It’s the 12 Days of Ballotpedia! Your gift powers the trusted, unbiased information voters need heading into 2026. Donate now!

New Hampshire state legislative special elections, 2026

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • How to run for office
Flag of New Hampshire.png


2025
SLP badge.png
2026 State Legislative
Special Elections

Special Elections Information
CausesPartisan controlElections by dateHistorical data

Special elections by state

AlabamaArkansasColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaLouisianaMaineMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaNew HampshireNew YorkNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTexasVirginia

Other 2026 Election coverage
Filing deadlines • Statewide elections
State legislative elections
Gubernatorial electionsBallot measures

As of December, one special election has been called to fill a vacant seat in the New Hampshire General Court.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in New Hampshire


If there is a vacancy in the New Hampshire General Court, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The governor and executive council must call a special election within 21 days of receiving proof of a vacancy or a request that a vacancy be filled.[1][2][3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: New Hampshire Cons. Part II, Articles 16 and 34 and New Hampshire Rev. Stat. Ann. § 661:8


About the legislature

The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire State Senate with 24 members. The General Court is the fourth-largest English-speaking legislative body in the world, behind the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United States Congress, and the Parliament of India, and has one of the greatest disparities in size between chambers of a bicameral legislature.[4] The General Court meets in the New Hampshire State House in Concord.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2026. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

New Hampshire State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 10 8
     Republican Party 14 16
Total 24 24


New Hampshire House of Representatives
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 191 177
     Republican Party 197 221
     Independent 0 1
     Nonpartisan 1 0
     Vacancy 11 1
Total 400 400

Special elections

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

March 10, 2026

Historical data

There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. New Hampshire held 43 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in New Hampshire took place in 2017 when 10 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, 2026

As of December 2025, 40 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in 19 states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2026 special elections

In 2026, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 20 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 16 due to resignation
  • 4 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

As of December 24th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.38% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.46%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 828 1,121 6 18
State houses 2,382 2,969 21 41
Total: 3,210

4,090

27

59


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2026. 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 have been held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2026)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 23 0
     Republican Party 17 1
     Independent 0 0
Total 40 1

Flipped seats

In 2026, as of December, no seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.


See also

Footnotes