Wisconsin state legislative special elections, 2023

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In 2023, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Wisconsin State Senate.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Wisconsin


If there is a vacancy in the Wisconsin State Legislature, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat.[1] The governor can call for an election when allowed by law. The election cannot be held after February 1 before a spring general election, unless it is held on the same day of the election, which is the first Tuesday in April. The same requirement applies to any election preceding the fall general election (after August 1), with the exception of elections held on the first Tuesday in November.[2] Also, all vacancies must be filled quickly as long the vacancy happened before the second Tuesday in May during an election year.[3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Wisconsin Cons. Art. IV, § 14


About the legislature

The Wisconsin State Legislature is the legislative branch of Wisconsin. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the lower Wisconsin State Assembly and the upper Wisconsin State Senate. It is based in Madison, Wisconsin.

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).

Wisconsin State Senate
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 12 11
     Republican Party 21 22
Total 33 33
Wisconsin State Assembly
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 38 35
     Republican Party 57 64
     Vacancy 4 0
Total 99 99

Special elections

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

April 4, 2023

July 18, 2023

Historical data

There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. Wisconsin held 22 special elections during the same time period; about two per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Wisconsin took place in 2011 and 2018 when five 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. ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 17.19 (1), Wisconsin Statutes)
  2. ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50, Wisconsin Statutes)
  3. ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50(4)-(d), Wisconsin Statutes)
  4. ↑ Urban Milwaukee, "Sen. Alberta Darling Is Retiring," November 26, 2022
  5. ↑ Wisconsin Examiner, "Knodl to win tight race for Senate seat, securing Republican supermajority," April 5, 2023
  6. ↑ Governor Tony Evers, "Gov. Evers Orders Special Election in the 8th Senate District," accessed December 7, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The New York Times, "Democrats Meddle Again in a G.O.P. Primary, This Time Down-Ballot,” February 14, 2023
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Twitter "Jake Curtis," February 10, 2023
  9. ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Rep. Janel Brandtjen, election denier who backed Robin Vos challenger, barred from Assembly GOP caucus," November 16, 2022
  10. ↑ PBS Wisconsin, "Brandtjen kicked out of Wisconsin Assembly Republican closed caucus," November 16, 2022
  11. ↑ State Representative Janel Brandtjen, "Brandtjen Responds to her Removal from Caucus," November 16, 2022
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The State of Wisconsin Office of the Governor, "EXECUTIVE ORDER #198," May 5, 2023
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