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Maine state legislative special elections, 2017

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A special election to fill a vacancy in the District 56 seat of the Maine House of Representatives took place on November 7, 2017.

How vacancies are filled in Maine


If there is a vacancy in the Maine State Legislature, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat.[1][2] The governor must call for an election and inform political committees of the nomination deadline.[3][1][2] The person elected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[4]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Maine Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 382 Maine Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, §366 and Maine Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 381


About the legislature

The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of Maine. It is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the lower Maine House of Representatives and the Maine State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 elections. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Maine State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 15 17
     Republican Party 20 18
Total 35 35
Maine House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 78 77
     Republican Party 69 72
     Independent 3 2
     Unenrolled 1 0
Total 151 151

Special elections

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November 7, 2017

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

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:

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
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

Seats flipped from R to D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maine Legislature, "Maine Revised Statutes," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute 21A-381)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maine Legislature, "Maine Revised Statutes," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute 21A-382)
  3. ↑ Maine Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Maine," accessed February 11, 2021 (Article IV, Section 5)
  4. ↑ Maine Legislature, "Maine Revised Statutes," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute 21A-361)
  5. ↑ Maine.gov, "Special election set to fill District 56 House seat," accessed September 15, 2017
  6. ↑ Bangor Daily News, "Maine state Rep. Gina Mason, mother of Senate majority leader, dies," September 6, 2017
  7. ↑ Maine Secretary of State, "November 7, 2017 Special Election for State Representative District 56 - As of 10/3/2017," accessed October 6, 2017
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