Washington state legislative special elections, 2022

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In 2022, one special election was called to fill a vacant 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


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 body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, with 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 senators.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2022. 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 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 29 29
     Republican Party 20 20
Total 49 49
Washington House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 57 57
     Republican Party 41 41
Total 98 98

Special elections

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

November 8, 2022


Historical data

There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Washington held 16 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Washington took place in 2017 when eight 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, 2022

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:


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

Seats flipped from R to D


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Washington Legislature, "Washington Constitution - Section Article II, Section 15," accessed February 8, 2023
  2. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar 2022," accessed January 18, 2022
  3. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Offices Open for Election," accessed January 18, 2022
  4. ↑ Washington State Department of Corrections, "PRESS RELEASE: State Senator Jeannie Darneille (D-Tacoma) Named Assistant Secretary of Newly Created Women’s Prison Division," September 21, 2021
  5. ↑ Tacoma Daily Index, "Meet Washington’s newest state senator," December 3, 2021
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