Minnesota state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Minnesota State Legislature. Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Minnesota

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


Vacancies in the Minnesota State Legislature are filled through election. If there are more than 150 days before the next state general election, and the legislature will not be in session before the results are canvassed, then any vacancy is filled at the next state general election.[1][2]

If the vacancy happens during the legislative session, the governor has five days to issue a writ calling for a special election. The election must take place no more than 35 days after the issuance of the writ. If the legislature is out of session and there are fewer than 150 days before the next state general election, the governor must call for a special election so the winner of the election can take office when the legislature reconvenes.[2][3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Minnesota Cons. Art. 4, § 4 and Minnesota Stat. § 204D.19


About the legislature

The Minnesota State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the Minnesota House of Representatives, with 100 members, and the Minnesota State Senate, with 35 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of the state House before and after the November 2018 general election and the state Senate 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).

Minnesota State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 38 33
     Republican Party 28 34
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 67 67


Minnesota House of Representatives
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 56 75
     Republican Party 77 59
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 134 134

Special elections

Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

February 4, 2020


Historical data

There were 723 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2019. Minnesota held 19 special elections during the same time period; nearly two per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Minnesota took place in 2011 when four 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

See also: State legislative special elections, 2020

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[6]
  • 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:

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

Seats flipped from R to D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed February 12, 2021 (Article 4, Section 4)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed February 12, 2021 (Statute 204D.19 (1)-(3))
  3. ↑ Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed February 12, 2021 (Statute 204B.13)
  4. ↑ KNSI, "GOVERNOR SETS SPECIAL ELECTION FOR ZERWAS' SEAT," November 27, 2019
  5. ↑ Star Tribune, "Minnesota DFL Rep. Diane Loeffler dies of cancer at 66," November 17, 2019
  6. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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