2.6% of state legislative incumbents lost on Nov. 8, with 343 races uncalled
Based on preliminary results, at least 121 state legislative incumbents—73 Democrats, 45 Republicans, and three independent or minor party officeholders—have lost. That amounts to 2.6% of incumbents running for re-election.
This figure is expected to increase. There are currently 343 races featuring incumbents that remain uncalled.
Where things stand in America’s Pivot Counties
Pivot Counties are the 206 counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 before voting for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. This year, 98 U.S. House districts overlapped with at least one Pivot County. As of Nov. 14, Republicans won 60 of those districts and Democrats won 35. Among the three uncalled races, Republicans lead in two.
Five states elected a U.S. Senator and governor from a different party (so far)
Twenty-six states held elections for governor and U.S. Senate on Nov. 8. As of this writing, we have results for 24 of them. The race in Alaska is, as of this writing, uncalled. The U.S. Senate race in Georgia is headed for a Dec. 6 runoff and isn’t included in this analysis.
Five of those 24 states elected a U.S. Senator and governor from a different party:
- Kansas: Incumbent Gov. Laura Kelly (D) and incumbent U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R) won re-election.
- Wisconsin: Incumbent Gov. Tony Evers (D) and incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R) won re-election.
- New Hampshire: Incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and incumbent U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) won re-election.
- Vermont: Incumbent Gov. Phil Scott (R) and U.S. Senate candidate Peter Welch (D) won their elections.
- Nevada: Incumbent U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) and gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo (R) won their elections.
A combined 2,998 candidates ran for president in 2016 and 2020
On Nov. 15, former President Donald Trump (R) announced he would run for a second term—and filed the paperwork to make it official.
Anyone can file to run for president with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). In 2016 and 2020, a combined 2,998 individuals filed to run for president with the FEC. In 2016, 1,786 candidates filed with the FEC, while in 2020, that figure was 1,212.
Of the candidates who filed in 2016:
- 228 filed as Democratic candidates
- 288 filed as Republican candidates
- 56 filed as Libertarian candidates
- 14 filed as Green candidates.
Of the candidates who filed in 2020:
- 323 filed as Democratic candidates
- 164 filed as Republican candidates
- 65 filed as Libertarian candidates
- 23 filed as Green candidates
Tracking school board conflicts by the numbers
Since 2021, we’ve tracked school board elections where topics regarding race in education, coronavirus responses, or sex and gender in schools come into play. 561 school districts across 26 states held elections on Nov. 8 featuring at least one of the three conflict topics with 1,800 seats up for election.
As part of our research, we label each winner as either supporting or opposing the three conflict topics. If we cannot determine a stance, we mark the winner unclear. Click the link below to see the results from our work so far.
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