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North Dakota state legislative special elections, 2024
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In 2024, four special elections were called to fill six redistricted seats and one was called due to a resignation in the North Dakota State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
House of Representatives special elections called:
- District 9 (2 seats): November 5
- District 15 (2 seats): November 5
- District 23: November 5
Senate special elections called:
- District 9: November 5
- District 15: November 5
How vacancies are filled in North Dakota
If there is a vacancy in the North Dakota State Legislature, the vacancy is filled by the district committee of the political party that holds the seat. A replacement must be named within 21 days of the vacancy. The appointed person shall serve until the next general election which is scheduled for at least 94 days after the vacancy occurs. Qualified electors in a district where a vacancy exists can also petition for a special election to be called by the governor to fill the remaining term.[1]
See sources: North Dakota Cent. Code §44-02-03.1
About the legislature
The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the North Dakota House of Representatives, with 94 members, and the North Dakota State Senate, with 47 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).
| North Dakota State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
| Democratic Party | 7 | 4 | |
| Republican Party | 40 | 43 | |
| Total | 47 | 47 | |
| North Dakota House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
| Democratic Party | 14 | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 80 | 82 | |
| Total | 94 | 94 | |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
November 5, 2024
| North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (2 seats) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 was called for November 5, 2024. Prior to redistricting in 2024, House District 9 was split into District 9A and District 9B. A primary was scheduled to take place on June 11, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was April 8, 2024. The seat was up for special election after U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Judge Peter Welte ruled that North Dakota had to redraw the District 9 and 15 boundaries. The seats were not scheduled to be up for election until 2026.[2] General electionSpecial general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (2 seats)Incumbent Jayme Davis and Collette Brown defeated David Brien and Robert Graywater in the special general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 on November 5, 2024.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (2 seats)Incumbent Jayme Davis and Collette Brown advanced from the special Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 on June 11, 2024.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (2 seats)David Brien and Robert Graywater advanced from the special Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 on June 11, 2024.
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| North Dakota State Senate District 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for North Dakota State Senate District 9 was called for November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled to take place on June 11, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was April 8, 2024. The seat was up for special election after U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Judge Peter Welte ruled that North Dakota had to redraw the District 9 and 15 boundaries. The seats were not scheduled to be up for election until 2026.[2] General electionSpecial general election for North Dakota State Senate District 9Richard Marcellais defeated incumbent Judy Estenson in the special general election for North Dakota State Senate District 9 on November 5, 2024.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for North Dakota State Senate District 9Richard Marcellais advanced from the special Democratic primary for North Dakota State Senate District 9 on June 11, 2024.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for North Dakota State Senate District 9Incumbent Judy Estenson advanced from the special Republican primary for North Dakota State Senate District 9 on June 11, 2024.
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| North Dakota House of Representatives District 15 (2 seats) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 15 was called for November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled to take place on June 11, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was April 8, 2024. The seat was up for special election after U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Judge Peter Welte ruled that North Dakota had to redraw the District 9 and 15 boundaries. The seats were not scheduled to be up for election until 2026.[2] General electionSpecial general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 15 (2 seats)Incumbent Kathy Frelich and incumbent Donna Henderson won election in the special general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 15 on November 5, 2024.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 15 (2 seats)Incumbent Kathy Frelich and incumbent Donna Henderson advanced from the special Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 15 on June 11, 2024.
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| North Dakota State Senate District 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for North Dakota State Senate District 15 was called for November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled to take place on June 11, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was April 8, 2024. The seat was up for special election after U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Judge Peter Welte ruled that North Dakota had to redraw the District 9 and 15 boundaries. The seats were not scheduled to be up for election until 2026.[2] General electionSpecial general election for North Dakota State Senate District 15Incumbent Kent Weston won election in the special general election for North Dakota State Senate District 15 on November 5, 2024.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for North Dakota State Senate District 15Incumbent Kent Weston advanced from the special Republican primary for North Dakota State Senate District 15 on June 11, 2024.
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| North Dakota House of Representatives District 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 23 was called for November 5, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was September 3, 2024.[3] The seat became vacant after Scott Dyk (R) resigned on April 7, 2024.[3] General electionSpecial general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 23Incumbent Dennis Nehring defeated Mark Casler in the special general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on November 5, 2024.
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Special elections throughout the country
In 2024, 52 state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2024 in 22 states. Between 2011 and 2023, an average of 71 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2024 special elections
In 2024, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 31 due to resignation
- 11 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 4 due to the death of the incumbent
- 6 due to redistricting
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 25 Democratic seats
- 27 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2024. 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 were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
| Partisan Change from Special Elections (2024) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
| Democratic Party | 26 | 29 | |
| Republican Party | 26 | 23 | |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 52 | |
List of seats
In 2024, five seats changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats that changed from D to R
Seats that changed from R to D
- Florida House of Representatives District 35 (January 16)
- Alabama House of Representatives District 10 (March 26)
- North Dakota State Senate District 9 (November 5)
- North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (November 5)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2024
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- North Dakota State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Branch, "North Dakota Century Code §44-02-03.1," accessed February 6, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Bismarck Tribune, "North Dakota to follow judge’s redistricting order for 2024 election, despite appeal," January 10, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 North Dakota Monitor, "Former school board member appointed to Williston-area legislative vacancy," accessed May 1, 2024
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