Texas state legislative special elections, 2022

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2022 State Legislative Special Elections
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In 2022, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Texas State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special election.

House special elections called:

• District 38: May 7
• District 147: May 7

How vacancies are filled in Texas

If there is a vacancy in the Texas State Legislature, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat. A governor's proclamation to hold a special election must be delivered to county judges in the legislative district no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.

The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.

See sources: Texas Elec. Code § 203.001 et. seq.

About the legislature

The Texas State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the Texas House of Representatives, with 150 members, and the Texas State Senate, with 31 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2022. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Texas State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2020	After November 4, 2020
	Democratic Party	12	13
	Republican Party	19	18
Total		31	31

Texas House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2020	After November 4, 2020
	Democratic Party	67	67
	Republican Party	83	83
Total		150	150

Special elections

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

May 7, 2022

Texas House of Representatives District 38

See also: Texas state legislative special elections, 2022 A special general election for Texas House of Representatives District 38 was scheduled to be held on May 7, 2022. The special election was canceled after only one candidate filed for the race. The filing deadline passed on March 7, 2022. The seat became vacant after Eddie Lucio III (D) resigned on January 31, 2022, to "focus on family, friends and business.” The special election was canceled. Erin Gamez (Democrat) won without appearing on the ballot.

Historical data

There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Texas held 36 special elections during the same time period; three per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Texas took place in 2019 when six special elections were held.

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2022

In 2022, 54 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2022 special elections

In 2022, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

• 21 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
• 24 due to resignation
• 9 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

• 36 Democratic seats
• 18 Republican seats

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2022. 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.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2022)
Party		As of Special Election	After Special Election
	Democratic Party	36	36
	Republican Party	18	18
	Independent	0	0
Total		54	54

Flipped seats

In 2022, two seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats flipped from D to R

• Montana State Senate District 39 (November 8)

Seats flipped from R to D

• Michigan House of Representatives District 74 (May 3)

See also

• State legislative special elections, 2021
• State legislative special elections, 2020
• State legislative special elections, 2019
• Texas State Legislature

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)

2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

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Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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