Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2017

<- 2016

2017 State Legislative
Special Elections

* * *

States
Alabama • California • Connecticut
Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Iowa
Louisiana •  Maine •  Massachusetts
Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Mississippi • New Hampshire • New York
North Carolina • Oklahoma
Pennsylvania • Rhode Island
South Carolina • Tennessee
Virginia • Washington

* * *

Other 2017 Election coverage
Filing deadlines • Statewide elections
State legislative elections
Gubernatorial elections • Ballot measures

In 2017, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

House special elections called:

* District 197: March 21
* District 133: December 5

## Contents

* 1 How vacancies are filled in Pennsylvania
* 2 About the legislature
* 3 Special elections
* 3.1 March 21, 2017
* 3.2 December 5, 2017
* 4 Special elections throughout the country
* 4.1 Breakdown of 2017 special elections
* 4.2 Impact of special elections on partisan composition
* 4.3 Flipped seats
* 4.3.1 Seats flipped from D to R
* 4.3.2 Seats flipped from R to D
* 5 See also
* 6 Footnotes

#### How vacancies are filled in Pennsylvania[edit]

If there is a vacancy in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election. There are no deadlines set in the state constitution on when a special election can be held.[1]

See sources: Pennsylvania Cons. Art. II, §2

### About the legislature[edit]

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is Pennsylvania's state legislature, seated at the state's capital, Harrisburg. It has been a bicameral legislature since 1790. The General Assembly consists of an upper house, the Pennsylvania State Senate, and a lower house, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 elections. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Pennsylvania State Senate

Party  | As of November 7, 2016  | After November 8, 2016
| Democratic Party | 19  | 16
| Republican Party | 31 | 34
Total |  50 |  50
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Party  | As of November 7, 2016  | After November 8, 2016
| Democratic Party | 84  | 82
| Republican Party | 119 | 121
Total |  203 |  203

## Special elections[edit]

### March 21, 2017[edit]

☑ Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197 |

|

PA House District 197

See also: Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2017

A special election for the position of Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197 was called for March 21, 2017.[2]

The seat became vacant following Leslie Acosta's (D) resignation on January 3, 2017. In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016.[3][2]

Lucinda Little (R) was the only eligible candidate filed for the district. Democrat Freddie Ramirez was removed from the ballot via residency challenge. Democratic Party officials then nominated Emilio Vazquez, but did so past the filing deadline. Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey rejected efforts to see Vazquez added to the ballot. Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala was also denied a spot on the ballot after her nomination was submitted a day past the deadline.[4][5][6] Honkala and Vazquez both pursued write-in campaigns.[7]

On March 24, 2017, the Philadelphia Election Board tallied the write-in votes and found that Vazquez had won the special election.[8]

District 197, which includes most of North Philadelphia, had an 85 percent Democratic constituency at the time of the election.[9] The 2012 election was the most recent election in which two major party candidates faced off in the district prior to 2017. The Democratic candidate won that election with 95 percent of the vote. In 2016, Acosta ran unopposed.

Heading into the special election, Republicans controlled 121 seats in the 203-member state House. The special election, therefore, had no chance of shifting the chamber's balance of political power. Republicans, at the time, had a 34-16 majority in the state Senate, while the governorship was held by Democrat Tom Wolf, making Pennsylvania one of 19 states under divided government.

| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 197, Special Election, 2017

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Democratic  | Emilio Vazquez (Write-in) | 73.2% | 1,972
| Green  |  Cheri Honkala (Write-in)  | 10.6% | 286
| Republican  |  Lucinda Little  | 7.5% | 201
| Write-in  |  Write-in (Scattered)  | 8.7% | 235
Total Votes | 2,694

March 21 special election candidates:
Lucinda Little
Emilio Vazquez (Write-in)

### December 5, 2017[edit]

☑ Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 133 |

|

PA House District 133

See also: Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2017

A special election for the position of Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 133 was called for December 5, 2017.[10]

The seat became vacant after Daniel McNeill (D) passed away on September 8, 2017.[11]

Jeanne McNeill (D) defeated David Molony (R) and Samantha Dorney (L) in the general election.[12]

Candidates running in the election were selected by their respective political parties. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party picked Daniel McNeill's widow, Jeanne, to run in the special election. Molony, who had previously challenged Daniel McNeill, was selected by the Lehigh County Republican Committee.[10] Dorney ran as a Libertarian candidate.[13]

| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 133, Special Election, 2017

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Democratic  | Jeanne McNeill | 67.4% | 2,302
| Republican  |  David Molony  | 29.1% | 992
| Libertarian  |  Samantha Dorney  | 3.5% | 120
Total Votes | 3,414

December 5 special election candidates:
Jeanne McNeill
David Molony
Samantha Dorney

## Special elections throughout the country[edit]

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to  fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

### Breakdown of 2017 special elections[edit]

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

* 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
* 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
* 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
* 22 due to a retirement
* 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

* 46 Democratic seats
* 53 Republican seats

### Impact of special elections on partisan composition[edit]

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections

Party  | As of Special Election  | After Special Election
| Democratic Party | 45  | 56
| Republican Party | 53  | 42
| Independent  | \-  | \-
Total |  98  |  98

### Flipped seats[edit]

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

#### Seats flipped from D to R[edit]

* Louisiana House of Representatives District 42 (March 25)
* Mississippi State Senate District 10 (November 28)
* Massachusetts State Senate Worcester & Middlesex District (December 5)

#### Seats flipped from R to D[edit]

* New Hampshire House of Representatives District Carroll 6 (May 23)
* New York State Assembly District 9 (May 23)
* Oklahoma State Senate District 44 (July 11)
* Oklahoma House of Representatives District 75 (July 11)
* New Hampshire House of Representatives District Belknap 9 (September 12)
* Oklahoma House of Representatives District 46 (September 12)
* New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 4 (September 26)
* Florida State Senate District 40 (September 26)
* New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 15 (November 7)
* Georgia House of Representatives District 117 (November 7)
* Georgia House of Representatives District 119 (November 7)
* Washington State Senate District 45 (November 7)
* Oklahoma State Senate District 37 (November 14)
* Georgia State Senate District 6 (December 5)

## See also[edit]

* State legislative special elections, 2017
* State legislative special elections, 2016
* State legislative special elections, 2015
* Pennsylvania General Assembly

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ State of Pennsylvania, "Pennsylvania Constitution," accessed February 15, 2021 (Article II, Section 2)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pocono Record, "Election set to replace lawmaker ensnared in embezzling case," accessed January 19, 2017
3. ↑ Philly.com, "Brady on State Rep. Acosta: 'She should resign now' after guilty plea," accessed September 28, 2016
4. ↑ Philly Inquirer, "Convicted legislator Acosta gets her wish for special election candidate to replace her," accessed February 2, 2017
5. ↑ Philly Record, "Pols on the Street: Honkala's smart move," accessed February 10, 2017
6. ↑ philly.com, "Democrats go to court, trying to get back on the 197th District ballot," February 27, 2017
7. ↑ CBS Philly, "Special Election For The Pennsylvania House Gets Even More Special," March 19, 2017
8. ↑ NBC 10, "Democrat Wins Surprise Write-In Election in North Philadelphia's 197th District," March 24, 2017
9. ↑ PoliticsPA, "HD-197: Supreme Court Keeps Democratic Candidate Off the Ballot," March 13, 2017
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lehigh Valley Live, "McNeill challenger now faces off against late rep's widow," October 16, 2017
11. ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Dan McNeill's widow nominated to fill his Pennsylvania House seat," October 3, 2017
12. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Special Election 133rd Legislative District," accessed December 5, 2017
13. ↑ The Morning Call, "Libertarian joins race for House seat in 133rd District," November 2, 2017

State legislatures

Legislatures

Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)

2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

* * *

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations:  Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

* * *

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events • Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Brandon McCauley • Andrew McNair • Ellie Mikus • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox • Heather Yates

v • e

State of Pennsylvania
Harrisburg (capital)

|

Elections |

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2026 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government |

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy