Georgia state legislative special elections, 2018

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In 2018, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Georgia General Assembly. Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Georgia

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


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.[2]

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.[2]

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


About the legislature

The Georgia General Assembly is Georgia's state legislature. It consists of the lower House of Representatives and the upper State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

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


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

January 9, 2018

February 13, 2018

December 4, 2018

December 18, 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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The registration deadline was extended to October 16, 2018, in Clay, Grady, Randolph, and Turner counties by executive order of Gov. Nathan Deal in response to Hurricane Michael.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The State of Georgia, "Official Code of Georgia," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 21-2-544)
  3. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "CALL FOR SPECIAL ELECTION FOR STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 17," accessed December 5, 2017
  4. ↑ Atlanta Business Chronicle, "Jeffares leaving state Senate to focus on lieutenant governor's race," December 1, 2017
  5. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "CALL FOR SPECIAL ELECTION FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 111," accessed December 5, 2017
  6. ↑ Atlanta Business Chronicle, "Jeffares leaving state Senate to focus on lieutenant governor's race," December 1, 2017
  7. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "January 9, 2018 Special Election Official Returns," accessed January 9, 2018
  8. ↑ Valdosta Daily Times, "Qualifying begins to fill Amy Carter seat," January 4, 2018
  9. ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Two House Democrats finally decide to switch to GOP," November 22, 2010
  10. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "February 13, 2018 Special Election Official Returns," February 13, 2018
  11. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election - May 22, 2018," accessed July 27, 2018
  12. ↑ 11Alive, "Recount confirms election results: Chris Erwin wins House District 28 by 2 votes," December 18, 2018
  13. ↑ Fox5, "State Rep. Dan Gasaway again sues to overturn election defeat," December 19, 2018
  14. ↑ WNEG, "Judge Rules In Gasaway’s Favor, Orders A Third Special Election For Hd 28," February 1, 2019
  15. ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Botched election for Georgia House must be redone yet again," February 1, 2019
  16. ↑ Rome News-Tribune, "Special election to be held Dec. 18 for Ga. House District 14 seat," November 15, 2018
  17. ↑ The general election was cancelled after Wayne McMahen (R) was the only candidate to file for election.
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