Sore-loser law

Definition

A sore-loser law bars a candidate who lost a party's primary from then appearing on the general election ballot as an independent or another party's nominee. Most states enforce this directly or indirectly. New York and Connecticut are the notable exceptions.¹²

Why it matters

These laws lock in the primary as the only real contest in safe districts, since a primary loser has no fallback route to the general ballot. That concentrates power in whichever faction controls the primary electorate, often a smaller, more ideological slice of voters.

Seen in the wild

As of 2025, Wyoming's sore-loser law was being challenged in a lawsuit seeking to let a primary candidate who lost re-file and run again, according to WyoFile's contemporaneous reporting on the case.

Related

• Write-in
• Fusion voting
• Closed primary
• Ballot access

Sources

1. Ballotpedia News, "Which states let primary losers run in the general election?," 2025. source ↩

2. Ballotpedia, "When states adopted sore loser laws," 2024. source ↩