Welcome to the Friday, March 11, Brew.
By: Douglas Kronaizl
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Republican candidates for Congress currently outnumber Democrats according to candidate filing information
- Indiana’s U.S. House elections to feature fewest open districts since 2014
- #FridayTrivia: COVID-19 emergency orders have expired in how many states?
1,839 declared candidates for U.S. Senate and House (so far)
Ballotpedia tracks candidate filings in all federal elections. As of March 7, filed Republican candidates outnumber Democratic candidates nationwide: 1,190 to 842.
By chamber, we have tracked 378 U.S. Senate candidates—191 Republicans, 116 Democrats, 40 independents, and 31 candidates with other affiliations. We have also tracked 1,839 U.S. House candidates—999 Republicans, 726 Democrats, 56 independents, and 58 with other affiliations.
State-by-state, the number of Republicans who have filed to run for Congress is greater than the number of Democrats in 40 states. Democratic candidates outnumber Republican candidates in nine states. In one state—New Mexico—the number of candidates from both major parties is currently equal.
Our candidate lists include official candidates only. We define official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline; or,
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies.
These figures will change over time as more states’ filing deadlines pass. Some candidates included now may, ultimately, not qualify for the ballot, and others may file and qualify in the future.
As of March 7, 11 states’ primary filing deadlines for major party candidates had passed and 39 were upcoming. In the 2020 election cycle, after the final filing deadline, we were tracking 2,273 congressional candidates: 935 Democrats, 1,007 Republicans, 91 independents, and 250 candidates with other affiliations.
You can view our page on congressional candidates here, which lists all candidates we have tracked so far by state. Within each state’s tab, you will find candidate lists broken down by chamber and party.
Control of both chambers of Congress is at stake in 2022. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 U.S. House districts are up for election this year. The Senate is currently split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris (D) casting tie-breaking votes. Democrats hold a 222-211 majority in the House.
Indiana’s U.S. House elections to feature fewest open districts since 2014
Throughout this election cycle, we are crunching the numbers after each statewide filing deadline to show you how competitive the 2022 elections might be.
Today: U.S. House elections in Indiana.
Eight of Indiana’s nine U.S. House representatives are seeking re-election this year. One incumbent—Trey Hollingsworth (R)—is retiring, leaving the 9th District open. This is the smallest number of open U.S. House districts in Indiana since 2014 when all nine incumbents ran for re-election.
The filing deadline for candidates running for state or federal office in Indiana was Feb. 4. Fifty candidates filed to run for U.S. House, including 28 Republicans, 21 Democrats, and one Libertarian. That’s 5.6 candidates per district, lower than the 8.7 candidates per district in 2020 and the 7.9 in 2018. Republicans currently represent seven of Indiana’s House districts, and Democrats represent two.
Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:
- Five incumbents—all Republicans—will not face any primary challengers. The remaining three incumbents running for re-election—two Democrats and one Republican—are in contested primaries, the lowest number since at least 2014
- The overall frequency of contested primaries—incumbent or not—is also down this year. Of the 18 possible major party primaries, 12 (67%) will be contested, the lowest figure since at least 2014.
- At least one Democrat and one Republican filed to run in all nine districts, meaning no seats are guaranteed to any one party.
- Thirteen candidates filed to run in the open 9th District, more than in any other. This includes nine Republicans, three Democrats, and one Libertarian. Race forecasters rate the district as Solid Republican.
Indiana’s U.S. House primaries will take place on May 3, 2022, the second in the nation. In Indiana, voters do not need to be a member of a political party to participate in that party’s primaries.
#FridayTrivia: COVID-19 emergency orders have expired in how many states?
Governors and state agencies in all 50 states issued at least one order declaring emergencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These orders allowed officials to access resources unavailable to them during non-emergencies—like stockpiles of medical goods—and to temporarily waive or suspend certain rules.
In Monday’s Brew, we brought you a story about those emergency orders, where they were still active, and where they had expired. Since we published that story, the number of states where those orders had expired increased by one following an update in New Jersey.
As of March 10, COVID-19 emergency orders have expired in how many states?