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Washington state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, one special election was called to fill the remainder of an unexpired term for a seat in the Washington State Legislature. Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Washington

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


If there is a vacancy in the Washington State Legislature, the board of county commissioners where the vacant seat is located has the responsibility to select a replacement. The county central committee of the political party that last held the seat must submit a list of three candidates to the board of county commissioners representing the vacant district. If the vacancy occurs in the office of a joint senator or joint representative, the state central committee is responsible for submitting the list of three candidates. A selection must be made within 60 days after the vacancy occurred. The person appointed will hold the seat until his or her successor is elected at the next general or special election in November.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Washington Const. Art. 2, Sec. 15


About the legislature

The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of Washington. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives and the upper Washington State Senate.

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).

Washington State Senate
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 26 29
     Republican Party 23 20
Total 49 49


Washington House of Representatives
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 50 57
     Republican Party 48 41
Total 98 98

Special elections

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

November 3, 2020


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The following state legislative candidates responded to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click candidate names to read their answers.

Washington State Senate District 38

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[4]
  • 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. ↑ Washington Legislature, "Washington Constitution - Section Article II, Section 15," accessed February 8, 2023
  2. ↑ VoteWA, "PRIMARY 2020," accessed June 1, 2020
  3. ↑ The Cascadia Advocate, "June Robinson appointed to Washington State Senate, Emily Wicks to State House in 38th," May 13, 2020
  4. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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