Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2026

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As of January, three special elections have been called to fill vacant seats in the Oklahoma State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

• District 35: February 10
• District 92: November 3

Senate special elections called:

• District 17: November 3

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.

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.

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

About the legislature

The Oklahoma State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, with 101 members, and the Oklahoma State Senate, with 48 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2026. 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 5, 2024	After November 6, 2024
	Democratic Party	8	8
	Republican Party	39	39
	Vacancy	1	1
Total		48	48

Oklahoma House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2024	After November 6, 2024
	Democratic Party	20	19
	Republican Party	81	80
	Vacancy	0	2
Total		101	101

Special elections

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

November 3, 2026

Oklahoma House of Representatives District 92

See also: Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2026 A special election for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 92 has been called for November 3, 2026. A primary, if needed, is scheduled to take place on June 16, 2026. If needed, a primary runoff is scheduled to take place on August 25, 2026. The candidate filing deadline is April 3, 2026. The seat became vacant after Forrest Bennett (D) resigned to accept the position of president of the Oklahoma AFL-CIO. There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Oklahoma State Senate District 17

See also: Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2026 A special election for Oklahoma State Senate District 17 has been called for November 3, 2026. A primary is scheduled to take place on June 16, 2026. If needed, a primary runoff is scheduled to take place on August 25, 2026. The candidate filing deadline is April 3, 2026. The seat will become vacant in November 2026, after Shane Jett (R) reaches his term limit. There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Historical data

There were 1,102 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2025. Oklahoma held 29 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Oklahoma took place in 2017 when seven 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, 2026

As of January 2026, 48 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in 19 states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2026 special elections

In 2026, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

• 27 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
• 17 due to resignation
• 4 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

• 28 Democratic seats
• 19 Republican seats

As of January 20th, 2026, Republicans controlled 55.1% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.77%. 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			Other	Vacant
State senates	834	1,119	6	14
State houses	2,399	2,951	20	43
Total:	3,233	4,070	26	57

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2026. 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 (2026)
Party		As of Special Election	After Special Election
	Democratic Party	28	3
	Republican Party	20	3
	Independent	0	0
Total		48	6

Flipped seats

In 2026, as of January, no seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

See also

• State legislative special elections, 2026
• State legislative special elections, 2025
• State legislative special elections, 2024
• State legislative special elections, 2023
• Oklahoma State Legislature

Footnotes

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

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Features of state legislatures

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