New Jersey held state legislative primaries on Tuesday, June 10, the first of two states doing so this year. Virginia will hold state legislative primaries on June 17.
At least one Democratic incumbent—Garnet Hall—lost, representing 1.3% of the 76 incumbents running for re-election and 2.9% of the 35 contested incumbents. With 35 incumbents (46%) in contested primaries, more than half were guaranteed to continue to the general election.
As of June 12, there were seven races featuring 11 incumbents that remained to be called.
For now, the single incumbent loss matches the 2023 state legislative elections, still down from a high of three in 2021. A single incumbent also lost in New Jersey’s 2019 state legislative elections.
Before that, from 2011 to 2017, no incumbents lost in the state’s legislative primaries.
Hall lost to fellow incumbent Cleopatra Tucker (D) and challenger Chigozie U. Onyema (D). Hall assumed office in 2024, and Tucker assumed office in 2008. No Republicans filed to run in the district, so the two head into the general election uncontested.
Three incumbents—3.1% of the 96 incumbents running for re-election in Virginia’s House of Delegates—face contested primaries next week.
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