Democrats are running for every state legislative seat up for election in 2025, and Republicans are running for 88% of them. That means 12% of seats this year are guaranteed to Democrats due to a lack of Republican competition in those races, and none are guaranteed to Republicans due to a lack of Democratic competition. Twenty-two seats out of 180 total are uncontested.
Democrats are guaranteed five seats (6%) in the New Jersey General Assembly and 17 seats (17%) in the Virginia House of Delegates. Republicans are not guaranteed any seats in either chamber.
The chart below shows New Jersey and Virginia by the percentage of seats contested by each major party.
Across the two states, 158 seats are contested by both major parties, representing 88% 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.
The total number of seats without major party competition—22—is six more and a 38% increase from 2021.
General elections in New Jersey and Virginia will take place on Nov. 4, 2025.