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Georgia state legislative special elections, 2017

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See also: Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election, 2017
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In 2017, there were ten special elections held to fill vacancies in the Georgia General Assembly. All ten vacancies were filled.

The first election was to fill Georgia State Senate District 32. The District 32 seat became vacant after Republican Judson Hill resigned in February 2017 to run in a special election for Georgia's 6th Congressional District. A total of eight candidates filed for the seat, including five Republicans and three Democrats. They competed in a special election on April 18, 2017. One Democrat and one Republican advanced to the runoff, which was held May 16, 2017. Republican Kay Kirkpatrick won the runoff. Read more below.

More vacancies occurred later in the year as members of the General Assembly resigned to run for higher office, were appointed to executive and judicial posts, and retired due to health reasons. Nine special elections to fill vacancies in the Georgia General Assembly took place on November 7, 2017. In four of the elections, no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, meaning runoff elections were held on December 5, 2017, to fill those seats.

On November 7, Democrats flipped two state House seats previously held by Republicans: District 117 and District 119. They also advanced two candidates to the runoff election for Georgia State Senate District 6, meaning it flipped as well on December 5. The Democratic victory in Senate District 6 broke Republicans' two-thirds supermajority in the chamber. Read more below.

How vacancies are filled in Georgia


If there is a vacancy in the Georgia General Assembly, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. If the vacancy occurs during a legislative session, the governor must declare a special election no later than 10 days after the vacancy happens. If the vacancy occurs after the regular legislative session held during the first year of the term of office for members, the governor may order a special election at any time but no later than 60 days before the November general election. If the vacancy occurs between 60 days before the November general election and the next legislative session, the governor is required to order a special election within 10 days.[1]

The special election must be held no less than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the governor calls for the election. The counties representing the vacant district are responsible for conducting the election.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Georgia Code § 21-2-544


About the legislature

The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate.

Georgia State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 17 18
     Republican Party 39 38
Total 56 56
Georgia House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 61 62
     Republican Party 116 118
     Independent 1 0
     Vacancy 2 0
Total 180 180

Special elections

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April 18, 2017

November 7, 2017

Political context of the state Senate District 6 special election

The Democratic victory in Georgia State Senate District 6 broke Republicans' two-thirds supermajority in the Georgia State Senate. A two-thirds majority can certify constitutional amendments for the ballot and override gubernatorial vetoes. Republicans took control of the seat in 2012 when Republican Hunter Hill defeated Democratic incumbent Doug Stoner. Stoner had previously held the seat since the 2004 elections.

Prior to 2017, elections in the district were competitive between the two parties. The chart below details election results for state senator from 2012 to 2016. The margins were close in the two elections that coincided with presidential elections, but Hill won by more than 20 points during the 2014 election, where voter turnout fell by more than 23,000 compared to 2012.

2012, 2014, and 2016 elections for Georgia State Senate District 6
Election Hunter Hill (R) Democratic candidate Total
2016 election (vote totals) 42,338 39,201 81,539
2016 election (percentages) 51.9 percent 48.1 percent 100.0 percent
2014 election (vote totals) 29,383 18,904 48,287
2014 election (percentages) 60.9 percent 39.1 percent 100.0 percent
2012 election (vote totals) 37,628 33,607 71,235
2012 election (percentages) 52.8 percent 47.2 percent 100.0 percent

The chart below details the results of presidential elections inside Georgia State Senate District 6. Although Mitt Romney (R) had a narrow win over Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Hillary Clinton (D) defeated Donald Trump (R) by nearly 16 points in 2016. That same year, Republican Hunter Hill won a narrow victory in his state Senate race.

2012 and 2016 presidential elections: Georgia State Senate District 6
Election Republican candidate Democratic candidate Total
2016 presidential election (vote totals) 32,923 45,819 82,729[12]
2016 presidential election (percentages) 39.8 percent 55.4 percent 95.2 percent[12]
2012 presidential election (vote totals) 40,782 36,875 78,836[12]
2012 presidential election (percentages) 51.7 percent 46.8 percent 98.5 percent[12]

Political context of the state Senate District 32 special election

Special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District

See also: Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election, 2017

The special general election for Georgia State Senate District 32 occurred on April 18, the same day as the special general election for Georgia's 6th Congressional District. The geographic areas covered by State Senate District 32 and the 6th Congressional District overlap, with 57,528 of the 58,635 District 32 voters on April 18 living in areas also covered by the 6th Congressional District. The 6th Congressional District special election received national attention. Though Republicans won every congressional election in the district from 1978 to 2016, the race was competitive. On April 10, 2017, the Cook Political Report declared the race to be a "toss up."[13] In the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump proved less popular in District 6 than in other traditionally Republican districts. Trump won the district by a margin of 1.5 percent, while Republican Tom Price won the district's congressional election by a margin of 23.4 percent.

A total of 18 candidates filed to run in the April 18 election for District 6, including 11 Republicans, five Democrats, and two independent candidates. District 32 state Senator Judson Hill was among the Republican candidates who ran. Democrat Jon Ossoff won a plurality of the vote in the April 18 election, with 48.1 percent. Republican Karen Handel came in second, with 19.8 percent of the vote. Ossoff and Handel competed in a runoff election on June 20, 2017.

The table below shows the vote percentages received by candidates from the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian parties in the geographic areas covered by both State Senate District 32 and the 6th Congressional District in the April 18 special elections and in the 2016 presidential election. District 32 voters cast 62,246 of the 192,569 votes in the 6th Congressional District special general election, which was 32.3 percent of the total. They cast 100,379 votes in the 2016 presidential election.

Vote Margins in Areas Covered by Georgia State Senate District 32 and Georgia's 6th Congressional District
Party State Senate District 32 special general election 6th Congressional District special general election 2016 presidential election
Democratic Party Democratic Party 39.8% 42.2% 40.1%
Republican Party Republican Party 60.2% 57.7% 54.8%
Libertarian Party Libertarian Party - - 5.1%
Source: Georgia Secretary of State 2016 and 2017

The 32nd Senate District

GA SD 32.PNG

Georgia State Senate District 32 is located in the northern Atlanta suburbs. It is mainly composed of eastern Cobb County, but it also includes part of northwest Fulton County. It touches the cities of Marietta, Roswell, and Sandy Springs. As of April 2017, there were 177,859 people residing in District 32. 75.7 percent of its residents were white, which was 20.3 percent higher than Georgia as a whole. 65.9 percent of residents had a college degree, which was 88.8 percent higher than the state average, and the median household income was 89.3 percent higher than the state average.[14]

District 32 was under Republican control from 1995 to 2017, starting when Charlie Tanksley (R) won a special election for the seat in 1995.[15] Tanskley was succeeded by Judson Hill (R) in 2005. Hill was re-elected to the seat six times. He did not face a challenger in the general elections from 2010 to 2016. In Georgia, state senators serve two-year terms. The Georgia Legislature is responsible for redrawing district lines for state legislative districts every 10 years following the completion of the United States Census.

District 32 Elections: 1996 - 2016
Election Year: 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Winning Party: R R R R R R R R R R R
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

Breakdown of 2017 special elections

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

  • 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
  • 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
  • 22 due to a retirement
  • 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. 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. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 45 56
     Republican Party 53 42
     Independent - -
Total 98 98

Flipped seats

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D

See also


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The State of Georgia, "Official Code of Georgia," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 21-2-544)
  2. ↑ Reporter Newspapers, "Special election April 18 to fill state Sen. Judson Hill’s seat," February 17, 2017
  3. ↑ The New York Times, "Tom Price, Obamacare Critic, Is Said to Be Trump Selection for Health Secretary," November 28, 2016
  4. ↑ The New York Times, "Tom Price Is Confirmed as Health Secretary," February 10, 2017
  5. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Eight candidates qualify for State Senate District 32 Race," accessed February 27, 2017
  6. ↑ 11 Alive, "Election results: Kirkpatrick heading for a win in state senate 32 runoff," accessed May 16, 2017
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Georgia Secretary of State, "Calls for Special Elections," accessed September 8, 2017
  8. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Unofficial Results," accessed December 5, 2017
  9. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Unofficial Results," accessed December 5, 2017
  10. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Unofficial Results," accessed December 5, 2017
  11. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Unofficial Results," accessed December 5, 2017
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The rest of the vote went to third party or independent candidates
  13. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2018 House Race Ratings For April 10, 2017," April 10, 2017
  14. ↑ Statistical Atlas, "Overview of State Senate District 32, Georgia," accessed April 28, 2017
  15. ↑ Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Hopefuls took different paths seeking Cobb-Fulton state Senate seat," April 19, 2017
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