Louisiana state legislative special elections, 2017
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In 2017, six special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Louisiana State Legislature. All six vacancies were filled.
House special elections called:
- District 42: March 25, 2017
- District 92: March 25, 2017
- District 8: April 29, 2017
- District 58: October 14, 2017
- District 77: November 18, 2017
Senate special elections called:
- District 2: May 27, 2017
How vacancies are filled in Louisiana
If there is a vacancy in the Louisiana State Legislature, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. An election is required if there are six months or more left in the unexpired term. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election no later than 10 days after the vacancy occurred. The presiding officer must determine the dates for the election along with all filing deadlines. The person elected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[1]
See sources: Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:601
About the legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2015 elections. Louisiana did not hold general state legislative elections in 2016. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Louisiana State Senate | |||
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Party | As of November 21, 2015 | After November 21, 2015 | |
Democratic Party | 13 | 14 | |
Republican Party | 26 | 25 | |
Total | 39 | 39 |
Louisiana House of Representatives | |||
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Party | As of November 2015 | After November 2015 | |
Democratic Party | 43 | 42 | |
Republican Party | 58 | 61 | |
Independent | 2 | 2 | |
Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 105 | 105 |
Special elections
March 25, 2017
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A special election for the position of Louisiana House of Representatives District 8 was called for March 25, 2017. The state scheduled a general election for April 29, 2017, if necessary.[2] Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The seat became vacant following Mike Johnson's (R) election to the U.S. House. Raymond Crews (R) and Robbie Gatti Jr. (R) advanced past Patrick Harrington (R) and Michael "Duke" Lowrie (R) in the special election on March 25, 2017. Crews defeated Gatti in the runoff election on April 29, 2017.[3][4][5]
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☑ Louisiana House of Representatives District 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Louisiana House of Representatives District 42 was called for March 25, 2017. The state scheduled a general election to take place on April 29, 2017, if needed. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 27, 2017.[2] Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The seat became vacant following Jack Montoucet's (D) appointment as the new secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D). Montoucet won reelection in 2011 with 63 percent of the vote. In 2015, he ran unopposed. District 24 is located in Acadia Parish. In the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump won Acadia with 77 percent of the vote.[6] Based on voter registration data as of March 1, 2017, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in District 42 12,013 to 6,562.[7] John Stefanski (R) defeated Jay Suire (R) in the special election. No Democrats filed for the seat. The District 42 seat was the first state legislative seat to switch parties as a result of a special election in 2017.[8][4]
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☑ Louisiana House of Representatives District 92 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Louisiana House of Representatives District 92 was called for March 25, 2017. The state scheduled a general election to take place on April 29, 2017, if needed.[2] Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The seat became vacant following Tom Willmott's (R) election to the Kenner City Council. Joe Stagni (R) defeated Chuck Toney (D) and Gisela Chevalier (R) in the special election.[3][4]
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April 29, 2017
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A special election for the position of Louisiana State Senate District 2 was called for April 29, 2017. A general election was called for May 27, 2017. The filing deadline for political parties to nominate their candidates to run in this election was March 17, 2017.[9] Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The seat became vacant following Troy Brown's (D) resignation on February 16, 2017, after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of domestic abuse.[10] Warren Harang III (D) and Ed Price (D) advanced past Elton M. Aubert (D), Wayne Brigalia (R), Albert Burl III (D), Shannon Comery Sr. (D), Chris Delpit (D), Jerry Jones (D), Edmond Jordan (D), Patrick Lawless (D), Thomas L. Lyons (non-partisan), Willie Massey-Favre (non-partisan), and Jamie Roussell (D) in the special election on April 29, 2017.[11][12] Price defeated Harang in the general election on May 27, 2017.[13][14]
Note: John D. Mouton (R) withdrew from the race.
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October 14, 2017
☑ Louisiana House of Representatives District 58 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A primary election for the position of Louisiana House of Representatives District 58 was called for October 14, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 14, 2017.[15] Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The seat became vacant following Ed Price's (D) election to the Louisiana State Senate. Ken Brass (D) defeated Miguel Aubert (D), Adrienne Ricard Conish (D), and Alsie Dunbar (D) in the primary election. Since Brass received more than 50 percent of the vote, no general election was needed for the seat.[16][17]
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A primary election for the position of Louisiana House of Representatives District 77 was called for October 14, 2017. A general election was held on November 18, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 14, 2017.[18] Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The seat became vacant following John Schroder's (R) resignation on June 16, 2017, at the end of the 2017 legislative session.[19] Rob Maness (R), Casey Revere (R), Mark Wright (R), and Lisa Condrey Ward (no party) faced off in the primary election.[20][21] Since none of the candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters in the primary election, Maness and Wright, faced off in the general election. According to official results, Wright defeated Maness in the general election with 58 percent of the vote. Maness received 42 percent of the vote.[22]
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Special elections throughout the country
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:
- 46 Democratic seats
- 53 Republican seats
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 | |||
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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
- Louisiana House of Representatives District 42 (March 25)
- Mississippi State Senate District 10 (November 28)
- Massachusetts State Senate Worcester & Middlesex District (December 5)
Seats flipped from R to D
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Carroll 6 (May 23)
- New York State Assembly District 9 (May 23)
- Oklahoma State Senate District 44 (July 11)
- Oklahoma House of Representatives District 75 (July 11)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Belknap 9 (September 12)
- Oklahoma House of Representatives District 46 (September 12)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 4 (September 26)
- Florida State Senate District 40 (September 26)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 15 (November 7)
- Georgia House of Representatives District 117 (November 7)
- Georgia House of Representatives District 119 (November 7)
- Washington State Senate District 45 (November 7)
- Oklahoma State Senate District 37 (November 14)
- Georgia State Senate District 6 (December 5)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- State legislative special elections, 2015
- Louisiana State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Louisiana Election Code," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 18:601, Louisiana Statutes)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Star, "La. politics: Governor may steer clear of legislative races," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official election results for 3/25/2017," accessed March 25, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official election results for 4/29/2017," accessed April 29, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Acadia Parish," accessed March 24, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Registration Statistics - Parish," accessed March 24, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate inquiry," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Qualifying for Special Senate District 2 Election," March 14, 2017
- ↑ Nola, "Troy Brown resigns Louisiana Senate, avoiding expulsion," February 16, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "State Senator 2nd Senatorial District," March 19, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official election results for 4/29/2017," accessed April 29, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "State Senator 2nd Senatorial District," March 19, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official election results for 5/27/2017," accessed April 29, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2017 elections," accessed June 27, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed July 17, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Unofficial results - October 14, 2017," accessed October 14, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2017 elections," accessed June 27, 2017
- ↑ Advocate, "Covington Rep. John Schroder to leave the Louisiana House and focus on state treasurer's race," June 6, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official results - October 14, 2017," accessed October 14, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed July 17, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official results - November 18, 2017," accessed November 18, 2017
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