A jungle primary puts every candidate for an office on a single ballot, regardless of party, and lets any voter pick from the whole field. The top finishers, usually the top two, advance to the general election even if they belong to the same party. The official name is a nonpartisan blanket primary, and it’s often called a top-two primary.
California and Washington use top-two primaries for most offices. Alaska uses a top-four version with ranked-choice voting in November. Louisiana, the state most associated with the jungle primary, changed its system for 2026 and then partly changed it back.
How does a jungle primary work? #
- One ballot for everyone. Every voter gets the same ballot listing all candidates for each office, with their party preference shown next to their name.
- Vote across party lines. A voter can pick a Republican for governor, a Democrat for Senate and an independent for the House on the same ballot.
- Pool the votes. All votes for each office are counted together.
- Advance the top finishers. In a top-two system, the first- and second-place candidates move on to November, whatever their party and however low their vote share.
That can produce a November race between two Democrats, two Republicans, or a major-party candidate and an independent.
Which states use jungle primaries? #
California and Washington: top-two #
Both states use top-two primaries for congressional, statewide and legislative offices, though not for presidential primaries. Even a candidate who wins 65% in the primary still faces the runner-up in November. Same-party general elections happen regularly in heavily one-party areas, especially in California.
Alaska: top-four with ranked choice #
Alaska adopted its system through a 2020 ballot measure and first used it in 2022. All candidates run in one primary, the top four advance, and in November voters rank those four. A 2024 measure to repeal the system failed by 664 votes out of more than 321,000 cast. A new repeal measure is on the November 3, 2026 ballot, so check the state Division of Elections for the result and what it means for future elections. Our guide to how ranked-choice voting works explains the November count.
Louisiana: a system in transition #
For decades, Louisiana held its open primary on the November general election date. A candidate who won a majority was elected outright; otherwise the top two met in a December runoff.
A 2024 law replaced that with closed party primaries, starting in 2026, for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and state education board. Other offices, including governor and the legislature, stayed on the old open system. The 2026 Senate race followed the new rules, with party primaries on May 16 and runoffs on June 27.
The U.S. House races took a different turn. In April 2026, the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais struck down the state’s congressional map, and the governor suspended the House primaries. Under a 2026 law, Act 7, House candidates now run in an open primary on November 3, 2026, with a December 12 runoff if nobody wins a majority. Votes already cast in the cancelled spring House primaries don’t count. Check the Louisiana Secretary of State’s site for later changes, since the state has rewritten these rules twice in two years.
Nebraska #
Nebraska uses a nonpartisan top-two primary for its one-house state legislature, but not for Congress.
What are the pros and cons of jungle primaries? #
Arguments for #
- Independents vote from the start. Unaffiliated voters, shut out of closed primaries in many states, help choose the finalists.
- Pressure toward the center. Candidates may need votes beyond their own party’s base to finish in the top two.
- Meaningful choices in one-party areas. Where one party dominates, November can still offer a real contest between two of its candidates.
Arguments against #
- Party lockouts. If too many candidates from one party split its vote, two candidates from the other party can take both spots. In 2012, two Republicans advanced in a California House district where Democrats had more voters, because four Democrats divided the vote.
- Confusing November ballots. Voters who rely on party labels get less help when both finalists share a party.
- Two expensive campaigns. Serious candidates must run a full race for the primary and again for the general, which raises the importance of fundraising.
How do campaigns play the top-two system? #
Clearing the field #
To avoid a lockout, party leaders often push weaker candidates to drop out before filing closes, so their party’s vote isn’t split.
Picking an opponent #
A front-runner sure of first place may spend money to help choose who finishes second. In California’s 2024 Senate primary, Democrat Adam Schiff’s campaign ran ads describing Republican Steve Garvey as a strong conservative, which raised Garvey’s profile among Republican voters. Garvey finished second, ahead of Democrat Katie Porter, giving Schiff a Republican opponent in a Democratic-leaning state instead of a fellow Democrat.
Once the finalists are set, the general election works like any other. Election Tracker groups polls by race on its Senate and Governor tabs with a 30-day average for each, so a same-party November race shows up with both candidates’ numbers side by side. You can filter a long list by state or candidate name to find it.
Frequently asked questions #
What’s the difference between an open primary and a jungle primary? #
In an open primary, you don’t have to be registered with a party, but you still pick one party’s ballot and vote only in that party’s races. In a jungle primary there’s a single ballot with every candidate on it. Our guide to open vs. closed primaries covers the other systems, and semi-closed primaries sit in between.
Can two candidates from the same party face each other in November? #
Yes. In California and Washington, the top two advance regardless of party, and same-party general elections happen in most cycles. It can happen in Louisiana’s runoffs too.
Which states use a jungle primary in 2026? #
California and Washington use top-two primaries, Alaska uses top-four with ranked choice in November, and Louisiana uses an open November primary with a December runoff for its U.S. House races and many state and local offices. Louisiana’s U.S. Senate race used closed party primaries this year. Nebraska uses top-two only for its legislature.
Do jungle primaries help moderate candidates? #
Sometimes. Research on California’s system finds modest effects at most, partly because many voters don’t know much about candidates’ ideologies and partly because party-backed candidates still have the advantage in money and name recognition. Our guide to plurality vs. majority rules explains why the winning threshold also shapes who runs.