Author: Nathan Maxwell
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Democrats gain two more state legislative seats in March special elections
Democrats gained control of two additional state legislative seats in a pair of early March special elections. Alex Holladay (D) won a March 3 special election for Arkansas House District 70, winning the race by 15 percentage points in a district Republicans won by two percentage points in 2024. Bobbi Boudman (D) won a March…
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Alabama's state legislative elections this year are the state's least competitive since 2010
Alabama’s state legislative elections this year are shaping up to be generally less competitive than previous years. Voters will see the fewest candidates, open seats, contested primaries, and contested incumbents of any election year since 2010. Ten seats are open in Alabama’s state legislative elections this year, meaning no incumbents filed. That is the fewest…
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Four candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Louisiana
Incumbent Bill Cassidy (R), John Fleming (R), Julia Letlow (R), and Mark Spencer (R) are running in the Republican Party primary for U.S. Senate in Louisiana on May 16, 2026. Three candidates — Cassidy, Fleming, and Letlow — lead in fundraising and polling. President Donald Trump (R) and Gov. Jeff Landry (R) endorsed Letlow. According…
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West Virginia sees highest share of contested state legislative incumbents since 2010 — all Republicans for second year
In 2026, 48.5% of the state legislative incumbents running for election in West Virginia will face primary contests, the highest share since 50.5% of incumbents faced challenges in 2010. In total, 48 incumbents face contested primaries across the West Virginia House and Senate. The average number of incumbents contested each election cycle since 2010 was…
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Four incumbents lost in the Republican primaries for North Carolina House of Representatives
Four incumbents lost in the Republican primaries for the North Carolina House of Representatives on March 3, 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. Ahead of the election, the…
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Three Democratic incumbents lost in the North Carolina House primaries
Eight state legislative incumbents lost in the primaries in North Carolina on March 3, including three Democratic representatives. That was the most Democratic House primary losses in the state since four lost in the 2010 primaries. The average number of Democratic representatives who lost in the primaries since 2010 was 1.4. According to the Raleigh…
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How Often Do Both State Legislative Chambers Flip at Once? Rarely. Only 20 times since 1992.
Since 1992, 160 changes in state legislative chamber partisan control occurred across the country. That includes 20 times both of a state’s legislative chambers changed partisan control in the same year (14%) and 120 times a single chamber changed partisan control (86%). While chambers may have periodic split control, especially chambers with an even number…
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State legislative special elections show shift toward Democrats compared to previous regular elections
In the state legislative special elections that have happened since January 2025, there was an average shift of 5.6 percentage points towards Democrats. Additionally, Democrats retained 10 percentage points more of their voter turnout from the previous regular election than Republicans. We found these figures by comparing candidates' special election performance to their performance in…
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Recent midterm election years featured more open state legislative seats than presidential years
According to Ballotpedia’s annual competitiveness analyses, midterm election years like 2026 tend to feature more open state legislative seats than presidential election years. Voters across 46 states will choose who will represent them in 6,155 state legislative districts this November. On March 3, 2026, three states—Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas—will hold the first primary elections…
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The average margin of victory across 2025’s state legislative elections was 24.7%, down from 28.7% in 2023
The average margin of victory across 2025’s 180 state legislative elections was 24.7%. This is the second-lowest average margin of victory in odd-year elections since 2019, and down from 28.7% in 2023. The Nov. 4, 2025, state legislative elections included all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and all 80 seats in the…