Texas state legislative special elections, 2024
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In 2024, three special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Texas State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
House special elections called:
- District 2: January 30 (runoff)
- District 56: November 5
Senate special elections called:
- District 15: May 4
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.[1] 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.[2]
The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.[3]
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 2024. 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 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 13 | 12 | |
Republican Party | 18 | 19 | |
Total | 31 | 31 |
Texas House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 65 | 64 | |
Republican Party | 83 | 86 | |
Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 150 | 150 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
January 30, 2024
Texas House of Representatives District 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special general election for Texas House of Representatives District 2 was called for November 7, 2023. A general runoff election took place on January 30, 2024.[4] The filing deadline passed on September 6, 2023.[5] The seat became vacant after Bryan Slaton (R) resigned on May 8, 2023, following a report released by the House General Investigative Committee finding that Slaton engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a staff member.[6] General runoff electionSpecial general runoff election for Texas House of Representatives District 2Jill Dutton defeated Brent Money in the special general runoff election for Texas House of Representatives District 2 on January 30, 2024.
General electionSpecial general election for Texas House of Representatives District 2The following candidates ran in the special general election for Texas House of Representatives District 2 on November 7, 2023.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
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May 4, 2024
Texas State Senate District 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special general election for Texas State Senate District 15 was called for May 4, 2024. The filing deadline passed on March 4, 2024.[7] The seat became vacant after John Whitmire (D) resigned following his election as Mayor of Houston. General electionSpecial general election for Texas State Senate District 15Molly Cook defeated Jarvis Johnson in the special general election for Texas State Senate District 15 on May 4, 2024.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
|
November 5, 2024
Texas House of Representatives District 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Texas House of Representatives District 56 was called for November 5, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was August 22, 2024.[8] The seat became vacant after Charles Anderson (R) resigned on August 15, 2024.[9] General electionSpecial general election for Texas House of Representatives District 56Pat Curry defeated Erin Shank in the special general election for Texas House of Representatives District 56 on November 5, 2024.
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Historical data
There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. Texas held 38 special elections during the same time period; about 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
In 2024, 52 state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2024 in 22 states. Between 2011 and 2023, an average of 71 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2024 special elections
In 2024, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 31 due to resignation
- 11 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 4 due to the death of the incumbent
- 6 due to redistricting
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 25 Democratic seats
- 27 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2024. 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 (2024) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 26 | 29 | |
Republican Party | 26 | 23 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 52 | 52 |
List of seats
In 2024, five seats changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats that changed from D to R
Seats that changed from R to D
- Florida House of Representatives District 35 (January 16)
- Alabama House of Representatives District 10 (March 26)
- North Dakota State Senate District 9 (November 5)
- North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (November 5)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- State legislative special elections, 2019
- Texas State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3))
- ↑ Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3)(b)-(c))
- ↑ Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 2.055)
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "PROCLAMATION From the Office of the Texas Secretary of State," September 19, 2023
- ↑ Office of the Texas Governor Greg Abbott, "Governor Abbott Sets Special Election For Texas House District 2," May 30, 2023
- ↑ USA Today, "Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns after giving alcohol to, having sex with 19-year-old aide," accessed May 8, 2023
- ↑ Office of the Texas Governor Greg Abbott, "Governor Abbott Orders Special Election To Be Held In Senate District 15," January 18, 2024
- ↑ Office of the Texas Governor, "Governor Abbott Proclaims Special Election For Texas House District 56," August 19, 2024
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Republican state Rep. Doc Anderson resigns, Abbott calls special election," August 15, 2024
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