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Louisiana state legislative special elections, 2026

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As of November, one special election has been called to fill a vacant seat in the Louisiana State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Louisiana


If there is a vacancy in the Louisiana State Legislature, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. An election is required if there are six months or more left in the unexpired term. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election no later than 10 days after the vacancy occurred. The presiding officer must determine the dates for the election along with all filing deadlines. The person elected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:601


About the legislature

The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana State Senate.

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).

Louisiana State Senate
Party As of November 18, 2023 After November 19, 2023
     Democratic Party 12 11
     Republican Party 27 28
Total 39 39


Louisiana House of Representatives
Party As of November 18, 2023 After November 19, 2023
     Democratic Party 33 32
     Republican Party 71 73
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 105 105

Special elections

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

March 14, 2026

Historical data

There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. Louisiana held 51 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Louisiana took place in 2019 when seven 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 November 2025, 15 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in 10 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:

  • 4 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 9 due to resignation
  • 2 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 November 7th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.38% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.6%. 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 829 1,119 6 19
State houses 2,391 2,971 20 31
Total: 3,220

4,090

26

50


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 6 0
     Republican Party 9 0
     Independent 0 0
Total 15 0

Flipped seats

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


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Louisiana Election Code," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 18:601, Louisiana Statutes)
  2. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Election Information," accessed November 4, 2025
  3. ↑ Nola.com, "Will Sutton: As New Orleans political heavyweights leave state seats, the scramble is on," accessed November 4, 2025
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