New York state legislative special elections, 2025

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As of October, two special elections have been called to fill vacant seats in the New York State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in New York


If there is a vacancy in the New York Legislature, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. A special election can be held as long as the vacancy occurred before April 1 of the last year of the former officeholder's term. If a special session is called in the state legislature after this date, a special election may be called to fill the seat.[1] The person elected to fill the vacant seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[2]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: New York Public Officers Law § 42


About the legislature

The New York State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the New York State Assembly, with 150 members, and the New York State Senate, with 63 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2024. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).


New York State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 41 41
     Republican Party 21 22
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 63 63


New York State Assembly
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 100 103
     Republican Party 48 47
     Vacancy 2 0
Total 150 150

Special elections

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

May 20, 2025

November 4, 2025

Historical data

There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. New York held 54 special elections during the same time period; the third-most of any state. About four special elections were held each year on average. The largest number of special elections in New York took place in 2018 when 11 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, 2022

As of October 2025, 92 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 22 states. One special election has also been called to fill a vacancy in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2025 special elections

In 2025, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 38 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 25 due to resignation
  • 14 due to redistricting
  • 14 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 1 due to the officeholder leaving at term end


Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:


As of October 16th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.4% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.64%. 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 831 1,120 5 17
State houses 2,392 2,972 20 29
Total: 3,223

4,092

25

46


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2025. 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 (2025)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 50 26
     Republican Party 42 21
     Independent 0 1
Total 92 48

Flipped seats

In 2025, as of August 26, four seats have changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.


Seats that changed from D to I

Seats that changed from R to D



See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ FindLaw, "New York Consolidated Laws, Public Officers Law - PBO § 42. Filling vacancies in elective offices," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute § 42 (4))
  2. ↑ FindLaw, "New York Consolidated Laws, Public Officers Law - PBO § 38. Terms of officers chosen to fill vacancies," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute § 38)
  3. ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Official Special Election Political Calendar," accessed April 15, 2025
  4. ↑ Governor Kathy Hochul - New York State, "State of New York - Executive Chamber Proclamation," April 10, 2025
  5. ↑ New York State Board of Elections, ""Special Election Political Calendar,"" accessed September 18, 2025
  6. ↑ Adirondack Daily Enterprise, ""Billy Jones announces resignation,"" July 29, 2025
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