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2022 State Legislative Special Elections
Special Elections Information
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In 2022, 54state legislative special elections were scheduled in 24 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

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

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

Partisan control

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

• 36Democratic seats
• 18Republican seats

Noteworthy special elections

• Montana State Senate District 39

  See also:Montana state legislative special elections, 2022

  Anaconda-Deer Lodge County CommissionerTerry Vermeire (R) defeated newspaper publisherJesse Mullen (D) in the special election forMontana State Senate District 39 on Nov. 8, 2022, switching party control of the seat.

  District 39 became vacant following the death of Sen.Mark Sweeney (D).Jessica Wicks (D) was appointed to fill that vacancy but did not participate in the special general election.

  This was a competitive district. Sen.Gene Vuckovich (D) won the district in 2016 by a margin of 13.5 percentage points. Vuckovich did not run in 2020, and Sweeney won by a margin of 1.4 percentage points.

  General election

  Special general election for Montana State Senate District 39

  Terry Vermeire defeatedJesse James Mullen in the special general election for Montana State Senate District 39 on November 8, 2022.

  		Candidate	%	Votes
  ✔		Terry Vermeire (R)	54.7	4,491
  		Jesse James Mullen (D)	45.3	3,725

  ---

  	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,216
  = 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.
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• Arkansas State Senate District 7

  See also:Arkansas state legislative special elections, 2022

  Colby Fulfer (R), chief of staff to Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse, defeated attorneyLisa Parks (D) in the special election forArkansas State Senate District 7 on Feb. 8, 2022.

  The seat became vacant afterLance Eads (R) resigned from the state Senate on October 28, 2021, to accept a position with Capitol Consulting Firm.^[1]

  This was a competitive race in a district that historically had elected Republicans by larger margins. Fulfer won by a margin of 0.8 percentage points.

  Between 2016 and 2020, Eads ran unopposed in the district's general elections. In 2012, the Republican candidate won by a margin of 29.6 percentage points.

  This race was held under district lines enacted following the 2010 census, placing the district outside of Fayetteville in the state's northwestern corner. Following the 2020 census, this district was divided between four other districts: the29th,30th,31st, and32nd

  General election

  Special general election for Arkansas State Senate District 7

  Colby Fulfer defeatedLisa Parks in the special general election for Arkansas State Senate District 7 on February 8, 2022.

  		Candidate	%	Votes
  ✔		Colby Fulfer (R)	50.4	2,033
  		Lisa Parks (D)	49.6	2,001

  ---

  	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,034
  = 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.

• Michigan House of Representatives District 74

  See also:Michigan state legislative special elections, 2022

  Carol Glanville (D) defeatedRobert Regan (R) in the special election forMichigan House of Representatives District 74 on May 3, 2022.

  Glanville's win switched control of the seat, which had previously been held byMark Huizenga (R) who left office after winning a special election toSenate District 28 in November 2021.

  General election

  Special general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 74

  Carol Glanville defeatedRobert Regan andMike Milanowski Jr. in the special general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 74 on May 3, 2022.

  		Candidate	%	Votes
  ✔		Carol Glanville (D)	51.7	7,288
  		Robert Regan (R)	40.4	5,697
  		Mike Milanowski Jr. (R) (Write-in)	7.5	1,062
  		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	55

  ---

  	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,102
  = 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 by date

Vacancies

Partisan breakdown of vacancies

See also:State legislative vacancies, 2022

In 2022, there were 165 state legislative vacancies in 43 states.

The process for filling vacancies varies among the state legislatures. Twenty-five states fill vacancies in the state legislature through special elections. Twenty-one states fill vacancies through appointments, and four 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

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 were held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Flipped seats

In 2022, two seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats flipped from D to R

• Montana State Senate District 39 (November 8)

Seats flipped from R to D

• Michigan House of Representatives District 74 (May 3)

Historical data

State breakdown by year

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year. From 2010 to 2024, Georgia held the most state legislative special elections with 82. Pennsylvania held the second-most special elections with 69.

Partisan breakdown by year

The average number of special elections per even year between 2011 and 2024 (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024) was 59, while the average per odd year was 80. 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 2024. 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, 2011-2024
Year	Total elections held	Vacancies before elections			Seats held after elections			Net change
		Democrats	Republicans	Minor party	Democrats	Republicans	Minor party
2024	52	26	26	0	29	23	0	+3 D, -3 R
2023	53	33	20	0	33	20	0	-
2022	54	36	18	0	36	18	0	-
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	70	36	34	N/A	37	33	N/A	N/A
*Please see the year-specific pages for information regarding minor-party candidates.

Seats that changed partisan control by year

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

Current as of January 17, 2025 (updated annually)
Since 2010, 121 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

The following table tracks the gap between when state legislative vacancies occurred and special elections were held from 2012 through November 14, 2025:

Analysis of state elections

See also:Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022

See also:State legislative elections, 2022

On November 8, 2022, members in 88 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers were up for election across 46 states. These elections were for 6,278 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (85%).

Heading into the election,Democrats controlled 36 chambers andRepublicans controlled 62. Abipartisan coalition controlled theAlaska House.

As a result of the election:

• Democrats gained control of four chambers—the Michigan House and Senate, Minnesota Senate, and Pennsylvania House—bringing their total to 40.^[6] Wins in Minnesota and Michigan created new Democratic trifectas in those states. Both had previously been divided governments.
• In Alaska, abipartisan coalition gained control of the Senate. The coalition in the House changed from being made primarily of Democrats and independents to one made primarily of Republicans.
• Republicans lost control of five chambers, bringing their total to 57.

Featured analysis

• State legislative seats that changed party control in 2022: As a result of the Nov. 8, 2022, elections, partisan composition of all 7,386 state legislative seats changed by less than half a percentage point.Democrats had a net loss of six seats, representing 0.1% of all state legislative seats.Republicans had a net gain of 28 seats, representing 0.4% of all state legislative seats.^[7]Independents and minor party officeholders had a net loss of20 seats, representing 0.2% of all state legislative seats.
• Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 12, 2022: Competitiveness refers to the presence of choice throughout the election cycle. A greater level of competitiveness means voters have the ability to make more decisions. A lower level of competitiveness equals fewer choices. State legislative competitiveness in 2022 reached its highest level compared to all even-year election cycles since 2010. In 2022, the nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index is 36.2, beating out 2018 (36.1) and the 2012 post-redistricting cycle (35.2).

More related articles

• State legislative special elections
• Impact of term limits
• Open seats
• Contested primaries
• Incumbents in contested primaries
• Data on incumbents defeated
• Summaries of incumbents defeated in primaries
• Incumbent win rates by state
• Pivot counties in state legislative elections
• Trifecta vulnerability in the 2022 elections
• Rematches in 2022 general elections
• Elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate
• States with two or more statewide offices up for election
• Wave election analysis
• Seats that changed party control
• Veto-proof state legislatures with opposing party governors
• Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
• Candidates with the same last names, 2022
• Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

See also

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

v • e Election information Resources Sample Ballot Lookup •Elections calendar •State poll opening and closing times •Ballot access for major and minor party candidates •Elections by state and year •State voter ID laws •Absentee voting •Early voting •Online voter registration •Election result canvassing •Where do I vote •List of absentee/mail-in ballot request websites by state •List of official voter registration websites by state •State of Election Administration Legislation Reports Elections by state Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan •Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming 2025 elections U.S. Congress special elections •State executives •State legislature •Statewide ballot measures •State judicial •Municipal government •Mayors •School boards •Local judicial •Local ballot measures •Recall 2024 elections U.S. President •U.S. Congress •U.S. Congress special elections •State executives •State legislature •Statewide ballot measures •State judicial •Municipal government •Mayors •School boards •Local judicial •Local ballot measures •Recall 2023 elections U.S. Congress special elections •State executives •State legislature •Statewide ballot measures •State judicial •Municipal government •Mayors •School boards •Local judicial •Local ballot measures •Recall 2022 elections U.S. Congress •State executives •State legislature •Statewide ballot measures •State judicial •Municipal government •Mayors •School boards •Local judicial •Local ballot measures •Recall 2021 elections U.S. Congress special elections •State executives •State legislature •Statewide ballot measures •State judicial •Municipal government •Mayors •School boards •Local judicial •Local ballot measures •Recall 2020 elections U.S. President •U.S. Congress •State executives •State legislature •Statewide ballot measures •State judicial •Municipal government •Mayors •School boards •Local judicial •Local ballot measures •Recall How to vote in each state Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan •Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •Washington, D.C. •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming

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