in Congress and state legislatures who ran for a different office than the one to which they were elected. Of those 344 officials, 162 (47%) won election to a new position.
Fourteen members of the U.S. House and eight members of the U.S. Senate sought election to a different office. Four members of the House and all eight members of the Senate ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, losing to Joe Biden (D). Five members of the House won election to different offices, one lost in the general election, and three were defeated in their party’s primary. One withdrew before the primary.
The 14 House members who sought election to a different office included seven Democrats and seven Republicans.
Compared to 2018, fewer members of the U.S. House sought a different office in 2020. In 2018, Ballotpedia tracked 21 members of the House who sought election to statewide offices, including 10 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Forty-three percent won the general election.
At the state level, 322 state legislators from 44 states ran for other elected office, with 49% winning their elections. Fifty-four percent of state representatives and 32% of state senators were successful in their bids for other elected office. Of the 322 state legislators, 162 were Republicans and 158 were Democrats. Two ran as independents.
Of the 244 state representatives who ran for a different office, a majority (59%) sought a state senate seat. Seventy-eight state senators ran for a different office, with the most sought-after (35%) being a seat in the U.S. House.
Compared to 2018, 150 fewer state legislators ran for another office in 2020. In 2018, 472 ran for a new position, with 46% successfully doing so.
To learn more about the results of elected officials seeking other offices in 2020, click the link below:
https://ballotpedia.org/Results_of_elected_officials_seeking_other_offices,_2020
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