Minnesota state legislative special elections, 2023
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In 2023, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Minnesota State Legislature. Click here to read more about the special election.
House special elections called:
- District 52B: December 5
How vacancies are filled in Minnesota
Vacancies in the Minnesota State Legislature are filled through election. If there are more than 150 days before the next state general election, and the legislature will not be in session before the results are canvassed, then any vacancy is filled at the next state general election.[1][2]
If the vacancy happens during the legislative session, the governor has five days to issue a writ calling for a special election. The election must take place no more than 35 days after the issuance of the writ. If the legislature is out of session and there are fewer than 150 days before the next state general election, the governor must call for a special election so the winner of the election can take office when the legislature reconvenes.[2][3]
See sources: Minnesota Cons. Art. 4, § 4 and Minnesota Stat. § 204D.19
About the legislature
The Minnesota State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the Minnesota House of Representatives, with 100 members, and the Minnesota State Senate, with 35 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of the state House before and after the November 2018 general election and the state Senate before and after the November 2016 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Minnesota State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 31 | Pending | |
Republican Party | 34 | Pending | |
Independent | 1 | Pending | |
Vacancy | 1 | Pending | |
Total | 67 | 67 |
Minnesota House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 69 | 70 | |
Republican Party | 63 | 64 | |
Independent | 1 | 0 | |
Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 134 | 134 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
December 5, 2023
Minnesota House of Representatives District 52B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52B was called for December 5, 2023. A special primary was called for November 16, 2023. The candidate filing deadline was September 19, 2023.[4] The seat became vacant after incumbent Ruth Richardson (D) resigned on September 1, 2023.[5] General electionSpecial general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52BBianca Ward Virnig defeated Cynthia Lonnquist and Charles Kuchlenz in the special general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52B on December 5, 2023.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52BBianca Ward Virnig defeated Jay Miller, Cynthia Callais, and Chris Whitfield in the special Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52B on November 16, 2023.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52BCynthia Lonnquist advanced from the special Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 52B on November 16, 2023.
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Historical data
There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Minnesota held 21 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Minnesota took place in 2011 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
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:
- 33 Democratic seats
- 20 Republican seats
As of December 3rd, 2024, Republicans controlled 55.08% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 44.02%. 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 | Other | Vacant | ||||||
State senates | 835 | 1,119 | 3 | 16 | ||||
State houses | 2,416 | 2,949 | 19 | 29 | ||||
Total: | 3,251
|
4,068
|
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
- Maine House of Representatives District 45 (June 13)
- Massachusetts State Senate Worcester & Hampshire District (November 8)
Seats flipped from R to D
- Virginia State Senate District 7 (January 10)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 1 (September 19)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- State legislative special elections, 2019
- State legislative special elections, 2018
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- Minnesota State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed February 12, 2021 (Article 4, Section 4)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed February 12, 2021 (Statute 204D.19 (1)-(3))
- ↑ Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed February 12, 2021 (Statute 204B.13)
- ↑ State of Minnesota Executive Department, "Writ of Special Election," September 11, 2023
- ↑ StarTribune, "Ruth Richardson, who leads regional Planned Parenthood, resigns from Minnesota Legislature," accessed September 5, 2023
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