A comprehensive analysis of the May 21, 2024, congressional primaries in Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon, focusing on key outcomes, voter participation, and ongoing reform efforts to improve election inclusivity and representation.
On Tuesday, May 21st, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky & Oregon held their congressional primaries. These states have a combined total of 28 congressional districts. To this point, 17 states — with a total of 218 U.S. House seats — have held primaries for Congress and state offices.
Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon have closed primaries, which prohibits voters not registered with a major party from participating. This means nearly 2 million registered voters were locked out of Tuesday’s primaries. Five closed primary states have held congressional primaries to date, excluding over 4,200,000 registered voters from participating in the elections that often decide the outcome.
All 14 of Georgia’s congressional districts are rated “safe” by the Cook Political Report. Because they’re all uncompetitive in the general election, all of the state’sU.S. House representatives were decided on Tuesday. Just 4 of the 14 safe seats saw more than one candidate run in the primary of the district’s dominant party — meaning there was competition. In those competitive primaries, 260,500 voters participated — just 3% of the state’s voting-age population.
This means that 3% of GA’s voting-age population effectively elected 100% of the state’s U.S. House delegation in dominant party primaries.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is a perfect example of how we often do not even get to choose our elected officials; they are frequently decided for us by default. Greene ran unopposed in the GOP primary in a safe Republican district, meaning she was effectively elected without needing to earn a single vote. Over 600,000 voters in her district were denied any meaningful choice.
Idaho has two congressional districts which are both considered “safe.” Only one of the two safe seats saw more than one candidate run in the primary of the district’s dominant party. In that competitive primary, 98,100 voters participated — which is 7% of the state’s voting-age population.
This means that, overall, 7% of ID’s voting-age population effectively elected 100% of the state’s U.S. House delegation in dominant party primaries.
All six of Kentucky’s congressional districts are rated “safe” by the Cook Political Report. Just three of the six safe seats saw more than one candidate run in the primary of the district’s dominant party — meaning there was competition. In those competitive primaries, 153,400 voters participated — which is just 4% of the state’s voting-age population.
This means that, overall, 4% of Kentucky’s voting age population effectively elected 100% of the state’s U.S. House delegation in dominant party primaries.
Four of the six congressional districts are rated “safe” by the Cook Political Report. This means 67% of the state’s congressional seats were decided in the primaries. Three of the four safe seats saw more than one candidate run in the primary of the district’s dominant party — meaning there was competition. In those competitive primaries, 270,000 voters participated — which is just 8% of the state’s voting-age population.
This means that, overall, 8% of OR’s voting age population effectively elected 67% of the state’s U.S. House delegation in dominant party primaries.
In the open seat, OR-03, seven candidates ran in the dominant Democratic primary. Maxine Dexter won with 47.6% of the vote. This means she effectively won the congressional seat with just a plurality of the primary vote.
Fortunately for voters, change could be on the horizon.
Reformers in Idaho, led by Idahoans for Open Primaries, are pursuing a ballot initiative that would replace closed party primaries with a nonpartisan all-candidate primary. That would give 270,000 independents in the state the right to vote in primaries — a right they don’t currently have. Volunteers with Idahoans for Open Primaries turned in nearly 95,000 signatures to qualify the initiative for this November’s ballot, well above the required 63,000. They’re still awaiting official confirmation from the secretary of state that it will appear on the ballot.
Lawmakers in Oregon referred an initiative to this November’s ballot that, if passed by the voters, would implement ranked choice voting in the general election for some offices. This would require candidates to win a majority of support from voters to take office. Oregon Ranked Choice Voting is leading the efforts there.
Better Ballot Georgia is working in the state to pass instant runoff voting. Right now, Georgia holds an entirely separate runoff election when a candidate does not earn majority support in primaries or U.S. Senate general elections. These elections are plagued by low turnout and cost the state additional money. Passing instant runoffs would both ensure candidates win with a majority and get rid of the need to hold another election.
