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Tennessee state legislative special elections, 2021

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In 2021, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Tennessee


If there is a vacancy in the Tennessee General Assembly, there are two ways a vacancy can be filled. When twelve months or more remain before the next general election, a special election must be held within the allowable time frame set by law. If fewer than twelve months remain before the next general election, members of the legislative body in the county where the vacancy occurred must vote on a replacement.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Tennessee Const. Art. 2, Sec. 15


About the legislature

The Tennessee General Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the Tennessee House of Representatives, with 99 members, and the Tennessee State Senate, with 33 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2021. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Tennessee State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 5 6
     Republican Party 28 27
Total 33 33
Tennessee House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 26 26
     Republican Party 73 73
Total 99 99

Special elections

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

September 14, 2021

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2021

In 2021, 66 state legislative special elections were held in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2021 special elections

In 2021, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 27 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 23 due to resignation
  • 4 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
  • 12 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 2021. 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 2020, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2021)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 33 33
     Republican Party 33 33
     Independent 0 0
Total 66 66

Flipped seats

In 2021, six 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. ↑ Tennessee Legislature, "Tennessee Constitution," accessed May 22, 2014 (Article II, Section 15)
  2. ↑ Twitter, "Tre Hargett on June 2, 2021," accessed June 7, 2021
  3. ↑ Facebook, "Hamilton County Election Commission on June 2, 2021," accessed June 21, 2021
  4. ↑ WKRN.com, "‘A leader, friend, and brother in Christ:’ Tennessee State Rep. Mike Carter dies after cancer battle," May 16, 2021
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