Little competition for NJ Legislature primaries, and ballot gives party favorites an edge
The New Jersey State Legislature now has more open seats — races without an incumbent running — than at any time in the last 12 years.
In most states, that would be expected to increase the number of competitive races. But that hasn’t happened in New Jersey, where most races in the June 6 primary are uncontested.
“Even when incumbents are stepping away, even when there is a climate that should encourage competition, our system is such that there really is no competition and a lot of ballots have no contested races at all,” said Julia Sass Rubin, associate professor at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. She researches the impact of ballot design and party endorsements on New Jersey elections.
Only 13% of state Senate and Assembly seats have contested primaries, meaning races where more than one person is running for their party’s nomination for each available seat. The national average is 20%, according to Ballotpedia.org, a nonprofit and nonpartisan election information hub.
All 40 state Senate seats and all 80 Assembly seats are on the ballot this year.
https://gothamist.com/news/little-competition-for-nj-legislature-primaries-and-ballot-gives-party-favorites-an-edge