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Virginia state legislative special elections, 2024

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In 2024, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Virginia State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House of Delegates special elections called:

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 Virginia 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 boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2024. 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 7, 2023 After November 8, 2023
     Democratic Party 46 51
     Republican Party 48 49
     Vacancy 6 0
Total 100 100

Special elections

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

January 9, 2024

Historical data

There were 955 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2023. Virginia held 44 special elections during the same time period; about three per year on average. 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, 2024

In 2024, 52 state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2024 in 22 states. Between 2011 and 2023, an average of 71 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2024 special elections

In 2024, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 31 due to resignation
  • 11 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 4 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 6 due to redistricting


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 2024. 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 (2024)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 26 29
     Republican Party 26 23
     Independent 0 0
Total 52 52

List of seats

In 2024, five seats changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats that changed from D to R

Seats that changed from R to D



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. ↑ Governor of Virginia, "Governor Glenn Youngkin Sets Special Election for 48th House District," accessed December 15, 2023
  4. ↑ Cardinal News, "Del. Adams announces he’ll resign from House; Youngkin sets special election for Jan. 9," December 12, 2023
  5. ↑ Governor of Virginia, "Governor Glenn Youngkin Sets Special Election for 9th Senate District," accessed December 15, 2023
  6. ↑ Cardinal News, "Sen. Ruff to resign for health reasons; Youngkin sets special election for Jan. 9," December 15, 2023
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