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Alabama state legislative special elections, 2025
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In 2025, three special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Alabama State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
Senate special elections called:
- District 5: June 24
House special elections called:
- District 11: August 26
- District 12: October 28
How vacancies are filled in Alabama
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]
See sources: Alabama Code § 17-15-1
About the legislature
The Alabama State Legislature is the state legislature of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama State Senate, with 35 members. In the 2010 elections, Republicans gained control of both chambers for the first time since 1874.
The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2025. 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 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 8 | 8 | |
Republican Party | 27 | 27 | |
Total | 35 | 35 |
Alabama House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 28 | 28 | |
Republican Party | 73 | 77 | |
Vacancy | 4 | 0 | |
Total | 105 | 105 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
June 24, 2025
Alabama State Senate District 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Alabama State Senate District 5 was called for June 24, 2025. A primary was scheduled for March 11, 2025. A primary runoff was scheduled for April 8, 2025, but it was not necessary. The candidate filing deadline for the primary was January 7, 2025. The Republican primary was canceled after only one candidate filed. The candidate filing deadline for the general election was March 11, 2025.[5] The seat became vacant after Greg Reed (R) was appointed to be Gov. Kay Ivey's Senior Advisor to Workforce Transformation, effective January 1, 2025.[6] General electionSpecial general election for Alabama State Senate District 5Matt Woods defeated Ryan Cagle in the special general election for Alabama State Senate District 5 on June 24, 2025.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Alabama State Senate District 5Ryan Cagle defeated Sarah Watkins in the special Democratic primary for Alabama State Senate District 5 on March 11, 2025.
Republican primary electionThe Republican primary election was canceled. Matt Woods advanced from the special Republican primary for Alabama State Senate District 5. |
August 26, 2025
Alabama House of Representatives District 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Alabama House of Representatives District 11 was called for August 26, 2025. A primary was scheduled for May 13, 2025. A primary runoff was scheduled for June 10, 2025, but it was not necessary. The candidate filing deadline for the primary was March 11, 2025. The candidate filing deadline for the general election was May 13, 2025.[7] The seat became vacant after Randall Shedd (R) resigned on February 17, 2025, to join the office of Alabama State Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger.[7] General electionSpecial general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 11Heath Allbright defeated Alexandria Braswell in the special general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 11 on August 26, 2025.
Democratic primary electionThe Democratic primary election was canceled. Alexandria Braswell advanced from the special Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 11. Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 11Heath Allbright defeated Don Fallin in the special Republican primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 11 on May 13, 2025.
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October 28, 2025
Alabama House of Representatives District 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Alabama House of Representatives District 12 has been called for October 28, 2025. A primary was scheduled to take place on July 15, 2025. A primary runoff was scheduled to take place on August 12, 2025. The candidate filing deadline for major party candidates was May 13, 2025, and the filing deadline for minor party and independent candidates was July 15, 2025.[8] The seat became vacant on April 15, 2025, after Corey Harbison (R) resigned from office, citing family reasons.[9] General electionSpecial general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 12Matthew Glover and Cindy Myrex are running in the special general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 12 on October 28, 2025.
Republican primary runoff electionSpecial Republican primary runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 12Cindy Myrex defeated Clint Hollingsworth in the special Republican primary runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 12 on August 12, 2025.
Democratic primary electionThe Democratic primary election was canceled. Matthew Glover advanced from the special Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 12. Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 12Cindy Myrex and Clint Hollingsworth advanced to a runoff. They defeated Heather Doyle and Dan McWhorter in the special Republican primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 12 on July 15, 2025.
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Historical data
There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. Alabama held 36 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Alabama took place in 2021 and 2024 when five special elections were held.
The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.
Special elections throughout the country
As of September 2025, 87 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 22 states. One special election has also been called to fill a vacancy in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2025 special elections
In 2025, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:
- 37 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 23 due to resignation
- 14 due to redistricting
- 13 due to the death of the incumbent
- 1 due to the officeholder leaving at term end
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:
- 47 Democratic seats
- 40 Republican seats
- One New Progressive Party seat
As of September 18th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.51% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.68%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, 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 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Vacant | ||||
State senates | 834 | 1,122 | 5 | 12 | ||||
State houses | 2,392 | 2,978 | 20 | 23 | ||||
Total: | 3,226
|
4,100
|
25
|
35 |
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2025. 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 have been held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2025) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 47 | 26 | |
Republican Party | 40 | 19 | |
Independent | 0 | 1 | |
Total | 87 | 46 |
Flipped seats
In 2025, as of August 26, four seats have changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats that changed from D to I
Seats that changed from R to D
- Iowa State Senate District 35 (January 28)
- Pennsylvania State Senate District 36 (March 25)
- Iowa State Senate District 1 (August 26)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2025
- State legislative special elections, 2024
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- Alabama State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Alabama Amendment 4, Legislative Vacancies Amendment (2018)," accessed March 28, 2025
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 3.0 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
- ↑ Alabama Legislature, "Constitution of Alabama 2022," accessed February 26, 2025
- ↑ The Office of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, "Governor Ivey Calls Special Election for Alabama Senate District Five," December 31, 2024
- ↑ The Office of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, "Governor Ivey Adds to Team, Appoints Greg Reed as Senior Advisor to Workforce Transformation," November 19, 2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Office of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, "Governor Ivey Calls Special Election for Alabama House District 11," February 24, 2025
- ↑ The Office of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, "Governor Ivey Calls Special Election for Alabama House District 12," April 29, 2025
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama lawmaker resigns from office, cites family as reason for leaving," April 16, 2025
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