New Mexico’s Legislative Races Relatively Uncompetitive

According to a multi-pronged study of electoral competitiveness of all 6,125 districts, as a rule in 2010, the fierce competition that marks the country’s federal and gubernatorial elections has not manifested at the level of 2010’s state legislative elections. New Mexico is one of the states with the fewest competitive races.

Does it matter if races are uncompetitive? The map provides little guidance. New Hampshire is certainly an economically-successful state, but Michigan (another state with relatively competitive races) is not. Could this competitiveness be a reaction to the economic climate?

Of course Texas and Delaware are both relatively uncompetitive electorally, but they perform well (check out page 2) on indices of economic freedom. Of course, New Mexico does not perform quite so well.

Do you care about electoral competitiveness? If so, the simple answer is redistricting reform that promotes competitive races. A few years ago, California and Ohio voters rejected reform proposals, but they might still be a good starting place.