Republicans retain seats in January 11 special elections

January 12, 2011

By Tyler Millhouse

Three states-- Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Virginia -- held special elections on January 11, 2011 to fill 5 vacant state legislative seats. All five seats were previously held by Republicans, and the GOP retained control of these seats on Tuesday.

• In Mississippi, the District 6 senate seat went to Republican Nancy Adams Collins. Adams Collins' victory was necessary to preserve the 26-26 tie in the Mississippi State Senate. With 2010 census redistricting approaching and a Democratic majority in the house, the outcome strengthens the GOP's influence on the redistricting process. In Mississippi's District 116 house race, Jim Atchison (R) and Casey Eure (R) will proceed to a runoff election. Both vacancies resulted from elections to the U.S. House, Patrick Nunnelee (R) in District 6 and Steven Palazzo (R) in District 116.

• In Oklahoma, state Senator Todd Lamb (R) was elected Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, leaving a vacancy in District 47 of the Oklahoma State Senate. The seat was won by Republican Greg Treat (R).

• In Virginia, the U.S. House elections also left two state congressional seats vacant, Virginia State Senate District 19 and Virginia House of Delegates District 8. The seats were occupied by Robert Hurt (R) and Morgan Griffith (R), respectively. In District 19, Republican Bill Stanley defeated Hank Davis (D), and in District 8, Democrat Ginger Mumpower fell to Greg Habeeb (R).

Partisan impact

Since neither party was able to pick up additional legislative seats in the special election, partisan balances are largely unaffected:

See also

• State legislative special elections, 2011
• Mississippi State Senate
• Mississippi House of Representatives
• Oklahoma State Senate
• Virginia State Senate
• Virginia House of Delegates