Kentucky state legislative special elections, 2022
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In 2022, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Kentucky General Assembly.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
House special elections called:
- District 42: February 22
How vacancies are filled in Kentucky
If there is a vacancy in the Kentucky General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The governor must call for an election if the General Assembly is not in session. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election if lawmakers are in session.[1] All nominating petitions must be filed at least 56 days before the election.[2]
See sources: Kentucky Rev. Stat. § 118.730-§118.770
About the legislature
The Kentucky General Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the Kentucky House of Representatives, with 100 members, and the Kentucky State Senate, with 38 members.
The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2022. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Kentucky State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
Democratic Party | 10 | 8 | |
Republican Party | 28 | 30 | |
Total | 38 | 38 |
Kentucky House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
Democratic Party | 37 | 25 | |
Republican Party | 62 | 75 | |
Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 100 | 100 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
February 22, 2022
Kentucky House of Representatives District 42 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 42 was called for February 22, 2022.[3] The filing deadline was January 4, 2022. The seat became vacant after Reginald Meeks (D) retired from the state House on December 17, 2021.[4] General electionSpecial general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 42Keturah Herron defeated Judy Stallard in the special general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 42 on February 22, 2022.
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Historical data
There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Kentucky held 26 special elections during the same time period; about two per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Kentucky took place in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2020 when four 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
In 2022, 54 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2022 special elections
In 2022, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 21 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 24 due to resignation
- 9 due to the death of the incumbent
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 36 Democratic seats
- 18 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2022. 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 were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2022) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 36 | 36 | |
Republican Party | 18 | 18 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 54 | 54 |
Flipped seats
In 2022, two seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats flipped from D to R
- Montana State Senate District 39 (November 8)
Seats flipped from R to D
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- Kentucky General Assembly
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, "Kentucky Revised Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 118.730)
- ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "Kentucky Revised Statutes," accessed February 28, 2025 (Statute 118.770)
- ↑ WLKY.com, "Special election date set to fill seat of longtime Kentucky state Rep. Reginald Meeks," December 20, 2021
- ↑ WDRB.com, "Rep. Reginald Meeks announces his retirement after 21 years in the Kentucky House," December 17, 2021
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