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Colorado state legislative special elections, 2026

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2026 State Legislative
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As of November, three special election have been called to fill a vacant seat in the Colorado General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Colorado


If there is a vacancy in the Colorado General Assembly , a vacancy committee selects a replacement. The committee consists of members of the same political party that previously held the seat, including any county commissioners from that party who live in the district.

Depending on when the vacancy occurs, the replacement must stand for election either in the next general election or in a special election. These vacancy elections are limited to voters registered with the same political party as the previous officeholder and to unaffiliated voters.

  • If the vacancy occurs in an even-numbered year, before July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and runs in the regularly scheduled general election that year.
  • If the vacancy occurs in an even-numbered year, after July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and must run in a special vacancy election held in November of the following odd-numbered year.
  • If the vacancy occurs in an odd-numbered year, before July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and runs in a special vacancy election that same November.
  • If the vacancy occurs in an odd-numbered year, after July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and runs in the next general election, which occurs in the following even-numbered year.

If the previous member was unaffiliated with a political party, then the vacancy is filled by the vacancy committee designated on their original nomination petition. If the member has no vacancy committee, the governor appoints a replacement.

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: HB25-1315 Vacancies in the General Assembly


About the legislature

The Colorado State Legislature is a bicameral legislature, composed of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado State Senate.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2026. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Colorado State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 23 23
     Republican Party 12 12
Total 35 35


Colorado House of Representatives
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 46 43
     Republican Party 19 22
Total 65 65

Special elections

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

November 3, 2026

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2026

As of November 2025, 14 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in nine states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2026 special elections

In 2026, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 4 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 8 due to resignation
  • 2 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

As of November 3rd, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.4% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.62%. 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 Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 830 1,120 5 18
State houses 2,392 2,972 20 29
Total: 3,222

4,092

25

47


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2026. 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 (2026)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 5 0
     Republican Party 9 0
     Independent 0 0
Total 14 0

Flipped seats

In 2026, as of November, no seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Colorado Secretary of State, "2026 Offices Up For Election," accessed October 27, 2025
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Colorado Secretary of State, "2026 Election Calendar," accessed October 27, 2025
  3. ↑ Colorado Sun, “Democratic senator resigns from Colorado legislature amid ethics investigation, new allegation of fabricated support letter" accessed February 19, 2025
  4. ↑ The Colorado Sun, "Another Colorado state senator announces their resignation just after winning reelection to a four-year term," November 21, 2024
  5. ↑ The Colorado Sun, "Colorado Sen. Chris Hansen plans to resign from the legislature Jan. 9 as he starts new job as utility CEO," November 13, 2024
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