Author: Nathan Maxwell
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Fewest open state legislative seats since 2011
There are eight open seats in this year’s state legislative elections, four percent of all 180 seats up for election. That is the lowest by percentage of any odd-year cycle since 2011. An open seat is where no incumbent filed to run, meaning it is guaranteed to be won by a newcomer. Ballotpedia uses the…
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Sixteen percent of possible state legislative primaries were contested in 2025
There were 46 contested state legislative primaries in 2025. That was 16% of the 280 possible primaries between the New Jersey General Assembly and the Virginia House of Delegates, the only two state legislative chambers with elections this year. The total number of contested primaries in 2025—46—was two more and a 5% increase from 2021.…
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Ballotpedia identified 23 Virginia House races as battlegrounds
Ballotpedia identified 23 Virginia House of Delegates districts as general election battlegrounds. Democrats are favored to win seven battleground districts that Republicans represent heading into the election. Republicans are not favored to win any Democratic battleground districts. The Virginia House is one of two state legislative chambers with elections in 2025. Off-year elections in Virginia…
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Seattle school board August 5 primary election results
In the August 5 nonpartisan primaries for Seattle school board, incumbent Sarah Clark and Kathleen Smith advanced in District 2, incumbent Joe Mizrahi and Laura Marie Rivera advanced in District 4, and Vivian Song and Janis White advanced in District 5. The District 7 nonpartisan primary was canceled, and the only two candidates — Jen…
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What to know about the August 5 primaries for Seattle Public Schools school board
Four seats on the seven-member Seattle Public Schools school board in Washington are up for election on Nov. 4, 2025. Three are up for regular election and one is up for special election. A primary is scheduled for Aug. 5, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was May 9, 2025. Nonpartisan primaries will be…
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A closer look at 2025’s three defeated state legislative incumbents
The three incumbents defeated in 2025 state legislative primaries were all first-term Democrats in the New Jersey General Assembly. Here’s a closer look at the incumbents who lost and what they shared in common. The trio all first took office in 2024. They represented 1.7% of incumbents who ran for re-election and 7.9% of incumbents…
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A look back at 2025 state primary election competitiveness
A smaller share of seats were open in this year’s state primary elections than in any odd year since 2011. Ballotpedia’s 2025 state primary election data included competitiveness and incumbency statistics from state legislative and state executive elections in three states — New Jersey, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The percentage of open seats in 2025 (5.9%)…
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What to know about the Democratic primaries for New York City Council
One hundred candidates ran in 28 Democratic primaries for New York City Council on June 24, 2025, including 13 that Ballotpedia identified as battlegrounds. All 51 council seats are up for election this year. The Council is the city’s primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, passing legislation, monitoring city agencies,…
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No incumbents defeated in Virginia House primaries
No incumbents were defeated in the Virginia House of Delegates primary elections on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Three incumbents ran in contested primaries, 3.1% of the 96 incumbents running for re-election. This is the third time the chamber’s primaries have produced no incumbent defeats since 2011. The first was 2011, and the second was 2017.…
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At least one incumbent defeated in New Jersey’s state legislative primaries
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…