Could you explain what that means?
Competitiveness really refers to how many applications they get on a whole. Traditionally the states that are densely populated are seen as more competitive. Most competitive are states that are both very populated and have a big military connection (SAs, bases, posts, etc).
Take Montana for example compared to NY. Every Cong. has the same amount of constituents, but when you get to the Sen level, every state still has only 2. If Montana has less constituents from that Sen. perspective than NY, it may not be as competitive.
Now throw into the mix that NY has an SA, and that adds into the equation. Think home team for a football game.
NC has Bragg, Cherry Pt, LeJeune, SJAFB and Pope, but they are not an over populated state and someone with a Cong from Boone will probably have a smaller list for AF than someone from Goldsboro. Same as someone from Goldsboro on Cong Butterfield's list will probably have a better shot for WP than the AFA.
The most competitive states, not in order, are:
CA, CO, TX, NY, FL, and VA.
The easiest way to get a feel for future candidates is ask the MOC's if they talk. The states I just mentioned talk. They flat out say that if you have a nom from one source don't try for ours. NC has yet to state that, thus when you say competitive they are not at the top of the pile.
When they start talking that = competitive regarding getting a nom.
I believe back when our DS went through it Burr had 150 applications for 10 spots. That sounds competitive, but when you go to a state like VA with 3,4,5 times that amount you can get how fortunate you are to be a NC resident and not in another state, such as NY or CA.