Rhode Island state legislative special elections, 2018

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A special election to fill a vacancy in the Rhode Island State Senate took place on April 3, 2018.

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Rhode Island

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


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 2018. 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


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

April 3, 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

  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. ↑ WPRI, "Special election to fill Sen. Doyle’s seat will be April 3," January 10, 2018
  5. ↑ Rhode Island Public Radio, "TGIF: 20 Things To Know About Rhode Island Politics & Media," January 19, 2018
  6. ↑ The general election was cancelled after Wayne McMahen (R) was the only candidate to file for election.
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