Virginia state legislative special elections, 2026

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As of December, one special election has been called to fill a vacant seat in the Virginia General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate 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 General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Virginia State Senate, with 40 members. The House of Delegates is presided over by a speaker of the house, while the State Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virginia.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2026. 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 7, 2023 After November 8, 2023
     Democratic Party 22 21
     Republican Party 18 19
Total 40 40


Virginia House of Delegates
Party As of November 4, 2025 After November 4, 2025
Democratic Party 51 64
Republican Party 48 36
Other 0 0
Vacancies 1 0
Total 100 100

Special elections

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

January 6, 2026

Historical data

There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. Virginia held 46 special elections during the same time period. 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

See also: State legislative special elections, 2026

As of December 2025, 24 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in 14 states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2026 special elections

In 2026, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

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

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

As of December 11th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.33% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.46%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 827 1,120 6 20
State houses 2,383 2,967 21 42
Total: 3,210

4,087

27

62


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2026. 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 have been held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2026)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 13 0
     Republican Party 11 0
     Independent 0 0
Total 24 0

Flipped seats

In 2026, as of December, no seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.


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. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Senate of Virginia, "Writ of election," accessed December 8, 2025
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