By Bob Katzen

Despite the serious times and the state facing several crises, a total of 125 incumbent Republican and Democratic legislators will face no major party challenger in either the Sept. 1 primary election or the Nov. 3 general election. That means that 62.5 percent of the 200 legislative seats, (160 in the House and 40 in the Senate) will likely go to the incumbent. The only way an incumbent could lose his or her seat would be in the handful of districts in which a third-party candidate is running, or a candidate mounts a write-in campaign.

Sixty seats – 48 in the House and 12 in the Senate – will feature major party competition in either the primary or general election or both. The remaining 15 seats are open races with no incumbent because the occupant chose not to run for re-election.