Louisiana state legislative special elections, 2022
2023 →
← 2021
|
Special Elections |
|
Alabama • Arkansas • California |
|
Other 2022 Election coverage |
State legislative elections Gubernatorial elections • Ballot measures |
In 2022, three special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Louisiana State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
Senate special elections called:
- District 5: November 8
- District 17: November 8
House special elections called:
- District 101: March 26
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 2019. 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:
March 26, 2022
Louisiana House of Representatives District 101 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A special election primary for District 101 of the Louisiana House of Representatives was called for March 26, 2022. The general election was scheduled for April 30, 2022, but was canceled after Democratic candidate Vanessa Caston LaFleur won the primary election outright. The candidate filing deadline was January 28, 2022.[2] The seat became vacant after Edward James (D) resigned his seat on January 28, 2022. President Joe Biden (D) appointed him as regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration's South Central region.[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 101Vanessa Caston LaFleur won election outright against Dawn Chanet Collins and Terry Hebert in the special primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 101 on March 26, 2022.
|
November 8, 2022
Louisiana State Senate District 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A special election primary for District 5 of the Louisiana State Senate was called for November 8, 2022. The general election was scheduled for December 10, 2022, but wasn't necessary. The candidate filing deadline was July 22, 2022. The seat became vacant after Karen Peterson (D) resigned from the state Senate on April 8, 2022. Peterson resigned in order to focus on recovering from depression and a gambling addiction.[4]
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 State Senate District 5Royce Duplessis won election outright against Mandie Landry in the special primary for Louisiana State Senate District 5 on November 8, 2022.
|
Louisiana State Senate District 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A special election primary for District 17 of the Louisiana State Senate was called for November 8, 2022. The general election was scheduled for December 10, 2022, but wasn't necessary. The candidate filing deadline was July 22, 2022. The seat became vacant after Rick Ward III (R) resigned from the state Senate to accept a job in the private sector.[5]
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 State Senate District 17Caleb Kleinpeter won election outright against Jeremy LaCombe and Kirk Rousset in the special primary for Louisiana State Senate District 17 on November 8, 2022.
|
Historical data
There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Louisiana held 47 special elections during the same time period. About four special elections were held each year on average. The largest number of special elections in Louisiana took place in 2019 when seven 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
- Louisiana State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Louisiana Election Code," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 18:601, Louisiana Statutes)
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed February 7, 2022
- ↑ USNews.com, "State Rep. Ted James to Resign, to Take Federal Position," December 30, 2021
- ↑ Twitter, "KarenCarterPeterson," April 8, 2022
- ↑ BR Proud, "WBR State Senator to resign, take private sector job," accessed June 8, 2022
![]() |
State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
---|---|
Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |