In the 2025 state legislative elections, 21% of seats are guaranteed to Democrats and 3% are guaranteed to Republicans due to a lack of competition in those races. A total of 44 seats (24%) are uncontested.
Democrats are guaranteed five seats in the New Jersey General Assembly and 33 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. Republicans are not guaranteed any seats in the New Jersey General Assembly and are guaranteed six in the Virginia House.
The chart below shows New Jersey and Virginia by the percentage of seats contested by each major party.
Across the two states, 136 seats are contested by both major parties, representing 76% of the 180 seats up for election. That is down from 93% of seats featuring major party competition in 2021.
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.
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.
Overall, Democrats are running for 174 seats (97%), and Republicans are running for 142 (79%). The total number of seats without major party competition—44—is 28 more and a 175% increase from 2021.
General elections in New Jersey and Virginia will take place on Nov. 4, 2025.