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    Alaska state legislative special elections, 2020

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 8 min
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    In 2020, one special election was called for a seat in the Alaska State Senate.

    Click here to read more about the special election.

    Senate special elections called:

    How vacancies are filled in Alaska[edit]


    If there is a vacancy in the Alaska State Legislature, the governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. The governor must select the replacement within 30 days after the vacancy happens. The governor cannot appoint a replacement if the vacancy happens before a new legislative session is scheduled to convene.[1]

    DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Alaska Stat. §15.40.320


    About the legislature[edit]

    The Alaska State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska State Senate, with 20 members.

    The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2020. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

    Alaska State Senate
    Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
         Democratic Party 6 7
         Republican Party 14 13
    Total 20 20
    Alaska House of Representatives
    Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
         Democratic Party 17 16
         Republican Party 20 23
         Independent 3 1
    Total 40 40

    Special elections[edit]

    Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

    November 3, 2020[edit]


    Special elections throughout the country[edit]

    See also: State legislative special elections, 2020

    In 2020, 59 state legislative special elections were held in 27 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

    Breakdown of 2020 special elections[edit]

    In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

    • 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
    • 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[4]
    • 18 due to retirement
    • 13 due to the death of the incumbent

    Impact of special elections on partisan composition[edit]

    The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

    As of September 12, 2022, Republicans controlled 54.07% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 44.33%. Republicans held a majority in 62 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 36 chambers. One chamber (Alaska House) was organized under a multipartisan, power-sharing coalition.[5]

    Partisan balance of all 7,383 state legislative seats
    Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
    State senates 864 1,092 7 9
    State houses 2,409 2,900 33 69
    Total: 3,273

    		3,992

    		40

    		78


    The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2020. 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. In elections between 2011 and 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.

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

    Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020)
    Party As of Special Election After Special Election
         Democratic Party 21 27
         Republican Party 38 32
         Independent 0 0
    Total 59 59

    Flipped seats[edit]

    In 2020, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

    Seats flipped from D to R[edit]

    Seats flipped from R to D[edit]


    See also[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ Alaska Legal Resource Center, "Alaska Election Law," accessed February 8, 2021 (Statute 15.40.320)
    2. ↑ Anchorage Daily News, "Republicans confirm state Rep. Josh Revak for vacant Senate seat," November 3, 2019
    3. ↑ US News & World Report, "Republican Alaska State Sen. Chris Birch Dies," August 8, 2019
    4. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
    5. ↑ Nebraska is officially nonpartisan but was held by a Republican majority. For more information on how Ballotpedia determined the partisan affiliation for Nebraska senators, please click here.
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    Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Original source: https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_state_legislative_special_elections,_2020
    Status: cached on September 14 2022 11:15:28
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