New Hampshire has fewer state legislative primaries as national committees target state

New Hampshire has 52 contested state legislative primaries on September 10, the fewest since Ballotpedia started tracking in 2010.

The 52 contested primaries are 11.5% of all possible state legislative primaries. Ballotpedia defines a contested primary as one with more candidates than nominations available.

There are 18 contested Democratic primaries and 34 contested Republican primaries. For Democrats, this is the fewest since 2012, and for Republicans this is the fewest since Ballotpedia began tracking.

All 424 seats of the General Court are up for election, and 820 candidates are running. Among them are 407 Democrats and 413 Republicans. For Democrats, this is the lowest turnout since 2014, and for Republicans, it is the lowest turnout since Ballotpedia started tracking in 2010.

There are 328 incumbents running in the primaries. Among them, 89, or about 27.1%, are contested.

There are 96 open seats, including 92 in the House and four in the Senate. The average number of retirements from 2010 to 2022 was 106.7.

Heading into the 2024 elections, New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta. Republicans have a 14-10 majority in the Senate and a 197-194-1 majority in the House with eight vacancies. Since 1992, there have been 13 years of Republican trifectas and four years of Democratic trifectas in New Hampshire.

Politico included New Hampshire on their list of five states “where Republicans and Democrats are waging the biggest battles for control of state legislatures.”

Politico’s Liz Crampton wrote, “Control of the Legislature has switched back and forth between parties over the years, underscoring the opportunity for either party to sell voters on a different vision for policymaking. The open gubernatorial race — GOP Gov. Chris Sununu isn’t running for reelection — has the potential to drive out more voters in November, giving either party a coattails push.”

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee included New Hampshire on its list of top states to protect or expand power. The Republican State Leadership Committee said New Hampshire was on their list of top states to defend.