The 88th General Assembly
has convened the 2012 fiscal session

Thursday, October 30, 2008

States with largest percentage of uncontested state legislative races?

Arkansas is ranked second nationally in terms of uncontested legislative seats this year, which I think can be attributed directly to term limits. 80.5% of our legislative seats have already been determined. Massachusetts is first with 84% of its legislative seats having no contested election. Contrast that with Minnesota, where 99.3% of the legislative seats are contested.

Few legislative chambers could change
While the Arkansas and federal legislative chambers will be Democratically-controlled after Tuesday, there are a few chambers around the country that are in play:
Alaska Senate: It's currently 9D/11R, and there are a few competitive races.
Ohio House: Currently 46D/53R, and the Democrats are outspending the Republican counterparts in the legislative races. With it being a battleground, just about every candidate has stumped alongside the presidential ticket in the state.
North Dakota Senate: Currently 21D/26R, and three of the four open seats are Republican-held.
Here's a map showing the current control of state legislative chambers:
Red: Both chambers controlled by Republicans
Blue: Both controlled by Democrats
Purple: One party controls one chamber and the other party controls the other
Nebraska has a unicameral, non-partisan legislature