Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 12
- Early voting: Nov. 1 - Nov. 3
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
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In 2018, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Oklahoma State Legislature. Click here to read more about the special elections.
Senate special elections called:
- District 27: February 13
House special elections called:
- District 51: March 6
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.[1]
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.[1]
See sources: Oklahoma Stat. Ann. tit. 26, § 12-106
About the legislature
The Oklahoma Legislature is the legislative branch of Oklahoma. It consists of the lower House of Representatives and the upper State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 general election. 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
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
February 13, 2018
☑ Oklahoma State Senate District 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Oklahoma State Senate District 27 was held on February 13, 2018. The primary election took place on December 12, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates running in this election was October 2, 2017.[2] The seat was left vacant after the resignation of Bryce Marlatt (R) on September 12, 2017. Marlatt resigned from the state Senate after being charged with a felony complaint of sexual battery.[3] Jensen ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Murdock defeated Jeff Hall, Carolyn McLarty, Travis Templin, Tommy Nicholson, and Michael Medill in the Republican primary.[4] Casey Murdock (R) defeated Amber Jensen (D) in the general election.[5] Special ElectionGeneral electionSpecial general election for Oklahoma State Senate District 27Incumbent Casey Murdock defeated Amber Jensen in the special general election for Oklahoma State Senate District 27 on February 13, 2018.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 27Amber Jensen advanced from the special Democratic primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 27 on December 12, 2017.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 27The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 27 on December 12, 2017.
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March 6, 2018
☑ Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51 was held on March 6, 2018. The primary election took place on January 9, 2018. The filing deadline for candidates running in this election was November 13, 2017.[2] The seat was left vacant after the resignation of Scott Biggs (R) on November 2, 2017. Biggs resigned from the state House after taking a job with the federal government.[7] Charles Murdock ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Brad Boles won the Republican primary, deafeating Dustin Payne.[8][9] Brad Boles (R) was the winner.[10] General electionSpecial general election for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51Incumbent Brad Boles defeated Charles Murdock in the special general election for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51 on March 6, 2018.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51Charles Murdock advanced from the special Democratic primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51 on January 9, 2018.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51Incumbent Brad Boles defeated Dustin Payne in the special Republican primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 51 on January 9, 2018.
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Special elections throughout the country
In 2018, 99 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Between 2011 and 2017, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2018 special elections
In 2018, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 58 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 16 due to a retirement
- 10 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
- 7 due to a resignation related to allegations of sexual misconduct
- 5 due to the death of the incumbent
- 2 due to a resignation to take a private sector job
- 1 due to an election being rerun
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 42 Democratic seats
- 57 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2018. 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. In elections between 2011 and 2016, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of three seats across the country. In 2017, Democrats had a net gain of 11 seats.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2018) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 42 | 50 | |
Republican Party | 57 | 49 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 99 | 99 |
Democrats gained 11 seats in 2017 special elections and eight seats in 2018 special elections. The table below details the results of special elections held in 2017 and 2018 cumulatively.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2017-2018) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 87 | 106 | |
Republican Party | 110 | 91 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 197 | 197 |
Flipped seats
In 2018, 16 seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections. Twelve seats flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. Four seats flipped from Democratic control to Republican control.
In New York, a Democratic candidate running on the Republican ticket won election to Assembly District 142 on April 24. The previous incumbent in that district was a Democrat. Due to the winning candidate's party affiliation, Assembly District 142 was not added to the list of flipped seats in 2018.
Seats flipped from R to D
- Wisconsin State Senate District 10 (January 16)
- Missouri House of Representatives District 97 (February 6)
- Florida House of Representatives District 72 (February 13)
- Kentucky House of Representatives District 49 (February 20)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Belknap 3 (February 27)
- Connecticut House of Representatives District 120 (February 27)
- New York State Assembly District 10 (April 24)
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 178 (May 15)
- Missouri State Senate District 17 (June 5)
- Wisconsin State Senate District 1 (June 12)
- South Carolina State Senate District 20 (November 6)
- Texas House of Representatives District 52 (November 6)
Seats flipped from D to R
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 48 (May 15)
- Texas State Senate District 19 (September 18)
- Louisiana House of Representatives District 10 (November 6)[11]
- Louisiana House of Representatives District 33 (November 6)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2018
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- Oklahoma State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Oklahoma State Election Board, "State Senator District 27 Special Election," accessed November 19, 2017 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "oksd27" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ News 9, "Oklahoma Senator Resigns Following Sexual Battery Charge," September 12, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Candidates for State Senator District 27 Special Election," accessed November 19, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," February 13, 2018
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," February 13, 2018
- ↑ News OK, "Lawmaker Scott Biggs leaving state House," November 2, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Candidates for State Representative District 51 Special Election," accessed November 19, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," accessed January 9, 2018
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," March 6, 2018
- ↑ The general election was cancelled after Wayne McMahen (R) was the only candidate to file for election.
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