Tennessee state legislative special elections, 2023

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In 2023, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Tennessee State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called

How vacancies are filled in Tennessee


If there is a vacancy in the Tennessee General Assembly, there are two ways a vacancy can be filled. When twelve months or more remain before the next general election, a special election must be held within the allowable time frame set by law. If fewer than twelve months remain before the next general election, members of the legislative body in the county where the vacancy occurred must vote on a replacement.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Tennessee Const. Art. 2, Sec. 15


About the legislature

The Tennessee State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the Tennessee House of Representatives, with 99 members, and the Tennessee State Senate, with 33 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections in 2022. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Tennessee State Senate
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 6 6
     Republican Party 27 27
Total 33 33
Tennessee House of Representatives
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 24 23
     Republican Party 71 75
     Independent 2 0
     Vacancy 2 1
Total 99 99

Special elections

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

March 14, 2023

August 3, 2023

September 14, 2023

Historical data

There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. Tennessee held 13 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Tennessee took place in 2011 and 2019 when three 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. ↑ Tennessee Legislature, "Tennessee Constitution," accessed May 22, 2014 (Article II, Section 15)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, "WRIT OF ELECTION STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 86," accessed November 30, 2022
  3. ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, "Tennessee House District 86," accessed November 30, 2022
  4. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Oldest Tennessee Lawmaker, Rep. Barbara Cooper, Dies at 93," October 26, 2022
  5. ↑ E.H. Ford Mortuary, "State Representative Barbara Ward Cooper," October 26, 2022
  6. ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, "Special Election Information," accessed April 27, 2023
  7. ↑ AP News, "Tennessee Republican lawmaker resigns after ethics violation," April 20, 2023
  8. ↑ Davidson County Election Commission, "2023 Davidson County Election Calendar," accessed April 20, 2023
  9. ↑ The Hill, "Tennessee House expels two Democratic lawmakers after gun violence protest," April 6, 2023
  10. ↑ The New York Times, "Nashville Council Votes to Return Expelled Lawmaker to House," April 10, 2023
  11. ↑ Shelby County Election Commission, "Democratic and Republican Special Primary Election—Thursday, June 15, 2023," accessed April 20, 2023
  12. ↑ The Hill, "Justin Pearson reinstated to Tennessee state House after expulsion," accessed April 12, 2023
  13. ↑ Davidson County Election Commission, "2023 Davidson County Election Calendar," accessed June 9, 2023
  14. ↑ Twitter, "Politics1.com on June 4, 2023," accessed June 4, 2023
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