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2020 State Legislative Special Elections
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In 2020, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in theOregon State Senate.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

• District 10: November 3

How vacancies are filled in Oregon

If there is a vacancy in theOregon State Legislature, the board of county commissioners representing the vacant seat must select a replacement. This can only be done when the Legislature is in session or when the vacancy happens more than 61 days before the next scheduled general election.^[1] The board must select a person from the political party that last held the vacant seat. The board must consider three to five candidates, nominated by the local county party that last controlled the seat. A replacement must be selected within 30 days of the vacancy. Persons selected to fill vacancies serve until the second Monday in January following the general election.^[2]

See sources:Oregon Rev. Stat. §171.051

About the legislature

The Legislative Assembly is abicameral consisting of an upper house, theOregon State Senate, and a lower house, theOregon House of Representatives. There are noterm limits for either house in the Legislative Assembly.

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, seehere (Senate) andhere (House).

Special elections

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

November 3, 2020

Oregon State Senate District 10

See also:Oregon state legislative special elections, 2020 A special election forOregon State SenateDistrict 10 was held in conjunction with the state's regular elections on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for May 19, 2020. The candidate filing deadline was March 10, 2020. The seat became vacant afterJackie Winters (R) died on May 29, 2019.[3]Denyc Boles (R) was appointed to her seat and assumed office on June 28, 2019.[4] General election Special general election for Oregon State Senate District 10 Deb Patterson defeated incumbentDenyc Boles andTaylor Rickey in the special general election for Oregon State Senate District 10 on November 3, 2020. Candidate % Votes ✔ Deb Patterson (D / Working Families Party)    48.5   37,725 Denyc Boles (R)   47.8   37,149 Submit photo Taylor Rickey (L)    3.6   2,775   Other/Write-in votes   0.2   145 Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 77,794 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. Democratic primary election Special Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 10 Deb Patterson defeatedCharles Womble in the special Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 10 on May 19, 2020. Candidate % Votes ✔ Deb Patterson    89.6   14,162 Submit photo Charles Womble   9.4   1,483   Other/Write-in votes   1.0   159 There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 15,804 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. Republican primary election Special Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 10 IncumbentDenyc Boles advanced from the special Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 10 on May 19, 2020. Candidate % Votes ✔ Denyc Boles   98.8   13,157   Other/Write-in votes   1.2   160 Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 13,317 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. Libertarian convention Special Libertarian convention for Oregon State Senate District 10 Taylor Rickey advanced from the special Libertarian convention for Oregon State Senate District 10 on July 6, 2020. Candidate ✔ Submit photo Taylor Rickey (L)  There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Special elections throughout the country

See also:State legislative special elections, 2020

In 2020, 55state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled inNew York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2020 special elections

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^[5]
• 18 due to retirement
• 13 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

• 21Democratic seats
• 38Republican seats

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.

Flipped seats

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

Seats flipped from D to R

• Kentucky House of Representatives District 99 (February 25)

Seats flipped from R to D

• New Hampshire House of Representatives Merrimack 24 District (March 10)
• Massachusetts State Senate Second Hampden & Hampshire District (May 19)
• Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth & Barnstable District (May 19)
• Massachusetts House of Representatives Third Bristol District (June 2)
• Kentucky State Senate District 26 (June 23)
• South Carolina House of Representatives District 115 (August 11)
• Oregon State Senate District 10 (November 3)

See also

• State legislative special elections, 2020
• State legislative special elections, 2019
• State legislative special elections, 2018
• Oregon State Legislature

Footnotes

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) 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 2024 State legislative elections (2024) •State legislative special elections (2024) •Primary dates and filing requirements •2024 Session Dates 2023 State legislative elections (2023) •State legislative special elections (2023) •Primary dates and filing requirements •2023 Session Dates Historical elections 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

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