State legislative special elections, 2025
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In 2025, 95state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2025 in 23 states. One special election was also called to fill a vacancy in thePuerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.For more information on the regular state legislative elections in 2025,click here. For more information on state legislative vacancies in 2025,click here.
Seven special elections resulted in a change in party control of a state legislative seat in 2025:
- December 9:Georgia House District 121 changed from Republican to Democratic control.
- November 4:Mississippi House District 22,Mississippi Senate District 2, andMississippi Senate District 45 changed from Republican to Democratic control.
- August 26:Iowa Senate District 1 changed from Republican to Democratic control.
- March 25:Pennsylvania Senate District 36 changed from Republican to Democratic control.
- January 28:Iowa Senate District 35 changed from Republican to Democratic control.
Explore Ballotpedia's coverage of these elections:
- Partisan controlThe partisan balance of seats with special electionsRead more
- ElectionsInformation on special electionsRead more
- Historical dataHistorical data on special elections since 2010Read more
Partisan control
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 51Democratic seats
- 44Republican seats
As ofFebruary 16th, 2026, Republicans controlled55.12% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held43.89%. Republicans held a majority in57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in39 chambers.Two chambers (Alaska House andAlaska Senate) were organized undermultipartisan, power-sharing coalitions.One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.
| Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber |  |  |  Other | Vacant | ||||
| State senates | 837 | 1,120 | 6 | 10 | ||||
| State houses | 2,405 | 2,951 | 20 | 37 | ||||
| Total: | 3,242 | 4,071 | 26 | 47 | ||||
Elections
Click the tabs below to view detailed information regarding 2025 state legislative special elections. In this section, you will find:
- A list of elections by date
- A list of what caused special elections
- A partisan breakdown of2025 state legislative vacancies
- Information on seats that changed party control as a result of special elections
Special elections by date
Causes
Vacancy breakdown
Party change
Editor's note: Some states choose to cancel some or all stages of an election if the number of candidates who filed does not meet a certain threshold. The table below does not reflect which elections were canceled. Please click through to each state's special election page for more information.
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 2025, Georgia held the most state legislative special elections with 87. Pennsylvania held the second-most special elections with 71.
Partisan breakdown by year
The average number of special elections per even year between 2011 and 2025 (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024) was 59, while the average per odd year was 82. 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 2025. 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, 2011-2025 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total elections held | Vacancies before elections | Seats held after elections | Net change | ||||
| Democrats | Republicans | Minor party | Democrats | Republicans | Minor party | |||
| 2025 | 95 | 51 | 44 | 0 | 59 | 36 | 0 | +7 D, -7 R |
| 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 | 72 | 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
Current as of January 16, 2026 (updated annually)
Since 2010, 128 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:
| Flipped seats in state legislative special elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total special elections | Total flips | Democratic flips | Republican flips | Other flips |
| 2025 | 95 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 52 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 53 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 54 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 66 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 59 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 77 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2018 | 99 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 2017 | 98 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 65 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 2015 | 89 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 2014 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2013 | 84 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 2012 | 46 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 95 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| 2010 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,007 | 121 | 66 | 49 | 6 |
| Click here to see a list of all state legislative seats that have changed partisan control in special elections since 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 February 13, 2026:
Election coverage by office
Congressional special electionsRead more
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Municipal governmentRead more
School boardsRead more
RecallsRead more
See also
- Past state legislative elections:2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016
- Past state legislative special elections:2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016
- Past election analysis:2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018
Footnotes
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
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