Parties swap seats in Tuesday's special elections
September 21, 2011
On Tuesday, Georgia, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire each held special elections for one of their state house seats. Democrats and Republicans each managed to capture a seat from the opposing party. In addition, Republicans retained control of the Georgia seat, with two Republicans proceeding to a runoff election. So far this year, 70 special elections have been decided and another 17 are expected. Of those 70 seats, 10 (14.3%) have changed partisan hands -- six were captured by Republicans, and four by Democrats. For comparison, of the 376 legislators termed-out in 2010, 61 (16.2%) of their seats changed partisan hands. However, of those 61, 53 were captured by Republicans, and only six were captured by Democrats -- two were captured by independents.
A breakdown of the three special elections is as follows:
- Georgia House District 43: John Carson (R) and Robert Lamutt (R) were the top two vote-getters in the special election. They will proceed to an October 18 runoff election.[1] The winner of the runoff will replace the late Bobby Franklin (R).
- Massachusetts House District 12th Bristol: Keiko Orrall (R) defeated Roger Brunelle Jr. (D), capturing the previously-Democratic seat for the GOP.[2] Orrall will replace Stephen Canessa (D).
- New Hampshire House, Hillsborough 3: Peter Leishman (D) defeated David Simpson (R), capturing the previously-Republican seat for Democrats.[3] Leishman will replace Robert Huxley (R).
Partisan impact
Republican and Democrats each managed to flip a seat on Tuesday, Democrats in New Hampshire and Republicans in Massachusetts. However, neither victory will have a dramatic effect on the balance of power.
See also
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- State legislative special elections, 2011
- Massachusetts House of Representatives
- New Hampshire House of Representatives
- Georgia House of Representatives
Footnotes
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