Kentucky state legislative special elections, 2023

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In 2023, three special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Kentucky General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Kentucky


If there is a vacancy in the Kentucky General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The governor must call for an election if the General Assembly is not in session. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election if lawmakers are in session.[1] All nominating petitions must be filed at least 49 days before the election.[2]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Kentucky Rev. Stat. § 118.730-§118.770


About the legislature

The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of Kentucky. It is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the upper Kentucky State Senate and the lower Kentucky House of Representatives.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2023. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Kentucky State Senate
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 8 7
     Republican Party 29 31
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 38 38
Kentucky House of Representatives
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 25 20
     Republican Party 75 80
Total 100 100

Special elections

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

February 21, 2023

May 16, 2023

November 7, 2023

Historical data

There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. Kentucky held 27 special elections during the same time period; about two per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Kentucky took place in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2020 when four 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, 2023

In 2023, 53 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2022, an average of 68 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2023 special elections

In 2023, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 10 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 32 due to resignation
  • 9 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 2 due to removal from office

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

As of December 1st, 2024, Republicans controlled 55% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 44.12%. Republicans held a majority in 56 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 41 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 837 1,117 3 16
State houses 2,421 2,944 19 29
Total: 3,258

4,061

22

45


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2023. 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 (2023)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 33 33
     Republican Party 20 20
     Independent 0 0
Total 53 53

Flipped seats

In 2023, four 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. ↑ Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, "Kentucky Revised Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 118.730)
  2. ↑ Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, "Kentucky Revised Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 118.770)
  3. ↑ Andy Beshear Governor, "Executive Order," accessed December 22, 2022
  4. ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "118.770 Time for filing petitions and certificates of nomination for special election of Governor, congressional representative or General Assembly member ," accessed January 5, 2023
  5. ↑ Kentucky Today, "Beshear sets special election for vacated Senate seat Feb. 21," December 19, 2022
  6. ↑ Harlan Enterprise, "Alvarado bids Kentucky Senate farewell, Special election called for May 16 to choose his successor," January 12, 2023
  7. ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Lee Names Dr. Ralph Alvarado Commissioner for TN Department of Health," November 22, 2022
  8. ↑ wkyt.com, "Gov. Beshear announces special election to fill Rep. Lamin Swann’s seat," May 31, 2023
  9. ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with the Kentucky State Board of Elections," June 1, 2023
  10. ↑ Northern Kentucky Tribune, "Lexington State Representative Lamin Swann passes away at 45 following medical emergency," May 15, 2023
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