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Alabama state legislative special elections, 2018

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In 2018, three special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Alabama Legislature. Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Alabama

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


If there is a vacancy in the Alabama State Legislature, a special election must generally be conducted in order to fill the vacant seat. In the event that a vacancy occurs on or after October 1 in the year of a regular election, the seat will remain vacant until filled at the regular election. Otherwise, the governor must call for a special election if the vacancy happens before the next scheduled general election and the Legislature is in session.[1][2][3] The governor has all discretion in setting the date of the election along with the nominating deadlines.[3][4]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Alabama Code § 17-15-1


About the legislature

The Alabama State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama State Senate, with 35 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2014 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Alabama State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014
     Democratic Party 11 8
     Republican Party 23 26
     Independent 1 1
Total 35 35
Alabama House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014
     Democratic Party 37 33
     Republican Party 66 72
     Independent 1 0
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 105 105

Special elections


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

March 27, 2018

May 15, 2018

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2018

In 2018, 99 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Between 2011 and 2017, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2018 special elections

In 2018, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 58 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 16 due to a retirement
  • 10 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
  • 7 due to a resignation related to allegations of sexual misconduct
  • 5 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 2 due to a resignation to take a private sector job
  • 1 due to an election being rerun

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2018. 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 2016, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of three seats across the country. In 2017, Democrats had a net gain of 11 seats.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2018)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 42 50
     Republican Party 57 49
     Independent 0 0
Total 99 99


Democrats gained 11 seats in 2017 special elections and eight seats in 2018 special elections. The table below details the results of special elections held in 2017 and 2018 cumulatively.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2017-2018)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 87 106
     Republican Party 110 91
     Independent 0 0
Total 197 197

Flipped seats

In 2018, 16 seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections. Twelve seats flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. Four seats flipped from Democratic control to Republican control.

In New York, a Democratic candidate running on the Republican ticket won election to Assembly District 142 on April 24. The previous incumbent in that district was a Democrat. Due to the winning candidate's party affiliation, Assembly District 142 was not added to the list of flipped seats in 2018.

Seats flipped from R to D

Seats flipped from D to R


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Alabama Amendment 4, Legislative Vacancies Amendment (2018)," accessed March 28, 2025
  2. ↑ Justia US Law, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 17 - Elections. Chapter 15 - Special Elections. Section 17-15-1 - When and for What Offices Held." accessed February 26, 2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Justia US Law, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 17 - Elections. Chapter 15 - Special Elections. Section 17-15-3 - Special Elections Ordered by Governor." accessed February 26, 2025
  4. ↑ Alabama Legislature, "Constitution of Alabama 2022," accessed February 26, 2025
  5. ↑ AL.com, "Gov. Kay Ivey schedules election to fill Jim Patterson's seat," October 16, 2017
  6. ↑ AL.com, "2 qualify to run in House District 21 special election to fill Jim Patterson's seat," October 27, 2017
  7. ↑ Madison County, Alabama, "Special Election Unofficial Results," March 27, 2018
  8. ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "2017 Election Information," accessed October 4, 2017
  9. ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Unofficial Election Night Results," accessed December 18, 2017
  10. ↑ The News Courier, "4 qualify for House District 4 vacancy," October 11, 2017
  11. ↑ Decatur Daily, "Moore wins runoff for Dist. 4 Republican nomination," February 27, 2018
  12. ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "2017 Election Information," accessed October 4, 2017
  13. ↑ WSFA.com, "New District 26 state senator chosen in special election," May 15, 2018
  14. ↑ WSFA, "5 Democrats, 1 Republican qualify for race to replace Quinton Ross," October 10, 2017
  15. ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Unofficial Election Night Results," accessed December 18, 2017
  16. ↑ AlabamaNews.net, "Al State Senate District 26 Runoff," February 27, 2018
  17. ↑ The general election was cancelled after Wayne McMahen (R) was the only candidate to file for election.
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