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Virginia state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Virginia General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Virginia


If there is a vacancy in the Virginia General Assembly, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. If the vacancy occurs while the legislature is in session, the presiding officer of the house in which the vacancy happens must call for a special election. If the vacancy occurs while the legislature is in recess, the governor shall call the special election. Within 30 days of a vacancy, the appropriate officeholder shall issue a writ of election. If an vacancy occurs between December 10 and March 1, the writ must declare the special election date be within 30 days of said vacancy. All special elections must be held promptly. However, no special election can be held if it occurs less than 55 days before any statewide primary or general election or if there are fewer than 75 days remaining in the vacated term.[1][2]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Virginia Code § 24.2-216


About the legislature

The Virginia General Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and the Virginia State Senate, with 40 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2020. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Virginia State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2019 After November 6, 2019
     Democratic Party 19 21
     Republican Party 20 19
     Vacancies 1 0
Total 40 40
Virginia House of Delegates
Party As of November 5, 2019 After November 6, 2019
     Democratic Party 49 55
     Republican Party 51 45
Total 100 100

Special elections

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

November 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. ↑ Virginia Law Library, "§ 24.2-216. Filling vacancies in the General Assembly," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 24.2-216, Virginia Code)
  2. ↑ Virginia Law Library, "§ 24.2-682. Times for special elections," accessed February 16, 2021
  3. ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "How to Run for Virginia House of Delegates, 29th District," accessed August 12, 2020
  4. ↑ The Northern Virginia Daily, "Republican firehouse primary for 29th District House of Delegates seat is today," accessed August 8, 2020
  5. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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