Virginia state legislative special elections, 2022
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In 2022, 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:
- District 89: January 11
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]
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 2021. 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:
January 11, 2022
| Virginia House of Delegates District 89 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Virginia House of Delegates District 89 was called for January 11, 2022. Candidates running for special elections in Virginia are selected through firehouse primaries administered by each political party. The candidate filing deadline was December 22, 2021.[3] The special election was called after Jerrauld Jones (D) announced his resignation from the seat on December 16.[3] General electionSpecial general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 89Jackie Glass defeated Giovanni Dolmo in the special general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 89 on January 11, 2022.
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Historical data
There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Virginia held 38 special elections during the same time period; about three per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Virginia took place in 2014 when nine 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 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
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- Virginia General Assembly
Footnotes
- ↑ Virginia Law Library, "§ 24.2-216. Filling vacancies in the General Assembly," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 24.2-216, Virginia Code)
- ↑ Virginia Law Library, "§ 24.2-682. Times for special elections," accessed February 16, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Special election set for Jan. 11 to fill Virginia House seat," December 17, 2021
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