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Rhode Island state legislative special elections, 2025

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As of October, one special election has been called to fill a vacant seat in the Rhode Island General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Rhode Island


If there is a vacancy in the Rhode Island General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The secretary of state must call for an election to be held anywhere from 70 to 90 days after the vacancy occurred. No election can be held if the vacancy happens after the first Monday in February during an election year. The person elected to fill the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Rhode Island Gen. Laws § 17-3-6


About the legislature

The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 Representatives and the Rhode Island State Senate with 38 Senators.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2025. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Rhode Island State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 31 34
     Republican Party 5 4
     Vacancy 2 0
Total 38 38
Rhode Island House of Representatives
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 65 64
     Republican Party 9 10
     Independent 1 1
Total 75 75

Special elections

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

August 5, 2025

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2025

As of October 2025, 92 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 22 states. One special election has also been called to fill a vacancy in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2025 special elections

In 2025, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 38 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 25 due to resignation
  • 14 due to redistricting
  • 14 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 1 due to the officeholder leaving at term end


Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:


As of October 16th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.4% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.64%. 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 831 1,120 5 17
State houses 2,392 2,972 20 29
Total: 3,223

4,092

25

46


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2025. 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 (2025)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 50 26
     Republican Party 42 21
     Independent 0 1
Total 92 48

Flipped seats

In 2025, as of August 26, four seats have changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.


Seats that changed from D to I

Seats that changed from R to D



See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17 Elections; Chapter 3 General Assembly Members; § 17-3-6. Vacancy in general assembly — Special elections," accessed February 3, 2023
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rhode Island Current, "R.I. elections board sets dates for Senate District 4 special election," May 6, 2025
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