Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said today that the 2012 election will have the fewest uncontested races for the General Assembly since 1998, when the state began tracking how many legislative elections were uncontested by a major party.

“I am very encouraged to see so many candidates stepping up and running for office, especially in a year when there are numerous retirements from the Connecticut General Assembly,” Merrill said.

In the 151-member House, the drop from 48 to 27 uncontested seats is a record. In 2006, the last cycle without the availability of public financing for legislative candididate, the number of uncontested races was nearly double.

A high number of open seats is contributing to the decrease in uncontested races, Merrill said.

Democrats now control the Senate, 22-14, and the House, 99-52.

Uncontested state Senate races

1998  7 out of 36   19.5%
2000  11 out of 36 30.6%
2002  8 out of 36   22.2%
2004  13 out of 36 36.2%
2006  9 out of 36   25%
2008  7 out of 36   19.4%
2010  6 out of 36   16.7%
2012  5 out of 36   13.9%

Uncontested state House races

1998  43 out of 151  28.5%
2000  60 out of 151  40.4%
2002  50 out of 151  33.1%
2004  60 out of 151  40.4%
2006  62 out of 151  41%
2008  53 out of 151  35%
2010  48 out of 151  31.8%
2012  27 out of 151  17.9%

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

Leave a comment