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Rhode Island state legislative special elections, 2017

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A special election to fill a vacancy in the Rhode Island State Senate took place on August 22, 2017.

How vacancies are filled in Rhode Island


If there is a vacancy in the Rhode Island General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The secretary of state must call for an election to be held anywhere from 70 to 90 days after the vacancy occurred. No election can be held if the vacancy happens after the first Monday in February during an election year. The person elected to fill the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Rhode Island Gen. Laws § 17-3-6


About the legislature

The Rhode Island State Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island State Legislature. There are 38 members. Each member represents an average of 27,699 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[2] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 27,587 residents.[3] Senators are elected in even-numbered years to two-year terms and take office on the first Tuesday in January following the election.

Partisan breakdown

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2017. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Rhode Island House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 61 64
     Republican Party 12 10
     Independent 1 1
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 75 75
Rhode Island State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 32 33
     Republican Party 5 5
     Independent 1 0
Total 38 38

Special elections

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August 22, 2017

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

Breakdown of 2017 special elections

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

  • 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
  • 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
  • 22 due to a retirement
  • 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. 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. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 45 56
     Republican Party 53 42
     Independent - -
Total 98 98

Flipped seats

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17 Elections; Chapter 3 General Assembly Members; § 17-3-6. Vacancy in general assembly — Special elections," accessed February 3, 2023
  2. ↑ census.gov, "Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010," accessed May 15, 2014
  3. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "States Ranked by Population: 2000," April 2, 2001
  4. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Special election for state senator from District No. 13," accessed April 27, 2017
  5. ↑ Newport Buzz, "Senator Paiva Weed named new president of Hospital Association of Rhode Island," March 22, 2017
  6. ↑ Providence Journal, "Newport, Jamestown Democrats pick Euer to succeed Paiva Weed," July 18, 2017
  7. ↑ Newport Patch, "Dawn Euer Declares Victory In District 13 Senate Primary," July 18, 2017
  8. ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "State of Rhode Island Special Election August 22, 2017," accessed November 10, 2017
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