So far this year, fewer incumbent state legislators are retiring, but more are running in contested primary elections
Across 20 states with completed candidate filing data, 28% of incumbent state legislators are running in contested primaries this year — the second-highest share since 2010, trailing only 2022. At the same time, the share of open seats, at 15.9%, is the second-lowest since 2010.
Among the 20 states with completed 2026 candidate-filing data — Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia — three patterns emerge compared to those states across even-year cycles since 2010:
https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/05/05/so-far-this-year-fewer-incumbent-state-legislators-are-retiring-but-more-are-running-in-contested-primary-elections-2/