State legislative special elections, 2022

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2022 State Legislative Special Elections
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As of May 2022, 45 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2022 in 20 states. Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 74 special elections took place each year. See the sections below for additional information on state legislative special elections in 2022.

1. Causes: This section provides information on why special elections are held.
2. Partisan control: This section provides information on the impact of special elections on the partisan composition of state legislatures.
3. Special elections by date: This section lists all special elections held in 2022 in the order they were held.
4. Seats that changed party control: This section lists the seats where a candidate of a party other than the previous incumbent's party won the special election.
5. Historical data: This section contains data on special elections going back to 2010.

See also: State legislative elections, 2022

Causes[edit]

In 2022, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

• 21 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
• 21 due to resignation
• 3 due to the death of the incumbent

Partisan control[edit]

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

• 32 Democratic seats
• 13 Republican seats

As of May 12, 2022, Republicans controlled 54.35% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 44.37%. 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.^[1]

Partisan balance of all 7,383 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber			Other	Vacant
State senates	861	1,096	8	7
State houses	2,417	2,918	33	47
Total:	3,278	4,013	41	54

Special elections by date[edit]

Vacancies[edit]

Partisan breakdown of vacancies[edit]

See also: State legislative vacancies, 2022

As of May 2022, there have been 65 state legislative vacancies in 30 states. Twenty-nine (29) of those vacancies have been filled.

The process for filling vacancies varies among the state legislatures. Twenty-five states fill vacancies in their state legislature through special elections. Twenty-two states fill vacancies through appointments, and three states fill vacancies through a hybrid system that uses both appointments and special elections. The most common reasons for a state legislative vacancy include officeholders resigning, dying, leaving for a new job, being elected or appointed to a different office, or receiving a legal conviction.

The table below details the partisan breakdown for state legislative vacancies in 2022. 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 held after the special elections and appointments took place.

Seats that changed party control[edit]

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2022. 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.

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

Flipped seats[edit]

In 2022, as of May, one seat flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats flipped from R to D[edit]

• Michigan House of Representatives District 74 (May 3)

Historical data[edit]

State breakdown by year[edit]

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year. From 2010 to 2021, Georgia held the most state legislative special elections with 71. Pennsylvania held the second-most special elections with 54.

Partisan breakdown by year[edit]

The average special elections per even year between 2011 and 2021 (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020) was 62, while the average per odd year was 85. The most special elections in a single year during that same time frame was 99, which happened in 2018.

The table below details how many state legislative seats changed parties as the result of a special election between 2011 and 2021. The numbers on the left side of the table reflect how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the numbers on the right side of the table show how many vacant seats each party won in special elections.

State legislative special election vacancies and results, 2011-2021
Year	Total elections held	Vacancies before elections			Seats held after elections			Net change
		Democrats	Republicans	Third party	Democrats	Republicans	Third party
2021	66	33	33	0	33	33	0	-
2020	59	21	38	0	27	32	0	+6 D, -6 R
2019	77	39	38	0	36	40	1	-3 D, +2 R, +1 I
2018	99	42	57	0	50	49	0	+8 D, -8 R
2017	98	45	53	0	56	42	0	+11 D, -11 R
2016*	65	37	28	0	39	24	2	+2 D, -4 R
2015*	89	42	46	1	38	50	1	-4 D, +4 R
2014	40	22	18	0	19	21	0	-3 D, +3 R
2013	84	51	33	0	48	36	0	-3 D, +3 R
2012	46	23	23	0	25	21	0	+2 D, -2 R
2011*	95	49	45	1	46	48	1	-3 D, +3 R
Averages	74	37	38	N/A	38	36	N/A	N/A
*Please see the year-specific pages for information regarding third party candidates.

Seats that changed partisan control by year[edit]

See also: State legislative special election changes in party control since 2010

Current as of January 1, 2022 (updated annually)
Since 2010, 110 state legislative seats have switched partisan control, or flipped, in special elections. The chart below shows the number of special elections that resulted in partisan changes in each year:

Days between vacancies and elections by year[edit]

The following table tracks the gap between when state legislative vacancies occurred and special elections were held from 2012 through May 13, 2022:

See also[edit]

Suggest a link

• State legislative elections, 2022
• State legislative elections, 2021
• State legislative elections, 2020
• State legislative elections, 2019
• State legislative elections, 2018
• State legislative elections, 2017
• State legislative elections, 2016
• State legislative special elections, 2021
• State legislative special elections, 2020
• State legislative special elections, 2019
• State legislative special elections, 2018
• State legislative special elections, 2017
• State legislative special elections, 2016

Footnotes[edit]

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v • e 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) 2022 State legislative elections (2022) • State legislative special elections (2022) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2022 Session Dates 2021 State legislative elections (2021) • State legislative special elections (2021) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2021 Session Dates Historical elections 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