Louisiana state legislative special elections, 2020
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In 2020, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Louisiana State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
House special election called:
- District 54: July 11
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 a bicameral body composed of the Louisiana House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Louisiana State Senate, with 39 members.
The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2020. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Louisiana State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 16, 2019 | After November 17, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 14 | 12 | |
Republican Party | 25 | 27 | |
Total | 39 | 39 |
Louisiana House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 16, 2019 | After November 17, 2019 | |
Democratic Party | 39 | 35 | |
Republican Party | 60 | 68 | |
Independent | 5 | 2 | |
Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 105 | 105 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
July 11, 2020
Louisiana House of Representatives District 54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special primary election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 54 was called for July 11, 2020. A special general election was scheduled for August 15, 2020, but it was not needed after the primary winner received more than 50 percent of the vote. The candidate filing deadline was May 22, 2020.[2] The seat became vacant after the death of Reggie Bagala (R) on April 9, 2020.[3]
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent 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. Nonpartisan primary electionSpecial nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 54The following candidates ran in the special primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 54 on July 11, 2020.
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Special elections throughout the country
In 2020, 55 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2020 special elections
In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[4]
- 18 due to retirement
- 13 due to the death of the incumbent
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 21 Democratic seats
- 38 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2020. 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 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 21 | 27 | |
Republican Party | 38 | 32 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 59 | 59 |
Flipped seats
In 2020, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats flipped from D to R
- Kentucky House of Representatives District 99 (February 25)
Seats flipped from R to D
- New Hampshire House of Representatives Merrimack 24 District (March 10)
- Massachusetts State Senate Second Hampden & Hampshire District (May 19)
- Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth & Barnstable District (May 19)
- Massachusetts House of Representatives Third Bristol District (June 2)
- Kentucky State Senate District 26 (June 23)
- South Carolina House of Representatives District 115 (August 11)
- Oregon State Senate District 10 (November 3)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- State legislative special elections, 2019
- State legislative special elections, 2018
- Louisiana State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Louisiana Election Code," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 18:601, Louisiana Statutes)
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Get election information," accessed June 1, 2020
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Louisiana lawmaker Reggie Bagala dies amid battle with coronavirus at age 54," April 9, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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