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Michigan state legislative special elections, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
- Early voting: N/A
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID requested
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
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In 2018, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Michigan State Legislature. Click here to read more about the special election.
Senate special elections called:
- District 2: November 6
House special elections called:
- District 68: November 6
How vacancies are filled in Michigan
If there is a vacancy in the Michigan State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election to fill the vacancy or direct that the vacancy be filled at the next general election.[1][2]
If the vacancy happens after the statewide primary election, the party organizations in the district select the party's nominee. The nominee must be voted on no later than 21 days after the vacancy occurred and at least 10 days before the general election.[3]
See sources: Michigan Const. Art. 5, § 13
About the legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the state legislature of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral institution consisting of the Michigan Senate, the upper house, and the House of Representatives, the lower house. The boxes below show the partisan composition of the State Senate directly before and after the November 2014 general election and the State House of Representatives directly before and after the November 2016 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Michigan State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
Democratic Party | 12 | 11 | |
Republican Party | 26 | 27 | |
Total | 38 | 38 |
Michigan House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
Democratic Party | 45 | 47 | |
Republican Party | 62 | 63 | |
Vacancy | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 110 | 110 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
November 6, 2018
☑ Michigan State Senate District 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Michigan State Senate District 2 was called for November 6, 2018, with a primary scheduled for August 7, 2018. The filing deadline for this election was April 24, 2018.[4] The seat became vacant following Bert Johnson's (D) resignation on March 2, 2018, after he pleaded guilty to theft.[5] General electionSpecial general election for Michigan State Senate District 2Adam Hollier won election in the special general election for Michigan State Senate District 2 on November 6, 2018.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 2The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 2 on August 7, 2018.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
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August 7 Democratic primary candidates (special election): ![]()
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☑ Michigan House of Representatives District 68 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Michigan House of Representatives District 68 was called for November 6, 2018, with a primary scheduled for August 7, 2018. The filing deadline for this election was April 24, 2018.[6] The seat became vacant following Andy Schor's (D) resignation on January 1, 2018, in order to assume office as the mayor of Lansing, Michigan.[7] General electionSpecial general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 68Sarah Anthony defeated Rosalinda Hernandez in the special general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 68 on November 6, 2018.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 68The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 68 on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 68Rosalinda Hernandez advanced from the special Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 68 on August 7, 2018.
![]() August 7 Republican primary candidates (special): ![]() ![]() |
Special elections throughout the country
In 2018, 99 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Between 2011 and 2017, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2018 special elections
In 2018, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 58 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 16 due to a retirement
- 10 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
- 7 due to a resignation related to allegations of sexual misconduct
- 5 due to the death of the incumbent
- 2 due to a resignation to take a private sector job
- 1 due to an election being rerun
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 42 Democratic seats
- 57 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2018. 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 2016, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of three seats across the country. In 2017, Democrats had a net gain of 11 seats.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2018) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 42 | 50 | |
Republican Party | 57 | 49 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 99 | 99 |
Democrats gained 11 seats in 2017 special elections and eight seats in 2018 special elections. The table below details the results of special elections held in 2017 and 2018 cumulatively.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2017-2018) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 87 | 106 | |
Republican Party | 110 | 91 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 197 | 197 |
Flipped seats
In 2018, 16 seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections. Twelve seats flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. Four seats flipped from Democratic control to Republican control.
In New York, a Democratic candidate running on the Republican ticket won election to Assembly District 142 on April 24. The previous incumbent in that district was a Democrat. Due to the winning candidate's party affiliation, Assembly District 142 was not added to the list of flipped seats in 2018.
Seats flipped from R to D
- Wisconsin State Senate District 10 (January 16)
- Missouri House of Representatives District 97 (February 6)
- Florida House of Representatives District 72 (February 13)
- Kentucky House of Representatives District 49 (February 20)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Belknap 3 (February 27)
- Connecticut House of Representatives District 120 (February 27)
- New York State Assembly District 10 (April 24)
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 178 (May 15)
- Missouri State Senate District 17 (June 5)
- Wisconsin State Senate District 1 (June 12)
- South Carolina State Senate District 20 (November 6)
- Texas House of Representatives District 52 (November 6)
Seats flipped from D to R
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 48 (May 15)
- Texas State Senate District 19 (September 18)
- Louisiana House of Representatives District 10 (November 6)[8]
- Louisiana House of Representatives District 33 (November 6)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2018
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- Michigan State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Statute 168.178, Michigan Compiled Laws," accessed February 12, 2021
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Constitution of Michigan of 1963, Article 5, Section 13," accessed February 12, 2021
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Statute 168.634 (1)-(2), Michigan Compiled Laws," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. News, "Election to Replace Convicted Michigan State Senator Set," March 12, 2018
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Convicted Michigan lawmaker Bert Johnson quits his Senate seat," March 2, 2018
- ↑ mlive.com, "Andy Schor's former state House seat to be filled in November," January 12, 2018
- ↑ WILX 10, "David Andrews One On One with Mayor-Elect Andy Schor," December 28, 2017
- ↑ The general election was cancelled after Wayne McMahen (R) was the only candidate to file for election.
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