> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://ivn.us/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# 79% of State Legislative Incumbents Had No Primary Opposition this Year
- URL: https://ivn.us/79-of-state-legislative-incumbents-had-no-primary-opposition-this-year/
- Published: 2020-09-04T19:27:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T20:07:56.000Z
- Author: Ballotpedia
- Tags: Election Reform

In the 44 states with state legislative elections on Nov. 3, 2020, there are [5,875 state legislative seats](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Felections,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us) on the ballot.

This year, 4,994 incumbents sought re-election.[\[3\]](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us#cite%5Fnote-3) 20.4% (1,017) had a contested primary. 79.6% (3,977) advanced to the general election without a primary challenge.

- 79.6% of incumbents seeking re-election this year advanced to the general election without a primary.
- 20.4% (1,107) of incumbents had a contested primary this year. This includes 20.6% of Democratic incumbents (497) and 20.3% of Republican incumbents (519).
- [Wyoming](https://ballotpedia.org/Wyoming?ref=ivn.us) is the only state where over 50% of incumbents seeking re-election had a contested primary.
- In seven states, less than 10% of incumbents seeking re-election had a contested primary.**‍**

**The five states with the highest percentages of incumbents in contested primaries include:**‍

1\. [Wyoming](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us) 2\. [West Virginia ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)3\. [California ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)4\. [Alaska ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)5\. [Arizona](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)**‍**

**The five states with the lowest percentages of incumbents in contested primaries include:**‍

44\. [Connecticut ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)43\. [Maine ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)42\. [Iowa ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)41\. [Colorado ](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)41\. [North Dakota](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)‍

The maps below show a partisan breakdown between Democratic and Republican incumbents. States shaded gray did not hold state legislative elections in 2020.

For the Democratic incumbents' map, a darker shade of blue indicates a higher percentage of Democratic incumbents in contested primaries, while a lighter shade of blue indicates a lower percentage. The states with the highest percentages of Democratic incumbents in contested primaries in 2020 were [West Virginia](https://ballotpedia.org/West%5FVirginia?ref=ivn.us), [Washington](https://ballotpedia.org/Washington?ref=ivn.us), [Hawaii](https://ballotpedia.org/Hawaii?ref=ivn.us), [California](https://ballotpedia.org/California?ref=ivn.us), and [Tennessee](https://ballotpedia.org/Tennessee?ref=ivn.us). In four states—[Idaho](https://ballotpedia.org/Idaho?ref=ivn.us), [Nebraska](https://ballotpedia.org/Nebraska?ref=ivn.us), [North Dakota](https://ballotpedia.org/North%5FDakota?ref=ivn.us), and [Utah](https://ballotpedia.org/Utah?ref=ivn.us)—there were no Democratic incumbents in contested primaries.

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6uxfU/4/

For the Republican incumbents' map, a darker shade of red indicates a higher percentage of Republican incumbents in contested primaries, while a lighter shade of red indicates a lower percentage. The states with the highest percentages of Republican incumbents in contested primaries in 2020 were [Alaska](https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska?ref=ivn.us), [Wyoming](https://ballotpedia.org/Wyoming?ref=ivn.us), [California](https://ballotpedia.org/California?ref=ivn.us), [West Virginia](https://ballotpedia.org/West%5FVirginia?ref=ivn.us), and [New Hampshire](https://ballotpedia.org/New%5FHampshire?ref=ivn.us). In three states—[Hawaii](https://ballotpedia.org/Hawaii?ref=ivn.us), [Rhode Island](https://ballotpedia.org/Rhode%5FIsland?ref=ivn.us), and [Delaware](https://ballotpedia.org/Delaware?ref=ivn.us)—there were no Republican incumbents in contested primaries.

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4SNMV/4/

Historically, around 12% of state legislative incumbents have lost primary elections, and another 8% have been defeated in general elections.

As of Sept. 4, 2020, 128 incumbents have been defeated in primary elections.

43 Democratic incumbents were defeated. In other words, 89.6% of all Democratic incumbents who have run in a primary won.

85 Republican incumbents were defeated. In other words, 81.4% of all Republican incumbents who have run in a primary won.

*This story was republished with permission from* [*Ballotpedia.org*](https://ballotpedia.org/State%5Flegislative%5Fincumbents%5Fin%5Fcontested%5Fprimaries,%5F2020?ref=ivn.us)*.*