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Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2017

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In 2017, seven special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Oklahoma State Legislature. All seven vacancies were filled. Four of the seven special elections held in 2017 resulted in Democrats winning a seat previously held by Republicans.

  • Senate District 44 and House District 75 held elections on July 11, which resulted in those seats flipping from Republican control to Democratic control.[1]
  • On September 12, House District 46 flipped from Republican control to Democratic control.[2]
  • On November 14, Democrats flipped Senate District 37 from Republican control to Democratic control.[3]

House special elections held:

Senate special elections held:

How vacancies are filled in Oklahoma


If there is a vacancy in the Oklahoma State Legislature, the governor must call a special election no later than 30 days after the vacancy occurs. No special election can be called if the vacancy occurs in an even-numbered year and if the term of office will expire in that year. This second provision allows special elections to be held for outgoing senators with two or more years left in their terms.[4]

If a senator announces his or her resignation before March 1 but the effective date lies between the general election and the new session, a special election can be held on the general election dates. The winner of this election will take office upon the senator's official resignation. This only applies to senators with two or more years remaining in their terms.[4]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Oklahoma Stat. Ann. tit. 26, § 12-106


About the legislature

The Oklahoma Legislature is the legislative branch of Oklahoma. It is bicameral, comprising the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma State Senate, with all members elected directly by the people. 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).

Oklahoma State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 9 6
     Republican Party 39 42
Total 48 48
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 30 26
     Republican Party 71 75
Total 101 101

Special elections

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May 9, 2017

July 11, 2017

September 12, 2017

November 14, 2017

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. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "UNOFFICIAL RESULTS," accessed July 11, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results - Special Elections - September," accessed September 12, 2017
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Oklahoma State Election Board, "UNOFFICIAL RESULTS - Special Elections - November," accessed November 14, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Justia US Law, "2014 Oklahoma Statutes Title 26. Elections §26-12-106. Vacancies in the Legislature," accessed February 3, 2023 (Statute 26-12-106(A), Oklahoma Statutes)
  5. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State House of Representatives District 28 Special Election," accessed February 27, 2017
  6. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Results - Special Elections - May," June 6, 2017
  7. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State Senator District 44 Special Election," accessed March 30, 2017
  8. ↑ KFOR, "Oklahoma law allows Sen. Ralph Shortey to keep his state retirement even if convicted of prostitution with a minor," March 16, 2017
  9. ↑ News OK, "Oklahoma Sen. Shortey resigns after being charged," March 22, 2017
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Oklahoma State Election Board, "OFFICIAL RESULTS," August 3, 2017 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "okjul11" defined multiple times with different content
  11. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State House of Representatives District 75 Special Election," accessed February 27, 2017
  12. ↑ NewsOK, "Facing possible expulsion or loss of legislative clout, Rep. Dan Kirby resigns," February 4, 2017
  13. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State House of Representatives District 46 Special Election," accessed April 5, 2017
  14. ↑ News OK, "Oklahoma state rep leaving seat for Norman Chamber," accessed March 20, 2017
  15. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State Senator District 37 Special Election," accessed August 15, 2017
  16. ↑ nondoc.com, "Dan Newberry resigns from Oklahoma State Senate," June 6, 2017
  17. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State Senator District 45 Special Election," accessed May 4, 2017
  18. ↑ kfor.com, "Breaking: Oklahoma Sen. Kyle Loveless submits resignation letter amid criminal investigation," April 27, 2017
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Oklahoma State Election Board, "Special Legislative Races Special Election — August 8, 2017," accessed August 8, 2017
  20. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "State House of Representatives District 76 Special Election," accessed May 4, 2017
  21. ↑ Fox 23 News, "State Rep. David Brumbaugh dies suddenly at 56," April 17, 2017
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