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Missouri state legislative special elections, 2017

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In 2017, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Missouri General Assembly. All five seats were filled.

A special election to fill a vacancy in Missouri State Senate District 8 took place on November 7, 2017. The race included a current state representative and had the potential to flip because the Republican vote had the chance be split between two candidates.[1] Read more on the special election below.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Missouri


If there is a vacancy in the Missouri General Assembly, the governor of Missouri must call for a special election without delay. The election mandate is sent to the county or counties in the legislative district.[2]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Missouri Cons. Art. III, §14 and Missouri Rev. Stat. tit. III Ch. 21 §110

About the legislature

The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of the 34-member Missouri State Senate, and the 163-member Missouri House of Representatives. 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).

Missouri State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 7 9
     Republican Party 24 25
     Vacancy 3 0
Total 34 34
Missouri House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 45 46
     Republican Party 115 117
     Independent 1 0
     Vacancy 2 0
Total 163 163

Special elections

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August 8, 2017

November 7, 2017

Political context of the Senate District 8 special election

MO SD 08.JPG

The partisan control of the Missouri State Senate was not at stake in the special election but the inclusion of a third party candidate that previously ran for office as a Republican may make the election competitive. As of October 2017, Republicans controlled the Senate by a 24-9 majority. Hillary Shields (D), state Rep. Mike Cierpiot (R), and Jacob Turk (ind.) faced off in the November 7 general election. Cierpiot won the election with 50 percent of the vote.[17] The seat was left vacant after Will Kraus (R) was appointed by Gov. Eric Greitens (R) to the Missouri Tax Commission.[18]

Hillary Shields (D) is a paralegal and the co-founder of Indivisible Kansas City. State Rep. Mike Cierpiot (R) was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2010 and has served as House majority leader since 2015. Cierpiot is not eligible to run for re-election in 2018 because of term limits. Jacob Turk (ind.) is a small business owner that has run for Congress six times as a Republican.[19]

Senate District 8 was not competitive in 2014 and 2010. Senator Will Kraus (R) was unopposed in 2014 and was elected in 2010 with 79.4 percent of the vote. Republicans have held District 8 every year but once since 1979.[20]

In the 2016 elections, Donald Trump (R) carried 57.44 percent of the vote in Missouri State Senate District 8. Hillary Clinton (D) earned 36.85 percent of the vote in the district.[21] The eight state House seats in District 8 are held by Republicans.

Senate District 8 includes Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Independence, and Lee's Summit. This district is located in Jackson County and is southeast of Kansas City.[22] There are 169,845 residents in the district. White residents make up 85.6 percent of the population followed by African American residents at 6.1 percent.[23]

District 8 Elections: 1998 - 2014
Election Year: 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Winning Party: R R R R R
Margin of victory: R+15 R+22 R+17 R+59 R+100
Source: Missouri Secretary of State

Campaign finance

As of October 29, 2017, Shields had raised $123,572 in campaign contributions, while Cierpiot had raised $120,604. At that same time, Shields had spent $60,358 while Cierpiot had spent $47,696.[24]

Independent expenditures amounted to $183,894 in favor of Cierpiot and $176,000 in opposition to the Democratic candidate.[24] The Missouri Senate Campaign Committee has spent $183,894 to support Cierpiot's campaign for the seat. The committee has also spent $78,000 to oppose the Democratic candidate. The Missouri Alliance For Freedom-Grace River PAC has spent $98,000 in opposition to Hillary Shields.[24] Independent expenditures are political communications that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a specific candidate. These expenditures are made by individuals, political committees, Super PACs, qualified nonprofit corporations, corporations, and labor unions that are unable to coordinate with candidate campaigns involved in the election.

The following table details campaign finance dollar amounts as of October 29, 2017.[24]

Missouri Senate District 8 Campaign Finance
Candidate Total Raised Total Spent IE Supporting IE Opposing
Hillary Shields $123,572.42 $60,358.08 $0.00 $176,000
Mike Cierpiot $120,604.00 $47,696.23 $183,894 $0.00
Jacob Turk $125.29 $152.71 $0.00 $0.00
Total $244,301.71 $108,207.02 $183,894 $176,000

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. ↑ Kansas City Star, "Missouri Republicans worry GOP split will hand KC area Senate seat to Democrats," September 27, 2017
  2. ↑ Missouri General Assembly, "Missouri Constitution," accessed February 4, 2021 (Article 3, Section 14)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Washington Times, "Special election for vacant Missouri Senate seat set," accessed February 18, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Missouri Secretary of State, "Candidate filing, special election August 8, 2017," accessed March 30, 2017
  5. ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "State of Missouri - Special - Senate District 28 - August 8, 2017," accessed August 8, 2017
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 ABC News 17, "Democrats choose nominee for Statehouse special election," accessed January 19, 2017
  7. ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "State of Missouri - Special - Legislative District 50 - August 8, 2017," accessed August 8, 2017
  8. ↑ Twitter, "Missouri SOS Office‏ on July 31, 2017," accessed August 1, 2017
  9. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "KC-area state senator appointed to Missouri Tax Commission," July 31, 2017
  10. ↑ MIssouri Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing - Special Election November 7, 2017," accessed September 21, 2017
  11. ↑ Twitter, "Missouri SOS Office‏ on July 31, 2017," accessed August 1, 2017
  12. ↑ Hastings Tribune, "Missouri Rep. Randy Dunn announces resignation," May 18, 2017
  13. ↑ MIssouri Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing - Special Election November 7, 2017," accessed September 21, 2017
  14. ↑ Twitter, "Missouri SOS Office‏ on July 31, 2017," accessed August 1, 2017
  15. ↑ The Dunklin Democrat, "Hubrecht to resign from Mo. House," May 22, 2017
  16. ↑ MIssouri Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing - Special Election November 7, 2017," accessed September 21, 2017
  17. ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "State of Missouri - Special - State Senate District 8 - November 7, 2017," accessed November 7, 2017
  18. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "KC-area state senator appointed to Missouri Tax Commission," July 31, 2017
  19. ↑ The Kansas City Star, "Worried Republicans spending big to hold KC-area Senate seat," October 28, 2017
  20. ↑ Kansas City Star, "Democratic leader helps an independent in Missouri Senate race, and accusations fly," October 17, 2017
  21. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  22. ↑ Missouri Office of Administration, "Legislative Districts," accessed October 30, 2017
  23. ↑ Statistical Atlas, "Overview of State Senate District 8, Missouri," accessed October 30, 2017
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Missouri Elections Committee, "Candidate by Election," accessed October 30, 2017
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