Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Thousands of elections took place in 2022 across the United States, including primary and general elections at the federal, state, and local levels. These included elections for all 435 seats in the U.S. House, 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, and 36 of 50 state governorships.
This page presents Ballotpedia's research and curation on 2022 elections in the United States, including:
- Coverage of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections
- Coverage of state elections, including gubernatorial and state legislative races
- Coverage of local elections, including mayoral and other municipal elections
- Coverage of statewide ballot measures
- Coverage of election policy topics, including voter turnout and ballot curing
Federal politics
All 435 U.S. House seats and 34 U.S. Senate seats were up for regular elections in the 2022 elections. The seats of five of the six non-voting members of the U.S. House were up for election as well. Additionally, two U.S. Senate seats were up for special election on November 8, 2022.
Heading into the election, Democrats had a majority in the U.S. House. The Senate was split 50-50 and Vice-President Kamala Harris had the tie-breaking vote.
Following the elections, Democrats gained a net of one seat in the United States Senate, maintaining control of the chamber. Republicans held 49 seats following the elections, while Democrats held 48 seats and independents who caucus with Democrats held two. After the elections, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she had changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent.
In the U.S. House, Republicans gained a 222-213 majority.
United States House of Representatives
Elections to the U.S. House were held on November 8, 2022. The seats of all 435 representatives were up for election. The seats of five of the six non-voting members of the U.S. House were up for election as well.
As a result of the elections, Republicans gained a 222-213 majority.[1]
Heading into the election, Democrats had a 220-212 majority. There were three vacancies. Republicans needed to gain a net of five districts to win a majority in the chamber. The party gained a net of nine districts.
Nine incumbents — six Democrats and three Republicans — were defeated.
The 2022 election was the first to take place following apportionment and redistricting after the 2020 census. As a result of apportionment, six states (Texas, Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon) gained seats, and seven states (California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) lost seats.
Featured analysis
- Congressional margin of victory analysis: An electoral margin of victory (MOV) is the difference between the share of votes cast for the winning candidate and the runner-up in a single-seat election. In a multi-seat race, the MOV is the difference between the vote share received by the bottom-placing winning candidate and the top-placing losing candidate. Margins of victory can be used to measure electoral competitiveness, political party or candidate strength, and, indirectly, the popularity of a particular policy or set of policies. Congressional races in 2022, on average, were decided by a similar margin of victory (MOV) as in 2020. Relative to 2020, the average MOV increased in the Senate and in the House.
- Rematches in 2022 general elections: An election rematch occurs when the same candidates run against each other in consecutive election cycles. In the 2022 general election, 340 elections in Ballotpedia's coverage scope were head-to-head rematches for single-seat offices between the same candidates who ran in 2020. Additionally, 37 elections in 2022 were head-to-head rematches for single-seat offices between the same candidates who ran in 2018.[2]
- Overview of the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections
- U.S. House battlegrounds
- Congressional Competitiveness Report
- New members elected to Congress
- Comparison of state delegations to the 117th and 118th Congresses
- Comparison of 2020 presidential and 2022 U.S. House midterm results
- Congressional elections decided by 10 percentage points or fewer
- Third-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
- Incumbents who did not run for re-election
- U.S. House elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate
- Results of elected officials seeking other offices
- Pivot Counties in U.S. House elections
- U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat in 2022 and won by Donald Trump in 2020
- U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2022 and won by Joe Biden in 2020
- Wave election analysis
- Party committee fundraising
- U.S. House battleground primaries, 2022
- Democratic Party battleground primaries
- Republican Party battleground primaries
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
United States Senate
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2022
Elections to the U.S. Senate were held on November 8, 2022, and 34 of the 100 seats were up for regular election. Those elected to the U.S. Senate in the 34 regular elections in 2022 began their six-year terms on January 3, 2023. Two special elections also took place on November 8, 2022.
Heading into the 2022 general election, Democrats and Republicans split the chamber 50-50 and Harris, the vice president, had the tie-breaking vote. Democrats controlled the Senate via a power-sharing agreement.
As a result of the elections, Democrats retained control of the U.S. Senate, gaining 51 seats to Republicans' 49.[3]
Democrats gained a seat Republicans formerly held, as John Fetterman (D) defeated Mehmet Oz (R) in the U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania. Incumbent Senator Pat Toomey (R) did not seek re-election.
Fourteen seats held by Democrats and 21[4] seats held by Republicans were up for election in 2022.
Featured analysis
- Annual Congressional Competitiveness Report: Ballotpedia's 2022 study of competitiveness in congressional elections found that 14.3% of incumbent U.S. senators and representatives did not file for re-election. This was up from 9.6% in 2020 and 11.8% in 2018.
- Presidential election results in 2022 Senate states: Republicans were defending two Senate seats in states Joe Biden (D) won in the 2020 presidential election. In Pennsylvania, where incumbent Pat Toomey did not seek re-election, Biden defeated Donald Trump (R) 50.0%-48.8% in 2020. In Wisconsin, where incumbent Ron Johnson sought re-election, Biden defeated Trump 49.5%-48.8%. Democrats were not defending any Senate seats in states Trump won in 2020.
- Overview of the United States Senate elections in 2022
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds
- New members elected to Congress
- Comparison of state delegations to the 117th and 118th Congresses
- Congressional margin of victory analysis
- Congressional elections decided by 10 percentage points or fewer
- Rematches in the 2022 U.S. House elections
- Incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2022
- Third-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
- Results of elected officials seeking other offices
- States with two or more statewide offices up for election
- Wave election analysis
- Party committee fundraising, 2021-2022
- Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2022
- Republican Party battleground primaries, 2022
- U.S. Senate battleground primaries, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
State politics
In 2022, 44 states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for 88 of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers, 36 gubernatorial offices, and 32 state supreme court seats.
State legislative elections
- See also: State legislative elections, 2022
On November 8, 2022, members in 88 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers were up for election across 46 states. These elections were for 6,278 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (85%).
Heading into the election, Democrats controlled 36 chambers and Republicans controlled 62. A bipartisan coalition controlled the Alaska House.
As a result of the election:
- Democrats gained control of four chambers—the Michigan House and Senate, Minnesota Senate, and Pennsylvania House—bringing their total to 40.[5] Wins in Minnesota and Michigan created new Democratic trifectas in those states. Both had previously been divided governments.
- In Alaska, a bipartisan coalition gained control of the Senate. The coalition in the House changed from being made primarily of Democrats and independents to one made primarily of Republicans.
- Republicans lost control of five chambers, bringing their total to 57.
Featured analysis
- State legislative seats that changed party control in 2022: As a result of the Nov. 8, 2022, elections, partisan composition of all 7,386 state legislative seats changed by less than half a percentage point. Democrats had a net loss of six seats, representing 0.1% of all state legislative seats. Republicans had a net gain of 28 seats, representing 0.4% of all state legislative seats.[6] Independents and minor party officeholders had a net loss of 20 seats, representing 0.2% of all state legislative seats.
- Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 12, 2022: Competitiveness refers to the presence of choice throughout the election cycle. A greater level of competitiveness means voters have the ability to make more decisions. A lower level of competitiveness equals fewer choices. State legislative competitiveness in 2022 reached its highest level compared to all even-year election cycles since 2010. In 2022, the nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index is 36.2, beating out 2018 (36.1) and the 2012 post-redistricting cycle (35.2).
- State legislative special elections
- Impact of term limits
- Open seats
- Contested primaries
- Incumbents in contested primaries
- Data on incumbents defeated
- Summaries of incumbents defeated in primaries
- Incumbent win rates by state
- Pivot counties in state legislative elections
- Trifecta vulnerability in the 2022 elections
- Rematches in 2022 general elections
- Elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate
- States with two or more statewide offices up for election
- Wave election analysis
- Seats that changed party control
- Veto-proof state legislatures with opposing party governors
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
- Candidates with the same last names, 2022
State executive elections
- See also: State executive official elections, 2022
State executive offices up for election in 2022 included 36 gubernatorial seats, 30 lieutenant gubernatorial seats, 30 attorney general seats, and 27 secretary of state seats. Including down-ballot races, there were 307 state executive seats up for election across 44 states in 2022.[7]
Of the 36 that held elections for governor, four offices changed party hands. Partisan control changed from Republican to Democratic in Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Partisan control changed from Democratic to Republican in Nevada, where incumbent Governor Steve Sisolak (D) was the only incumbent governor to lose re-election in 2022.
The partisan control of three lieutenant governors' offices changed. The office switched from Democrat to Republican in Nevada and from Republican to Democrat in Maryland and Massachusetts.
The partisan control of two secretary of State offices changed from Republican to Democrat.
In three states—Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont—the office of attorney general changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Democrats and a net loss of one office for Republicans.
Featured analysis
- Trifecta vulnerability in the 2022 elections: Thirteen state government trifectas were vulnerable in the 2022 elections, according to Ballotpedia's annual trifecta vulnerability ratings. Democrats defended seven vulnerable trifectas and Republicans defended six. A state government trifecta occurs when one party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 37 state government trifectas: 23 Republican trifectas and 14 Democratic trifectas. The remaining 13 states had a divided government where neither party had a trifecta.
- State government triplexes: Heading into the November 8 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and 9 divided governments where neither party held triplex control. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.[8] In states where the attorney general or secretary of state are appointed by the governor, Ballotpedia considers the office to be held by the governor's party for the purposes of defining triplexes.[9]
- Annual State Executive Competitiveness Report: Ballotpedia's 2022 study of competitiveness in state executive official elections found that 37.1% of incumbents did not seek re-election, leaving those offices open. This was higher than in 2020 (35.6%) and 2014 (32.7%) but lower than in 2018 (38.6%) and 2016 (45.2%). The decade average for open offices was 37.8%.
- State executive official elections overview
- Gubernatorial elections
- Secretary of State elections
- Attorney General elections
- Historical and potential changes in trifectas
- State government trifectas
- Impact of term limits on state executive elections
- Rematches in 2022 general elections
- Elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate
- Wave election analysis
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
- Democratic Party battleground primaries
- Republican Party battleground primaries
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
State judicial elections
- See also: State judicial elections, 2022
A total of 382 appellate court seats were up for election in 2022. This included 84 supreme court seats and 298 intermediate appellate court seats.
In addition, in the U.S. Territories, the Northern Mariana Islands held retention elections for two judges on the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court in 2022.
Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.
Featured analysis
- Partisanship of state supreme court judges: In June 2020, Ballotpedia conducted a study into the partisanship of state supreme court justices. The study placed each justice into one of five categories indicating confidence in their affiliations with either the Democratic or Republican Parties. These categories were Strong Democratic, Mild Democratic, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
Local elections
- See also: United States municipal elections, 2022
In 2022, Ballotpedia covered elections for mayor, city council, and all other city officials in the 100 largest cities by population in the United States, as well as elections for county officials whose jurisdictions overlapped with those cities.
Featured analysis
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2022): Heading into 2022, the mayors of 62 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 26 mayoral offices, independents held four, and seven mayors were nonpartisan. One mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown.[10]
- United States municipal elections overview
- School board elections
- Local trial court judicial elections
- Local ballot measure elections
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections
- List of endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates
- Rematches in 2022 general elections
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
- Candidates with the same last names, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2022)
Ballot measures
- See also: 2022 ballot measures
In 2022, Ballotpedia covered 92 statewide ballot measures, as well as local ballot measures in the localities within our coverage scope.
Featured analysis
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2022: Ballotpedia's readability report analyzes what level of education voters would need to understand the ballot titles and summaries of statewide ballot measures using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). A readability score is an estimation of the reading difficulty of a text. Measurements used in calculating readability scores include the number of syllables, words, and sentences in a text. Other factors, such as the complexity of an idea in a text, are not reflected in readability scores.
- Trends in statewide ballot measures (2022): As part of our coverage of statewide ballot measures in 2022, Ballotpedia identified five topics that will be on the ballot across multiple states in 2022. These topics are: abortion, marijuana, voting-related policies, changes to state initiative processes, and amendments on enslavement, servitude, and criminal punishment.
- Campaign finance data for ballot measures
- Data on cost of signature-gathering
- Ballot Measure Scorecard
- Number of initiatives filed
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 ballot measures to watch, 2022
Election coverage by state
Click your state on the map below to navigate to relevant election information.
See also: Elections by state and year.
Election resources
Footnotes
- ↑ These figures include the seat of Rep. Donald McEachin (D), who passed away on November 28, after winning re-election.
- ↑ This number only includes races for offices with four-year term lengths.
- ↑ On December 9, 2022, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she had changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent. Politico reported that Sinema would not caucus with Republicans, and said she intended "to vote the same way she [had] for four years in the Senate."Politico, "Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate," December 9, 2022
- ↑ This number includes Sen. Jim Inhofe's (R-Okla.) seat, up for a special election on November 8, 2022.
- ↑ In the Pennsylvania House, Democrats won 102 seats but would enter the legislative session with 99 members due to three vacancies: one due to the death of an incumbent and the others due to resignations to assume higher office. Vacancies are filled by special elections. According to CNAlysis, all three vacant districts voted for President Joe Biden (D) by margins of more than 15 percentage points in 2020:
- House District 32: Biden +26
- House District 34: Biden +62
- House District 35: Biden +16
- ↑ This total includes three seats created in Wyoming during the 2020 redistricting process, which affects the net changes before and after the Nov. 8 elections.
- ↑ Ballotpedia describes the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as top-ballot state executive offices. Down-ballot state executive offices that exist in all 50 states include superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner. Examples of other down-ballot state executive offices include treasurer, auditor, and comptroller.
- ↑ Ballotpedia chose to highlight these offices because they are typically the most visible positions in states and serve important administrative functions.
- ↑ This is because it is very uncommon for an attorney general or secretary of state appointed by a governor to often be in direct conflict with that governor.
- ↑ In 2021, 28 of the top 100 cities held mayoral elections, and two offices changed partisan control: one as a result of an election, and one as the result of a mayor switching parties. Once mayors elected in 2021 assumed office, the mayors of 63 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party, 26 were Republicans, four were independent, six were nonpartisan, and one was unknown. Ahead of the 2022 election cycle, Ballotpedia updated our list of top 100 cities based on data from the 2020 census, swapping out Birmingham, Alabama, which had a Democratic mayor at the time, and San Bernardino, California, with a Republican mayor, for Santa Clarita, California, with a Republican mayor, and Spokane, Washington, with a nonpartisan mayor.