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State intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
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Thirty states held intermediate appellate court elections in 2022. There were 298 seats on intermediate appellate courts up for election. More information about these elections will be added here once election dates and filing schedules are made available.
In addition, in the U.S. Territories, two judges on the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court were on the ballot in retention elections in 2022.
Intermediate appellate courts serve as an intermediate step between the trial courts and the courts of last resort in a state. Their jurisdiction varies from state to state.
Click here for information on state supreme court elections.
Click here for information on local trial court elections.
Overview
The following states held elections for intermediate appellate court seats in 2022.
Hover over or click a state on the map below to see the number of seats up and the selection method used in that state.
Judicial selection methods
- See also: Judicial selection in the states
States use a variety of methods to elect intermediate appellate court judges.
- In a partisan election, candidates may be nominated by political parties or declare their party affiliations upon filing to stand in the election. Primaries are typically held to narrow down the candidates to one per party before the general election; some states hold primaries in which candidates of all parties compete with each other and the top vote-getters advance regardless of party.
- In a nonpartisan election, some states require candidates to declare their party affiliations, while some states prohibit them from doing so. If primaries are held, they do not narrow the candidates to one per party; instead, they typically narrow the candidates to two for each seat regardless of party.
- In a retention election, an incumbent judge does not face an opponent. A question is placed on the ballot asking whether each judge shall be retained for another term, and voters choose "yes" or "no." Judges must receive majority "yes" votes in order to remain in their seats.
To learn more about judicial selection methods, click here.
Analysis of state elections
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.[1] 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.[2] 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
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
- 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.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 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.
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