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Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2018

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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:

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Oklahoma

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


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]

DocumentIcon.jpg 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

March 6, 2018

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2018

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:

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

Seats flipped from D to R


See also

Footnotes