2023 United States elections

←2021        2022        2023        2024        2025 → Off-year elections
Election day	November 7 (October 14 in Louisiana)
House elections
Seats contested	3 mid-term vacancies
Net seat change	0
Democratic hold     Republican hold     No election
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested	3
Net seat change	Republican +1
Republican gain      Democratic hold     Republican hold      No election

Elections were held in the United States, in large part, on November 7, 2023. Theoff-year election includedgubernatorial andstate legislative elections in a few states, as well as numerous citizeninitiatives,mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot. At least threespecial elections to theUnited States Congress were scheduled as either deaths or vacancies arose. TheDemocratic Party retained control of thegovernorship in Kentucky, flipped theWisconsin Supreme Court and held a seat on thePennsylvania Supreme Court, gained six seats in theNew Jersey General Assembly, and won back unified control of theVirginia General Assembly, whileRepublicans also flipped thegovernorship in Louisiana and narrowly retainedMississippi's governorship. The election cycle also sawOhiovoting to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution andlegalize cannabis for recreational use. The results were widely seen as a success for the Democratic Party.

The election cycle was generally marked by a trend of strongDemocratic overperformances in special elections.Daily Kos andFiveThirtyEight analyses of at least38 races in September 2023^[a] determined that the party outperformed the partisan lean by an average of 10 percent. In comparison, Democrats outperformed by an average of 4 percent in elections held between the2018 and2020 elections, and an average of 7.6 percent in elections held in 2020. The 2023 overperformances consisted of unusually larger margins of victory in races held in safely Democratic areas and unusually smaller margins of defeat in races held in safelyRepublican areas.^[1][2] The results indicate a suburban shift among affluent, college-educated voters that started as an underlying reaction toDonald Trump's election in2016.^[3] While the results were generally in line with predictions, Democrats still outperformed expectations despite the low approval ratings of incumbent Democratic presidentJoe Biden and polls indicating his middling prospects in the2024 presidential election.^[4]

Both Democratic and Republican operatives attributed the Democrats' overperformance streak to general support of broadabortion rights in the wake of theSupreme Court'sDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. This marked a continuing trend ofbipartisan voter support for ballot initiatives on abortion rights since the June 2022 decision.^[5][6] Many conservative political analysts and commentators called a continued Republican alliance with theanti-abortion movement "untenable" and an "electoral disaster", and urged the party to favorabortion rights.^[7] Young voters in particular gave overwhelming support for abortion rights. Among voters between 18 and 29 years old inincreasingly Republican Ohio, an estimated 77% voted forOhio Issue 1, including a majority of Republicans.^[8] Exit polling indicated Ohioans believed abortion should be "mostly legal" by a margin of 61–36%.^[9]

Three special elections were held in 2023 to fill vacancies during the118th U.S. Congress.

• Virginia's 4th congressional district: DemocratJennifer McClellan defeated Republican Leon Benjamin in the February special election, to succeedDonald McEachin who died on November 28, 2022, ofcolorectal cancer.^[10] The district has a partisan index of D+16.^[11]
• Rhode Island's 1st congressional district: DemocratGabe Amo defeated Republican Gerry Leonard Jr. to succeedDavid Cicilline, who resigned on May 31, 2023, to become the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.^[12][13] The district has a partisan index of D+14.^[11][14]
• Utah's 2nd congressional district: RepublicanCeleste Maloy defeated State SenatorKathleen Riebe, as well as five independent candidates, to succeed RepublicanChris Stewart, who resigned on September 15, 2023, due to his wife's ongoing health issues.^[15] The district has a partisan index of R+11.^[11][16]

Three states heldgubernatorial elections in 2023:

• Kentucky: One-term DemocratAndy Beshear won re-election, defeating Republican nomineeDaniel Cameron by a margin of 52.5% to 47.5%.^[17][18]
• Louisiana: Republican attorney generalJeff Landry won outright with 51.6% of the vote, beating his closest competitor, DemocratShawn Wilson, who earned 25.9%, in a 14-candidatejungle primary, succeeding term-limited Democratic governorJohn Bel Edwards.^[19]
• Mississippi: One-term RepublicanTate Reeves won re-election, narrowly defeating DemocratBrandon Presley by a 3.2-point margin of 50.9% to 47.7%.^[20][21]

Three states heldattorney general elections in 2023:

• Kentucky: One-term RepublicanDaniel Cameron retired to run for governor.^[22] RepublicanRussell Coleman defeated DemocratPamela Stevenson by a margin of 58% to 42%.^[23]
• Louisiana: Republican Liz Murrill defeated Democrat Lindsey Cheek in the November 18 runoff to succeed incumbent Jeff Landry, who retired to run for governor.^[24]
• Mississippi: One-term RepublicanLynn Fitch won re-election, defeating Democratic nominee Greta Kemp Martin by a margin of 58.7% to 41.3%.^[25]

Three states heldsecretary of state elections in 2023:

• Kentucky: One-term RepublicanMichael Adams won re-election, defeating Democratic nomineeBuddy Wheatley by a margin of 60.6% to 39.3%.^[26]
• Louisiana: RepublicanNancy Landry defeated Democrat Gwen Collins Greenup in a runoff election, succeeding two-term RepublicanKyle Ardoin, who retired.^[27]
• Mississippi: One-term RepublicanMichael Watson ran for re-election, defeating Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins by a margin of 60.1% to 39.9%.^[28]

Three states heldstate treasurer elections in 2023:

• Kentucky: RepublicanMark Metcalf defeated Democrat Micheal Bowman by a margin of 57.2% to 42.8%,^[29] succeeding two-term RepublicanAllison Ball who was term-limited and therefore ran forstate auditor.^[30]
• Louisiana: RepublicanJohn Fleming defeated Democrat Dustin Granger in a runoff to succeed incumbent two-term RepublicanJohn Schroder, who retired to run for governor.^[31][32][33]
• Mississippi: One-term RepublicanDavid McRae ran for re-election, defeating Democrat Addie Green by a margin of 59% to 41%.^[34]

Three states heldagriculture commissioner elections in 2023:

• Kentucky: RepublicanJonathan Shell defeated Democrat Sierra Enlow by a margin of 59.3% to 40.7%,^[35] succeeding two-term RepublicanRyan Quarles, who was term-limited and ran for governor.^[36]
• Louisiana: Four-term RepublicanMichael G. Strain won re-election unopposed.^[37]
• Mississippi: Two-term RepublicanAndy Gipson won re-election, defeating Democrat Robert Bradford by a margin of 58.4% to 41.6%.^[38]

Two states, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, heldstate Supreme Court elections in 2023:

• Wisconsin: Incumbent justicePatience Roggensack retired. The election for a new justice was held on April 4, 2023.Janet Protasiewicz defeatedDaniel Kelly by a margin of 11.02%.^[39][40]
• Pennsylvania: JusticeMax Baer died in September 2022. The election for a new justice was held on November 7, 2023. Democratic nomineeDaniel McCaffery defeated GOP nominee Carolyn Carluccio by a margin of 6.02%.^[41][42]

Legislative elections were held for both houses of theLouisiana State Legislature, theMississippi Legislature, theNew Jersey Legislature, and theVirginia General Assembly. Kentucky, which holds gubernatorial elections in off-years, holds state legislative elections concurrent with presidential and midterm elections.

In addition, other states held special elections to fill open legislative seats vacated for various reasons (death, retirement, resignation for personal reasons, expulsion, or election to a higher office).

TheDemocratic Partyflipped control of Virginia's lower house, theHouse of Delegates,^[43] which ithad lost two years earlier, andretained its majority in Virginia's upper house, theSenate.^[44] Democrats alsoexpanded their majority in the lower house of theNew Jersey legislature.^[45][46] TheRepublican Party strengthened its majorities in theMississippi andLouisiana legislatures.^[47]

Six states held a statewide referendum:Oklahoma,Wisconsin,Ohio,Texas,Maine, andNew York.

• In a March special election, Oklahoma voters rejectedState Question 820, aballot initiative that would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana by people 21 and older.^[48]
• In an April special election, Wisconsin voters approved three measures all by landslides:Question 1 andQuestion 2, expanding judges' criteria for setting cash bail; andQuestion 3, a non-binding question regarding welfare benefits.^[49]
• In an August special election, Ohio voters, with more than 57% voting No, rejecteda measure that would have required future amendments to theOhio Constitution to be approved by60% of the electorate in a referendum rather than a simple majority.^[50][51]
• In November, the following referendums were on the ballot in their respective states.
  • Maine voters rejected a ballot initiative to establish a public power company,^[52] but approved a constitutional amendment to requireArticle X, Sections 1, 2, and 5, to be included in all official printings of thestate constitution.^[53] The three sections have not been included since 1876, but were never formally repealed. Sections 1 and 2 deal with the convening of the firstMaine Legislature; Section 5 deals with the state's obligations to indigenous tribes, among other details of the separation of Maine from Massachusetts.^[53]
  • New York voters approved two proposals on the ballot, Proposal One, concerning small city school districts, and Proposal Two, which concerns sewer systems.^[54]
  • Ohio voters approved two measures,one that codified abortion rights in the state's constitution,^[55][56] andanother, which legalized marijuana for recreational use.^[57][58] Both received more than 56% Yes votes, mirroring the August special election results.^[59]
  • Texas voters statewide voted on14 proposed amendments to theTexas Constitution. All except one passed. In addition, some Texas counties, cities, and school and other special districts had other ballot issues, such as bond proposals.

Since the beginning of 2023, elections were held for the office ofmayor, as well as several other municipal and county-level positions. Major U.S. cities saw incumbent mayors re-elected, includingMontgomery, Alabama (Steven Reed);^[60]Tucson, Arizona (Regina Romero);^[61]Aurora, Colorado (Mike Coffman);^[62]New Haven, Connecticut (Justin Elicker);^[63]Orlando (Buddy Dyer)^[64] andTampa, Florida (Jane Castor);^[65]Savannah, Georgia (Van R. Johnson);^[66]Boise, Idaho (Lauren McLean);^[67]Fort Wayne (Tom Henry),^[68]Indianapolis (Joe Hogsett),^[69] andSouth Bend, Indiana (James Mueller);^[70]Springfield (Domenic Sarno),^[71]Worcester, Massachusetts (Joseph Petty);^[72]Kansas City, Missouri (Quinton Lucas);^[73]Lincoln, Nebraska (Leirion Gaylor Baird);^[74]Charlotte, North Carolina (Vi Lyles);^[75]Columbus, Ohio (Andrew Ginther);^[76]Greenville, South Carolina (Knox H. White);^[77]Knoxville, Tennessee (Indya Kincannon);^[78]Arlington (Jim Ross),^[79]Dallas (Eric Johnson),^[80]Fort Worth (Mattie Parker),^[81] andSan Antonio, Texas (Ron Nirenberg);^[82]Salt Lake City, Utah (Erin Mendenhall);^[83]Green Bay (Eric Genrich) andMadison, Wisconsin (Satya Rhodes-Conway).^[84]

Open mayoral seats were won inColorado Springs (Yemi Mobolade)^[85] andDenver, Colorado (Mike Johnston);^[86]Hartford, Connecticut (Arunan Arulampalam);^[87]Jacksonville, Florida (Donna Deegan);^[88][89]Carmel (Sue Finkam)^[90] andEvansville, Indiana (Stephanie Terry);^[91]Des Moines, Iowa (Connie Boesen);^[92]Portland, Maine (Mark Dion);^[93]Manchester, New Hampshire (Jay Ruais);^[94]Durham, North Carolina (Leonardo Williams);^[95]Akron, Ohio (Shammas Malik);^[96]Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Cherelle Parker);^[97][98]Memphis (Paul Young)^[99] andNashville, Tennessee (Freddie O'Connell);^[100] andHouston, Texas (John Whitmire).^[101]

InBridgeport, Connecticut, two-term incumbentJoe Ganim was declared the winner, although the race remains controversial amid lawsuits surrounding an absentee ballot scandal.^[102][103] InChicago, Illinois, county commissionerBrandon Johnson defeated former superintendentPaul Vallas in a close election to succeed one-term mayorLori Lightfoot, who lost re-election in the blanket primary.^[104] InSpringfield, Illinois, two-term incumbentJim Langfelder lost re-election to city treasurerMisty Buscher.^[105] InGary, Indiana, state legislatorEddie Melton was elected to replace incumbentJerome Prince, who lost renomination in the Democratic primary.^[106] InWichita, Kansas, television news anchorLily Wu defeated one-term incumbentBrandon Whipple in his bid for re-election;^[107] inSpokane, Washington,Nadine Woodward also lost re-election to a second term to former state senatorLisa Brown.^[108]Mableton, Georgia held its firstmayoral election in 2023 after being reincorporated in November 2022.^[109]Warren, Michigan held its mayoral election in November 2023.^[110]

• Colorado Springs, Colorado: On May 16,Yemi Mobolade defeatedWayne W. Williams in a runoff election, succeeding two-term incumbentJohn Suthers, who was term-limited.^[85]Independent gain from Republican. (officially nonpartisan)
• Jacksonville, Florida: On May 16,Donna Deegan defeatedDaniel Davis in a runoff election, succeeding two-term incumbentLenny Curry, who was term-limited.^[88][89]Democratic gain from Republican
• Danbury, Connecticut: On November 7,Roberto Alves defeated one-term incumbentDean Esposito.^[111]Democratic gain from Republican
• Evansville, Indiana: On November 7,Stephanie Terry defeated Natalie Rascher and Michael Daugherty,^[112] succeeding three-term incumbentLloyd Winnecke, who retired.^[113]Democratic gain from Republican
• Manchester, New Hampshire: On November 7,Jay Ruais defeatedKevin Cavanaugh,^[114] succeeding three-term incumbentJoyce Craig, who retired torun for governor in 2024.^[115][116]Republican gain from Democratic (officially nonpartisan)
• Spokane, Washington: On November 7,Lisa Brown defeated one-term incumbentNadine Woodward.^[117]Democratic gain from Republican (officially nonpartisan)
• Terre Haute, Indiana: On November 7,Brandon Sakbun defeated four-term incumbentDuke Bennett.^[118]Democratic gain from Republican
• Wichita, Kansas: On November 7,Lily Wu defeated one-term incumbentBrandon Whipple.^[119]Libertarian gain from Democratic (officially nonpartisan)
• Charleston, South Carolina: On November 21,William Cogswell defeated two-term incumbentJohn Tecklenburg in a runoff.^[120]Republican gain from Democratic (officially nonpartisan)

This is a partial list of notable or major elections.

• Allegheny County, Pennsylvania:County Executive, District Attorney, Board of Legislators
• Chicago, Illinois:City Council,City Clerk,City Treasurer,Police District Councils
• Cincinnati, Ohio: City Council
• Columbus, Ohio:City Council (two new seats), Board of Education
• Gaithersburg, Maryland: City Council^[121]
• Los Angeles, California:City Council (special election)
• Duluth, Minnesota:Mayor, City Council^[122]
• Minneapolis, Minnesota:City Council^[123]
• New York, New York:City Council
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:City Council
• Seattle, Washington:City Council
• St. Louis, Missouri:Board of Aldermen
• Suffolk County, New York: County Executive
• Tucker, Georgia: City Council
• Fall River, Massachusetts: City Council and School Committee

Several Native American tribes held elections for tribal executive and other positions during 2023.^[124]

TheCherokee Nation held elections forprincipal chief,deputy chief, andeight of the seventeen Tribal Council seats on June 3.^[125] Principal chiefChuck Hoskin Jr. and deputy chiefBryan Warner were re-elected.^[126][127] Five councilors were elected on June 3 and three were elected on July 8 after a runoff.^[128][129] Also on June 3, theIowa Tribe of Oklahoma held elections for chairman and treasurer of the tribe.^[130] Jacob Keyes was narrowly elected chairman, beating challenger Alexandria Harjo by six votes,^[131] and Judy Barnes was elected treasurer.^[132] On June 8, theMississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reelected Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben to a second term with 61.6% of the vote.^[133] Eight tribal council members were also reelected.^[134]

On July 8, theChoctaw Nation of Oklahoma held a general election for Tribal Council, reelecting four incumbents. Two other incumbent councilors, along with Choctaw Nation ChiefGary Batton, were unopposed in seeking reelection.^[135] Tehassiʔtasi Hill was reelected on July 15 to a third term as chair of theOneida Nation of Wisconsin. Vice Chairman Brandon Yellowbird–Stevens and Secretary Lisa Liggins were also reelected. Larry Barton was elected treasurer over the incumbent, Curtis Danforth.^[136] In a July 22 special election, Wena Supernaw was elected to succeedJoseph Tali Byrd who resigned as chairman of theQuapaw Nation in April 2023.^[137][138] In theChickasaw Nation's July 25 election, GovernorBill Anoatubby and Lieutenant Governor Chris Anoatubby were unopposed in seeking reelection. Four tribal council members were also unopposed and thus reelected.^[139] A fifth tribal council seat was won by challenger Dusk Monetathchi in an August runoff.^[140]

In September,Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians former principal chief Michell Hicks defeated incumbent chiefRichard Sneed. Hicks previously served three terms as chief from 2003 to 2015. Incumbent vice chief Alan "B" Ensley was reelected.^[141] On September 16,Muscogee Nation voters reelected Principal ChiefDavid Hill and Second Chief Del Beaver.^[142]

In October, thePort Gamble S'Klallam Tribe elected Amber Caldera as tribal chair in a special election following the death of the previous PGST chairman, Jeromy Sullivan.^[143] Also, theQawalangin Tribe of Unalaska elected Nick Tutiakoff as tribal president, replacing Dennis Robinson who remained on the tribal council. Vicki Williams was elected vice president.^[144]

• TheEastern Band of Cherokee Indians passed by a wide marginan advisory referendum approving adult use ofrecreational cannabis use on tribal land with 70% of voters approving the measure.^[145][146] A second referendum on the ballot allowing the sale of by-the-glassmixed drinks was also approved.^[147]

• 2023 elections in the United States
• November 2023 in the United States
• General elections in the United States

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