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Rhode Island state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Rhode Island General Assembly. Click here to read more about the special elections.

House 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 General Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, with 75 members, and the Rhode Island State Senate, with 38 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2018 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Rhode Island State Senate
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 33 33
     Republican Party 4 5
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 38 38
Rhode Island House of Representatives
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 64 66
     Republican Party 11 9
Total 75 75

Special elections

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

March 3, 2020


Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2020

In 2020, 55 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2020 special elections

In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[5]
  • 18 due to retirement
  • 13 due to the death of the incumbent

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 2020. 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 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 21 27
     Republican Party 38 32
     Independent 0 0
Total 59 59

Flipped seats

In 2020, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

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. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Secretary Gorbea Announces Special Election Dates for Representative District 56," December 17, 2019
  3. ↑ Providence Journal, "Only one candidate seeks to replace Central Fall state rep who resigned," January 7, 2020
  4. ↑ WPRI, "Special election set for vacant RI House seat," December 17, 2019
  5. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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