Special elections to the 116th United States Congress (2019-2020)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
117th
115th
CongressLogo.png
Special elections to the 116th Congress, 2019-2020
U.S. Senate
Arizona
Georgia
U.S. House
CA-25GA-05GA-05 (runoff)MD-07NY-27NC-03NC-09PA-12WI-07
Regular election coverage
Ballotpedia Elections Coverage
2020 Congressional Elections
2020 U.S. Senate Elections
2020 U.S. House Elections


Special elections to the United States Congress are required in the event of vacancies. This page is a compilation of all special elections to the 116th Congress in 2019-2020.

Eight special elections for the U.S. House of Representatives occurred:

Two special election for the U.S. Senate occurred:

Three of these races resulted in partisan flips. The special elections for U.S. Senate in Arizona and Georgia resulted in Democratic gains, and the special election for California's 25th Congressional District resulted in a Republican gain.

Special elections to Congress occur when a legislator resigns, dies, or is removed from office. Depending on the specific state laws governing vacancies, a state can either hold an election within the same calendar year or wait until the next regularly scheduled election.


Special election results

House

Results of special elections to the 116th Congress (House)
Race Election date Incumbent Winner Election MOV Previous election MOV 2016 Presidential election MOV[1]
Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District May 21, 2019 Republican Party Tom Marino Republican Party Fred Keller R+36 R+32 R+37
North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District September 10, 2019 Republican Party Walter Jones[2] Republican Party Greg Murphy R+24 R+100 R+24
North Carolina's 9th Congressional District[3] September 10, 2019 Republican Party Robert Pittenger Republican Party Dan Bishop R+2 R+16 R+11
Maryland's 7th Congressional District April 28, 2020 Democratic Party Elijah Cummings Democratic Party Kweisi Mfume D+49 D+55 D+55
California's 25th Congressional District May 12, 2020 Democratic Party Katie Hill Republican Party Mike Garcia R+12 D+9 D+7
Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District May 12, 2020 Republican Party Sean Duffy Republican Party Tom Tiffany R+14 R+21 R+20
New York's 27th Congressional District June 23, 2020 Republican Party Chris Collins Republican Party Christopher Jacobs R+5 R+0.3 R+25
Georgia's 5th Congressional District December 1, 2020 Democratic Party John Lewis Democratic Party Kwanza Hall D+8[4] D+100 D+73

Senate

Results of special elections to the 116th Congress (Senate)
Race Election date Incumbent Winner Election MOV Previous election MOV 2016 Presidential election MOV
U.S. Senate in Arizona November 3, 2020 Republican Party Martha McSally[5] Democratic Party Mark Kelly D+3 D+2 R+4
U.S. Senate in Georgia January 5, 2021 (runoff) Republican Party Kelly Loeffler[6] Democratic Party Raphael Warnock D+2.1 R+14 R+5

Special elections that resulted in a partisan flip

Special elections to the 116th Congress that resulted in a partisan flip are presented below in chronological order of the general election.

California's 25th Congressional District

Rep. Katie Hill (D)
See also: California's 25th Congressional District special election, 2020

Mike Garcia (R) won the May 12, 2020, special general election for California's 25th Congressional District after Christy Smith (D) conceded on May 13.[7] At the time Smith conceded, Garcia had received 56% of the vote to Smith's 44%.

Smith advanced from a field of 12 candidates in the March 3 top-two primary with 35.8% of the vote while Garcia advanced with 25.1%. The special election was called to fill the vacancy left by Katie Hill (D), who resigned her seat on November 1, 2019, amid allegations of extramarital relationships with staffers.[8] Smith and Garcia also ran in the regular election on November 3, 2020.

Smith said she would "work with both parties to make healthcare affordable, protect people with pre-existing conditions, and lower drug costs."[9] She also said she supported public health insurance for anyone who wants it.[10] Garcia campaigned on supporting the armed forces. He said he would "make it a priority to ensure our men and women in uniform have the funding and tools necessary to keep America safe."[11] Garcia also said he supported cutting taxes to grow the economy.[11]

In the 2018 general election, Hill (D) defeated then-incumbent Steve Knight (R) 54% to 46%. In 2016, Knight defeated Bryan Caforio (D) 53% to 47%. The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was even, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were within one percentage point of the national average.[12]

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order providing for all-mail voting in the May 12 special election.[13] For more information on changes to election dates and procedures in response to the coronavirus, click here.

This race was one of 89 congressional races that were decided by 10 percent or less in 2020.

U.S. Senate in Arizona

Sen. John McCain (R)
See also: United States Senate special election in Arizona, 2020

Mark Kelly (D) defeated incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R) and seventeen write-in candidates in the November 3, 2020, special election for United States Senate in Arizona. Kelly filled the rest of the 2017-2022 term former Sen. John McCain (R) won in 2016.

In the 2018 general election, McSally ran for Arizona’s other Senate seat, losing to Kyrsten Sinema (D) 47.6% to 50.0%. After the election, interim Sen. Jon Kyl (R) announced his resignation and Gov. Doug Ducey (R) announced McSally as Kyl's replacement in December 2018.[14] Mitt Romney (R) won Arizona in the 2012 presidential election, 54% to 45%. Donald Trump (R) won the state, 48% to 45%, in 2016.

According to quartlerly campaign finance reports released on Oct. 14, this was the third-most-expensive U.S. Senate race in the country with Kelly raising $90,000,000, followed by McSally with $57,000,000.[15] Both the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee targeted this race.[16][17]

Write-in candidates included Democrats Mohammad Arif, Adam Chilton, Perry Kapadia, and Buzz Stewart and Republicans Edward Davida, John Schiess, Debbie Simmons, and Patrick Thomas. Third-party write in candidates included Nicholas Glenn (Independent Republican), Matthew Dorchester (Libertarian), and Joshua Rodriguez (Unity). Independent or unaffiliated write-in candidates included Christopher Beckett (I), William Decker (I), Mathew Haupt (I), Frank Saenz (I), Benjamin Rodriguez (I), and Jim Stevens (None).

The outcome of this race affected partisan control of the U.S. Senate. Thirty-five of 100 seats were up for election, including two special elections. At the time of the election, Republicans had a 53-45 majority over Democrats in the Senate. Independents who caucus with the Democrats held the two remaining seats. Republicans faced greater partisan risk in the election. They defended 23 seats while Democrats defended 12. Both parties had two incumbents representing states the opposite party's presidential nominee won in 2016.

U.S. Senate in Georgia

See also: United States Senate special election in Georgia, 2020 (Loeffler vs. Warnock runoff)

Raphael Warnock (D) defeated incumbent Kelly Loeffler (R) in the special runoff election for U.S. Senate from Georgia on January 5, 2021.

This election was held to fill the remaining two years of the six-year term that Johnny Isakson (R) was elected to in 2016.[18] Isakson resigned at the end of 2019, citing his health.[19] Gov. Brian Kemp (R) appointed Loeffler to the seat, and she was sworn in on January 6, 2020.[20]

With Warnock's win in the special runoff election and Jon Ossoff's (D) win in the regular runoff election, Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate. Prior to the runoffs, Republicans had secured 50 seats and Democrats had secured 48 seats (including among them two seats held by independents who caucus with Democrats). As a result of the runoffs, Democrats and Republicans split the chamber 50-50, with the vice president (starting January 20, 2021, Democrat Kamala Harris) having the tie-breaking vote.

Warnock began serving as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in 2005. He emphasized his background growing up with 11 siblings. Warnock said at the runoff debate, "I’ve been fighting for access to affordable healthcare, I’ve been fighting for voting rights, I’ve been fighting for essential workers, ordinary people, because I know what it’s like to be an ordinary person." Warnock said Loeffler downplayed the pandemic publicly while selling stocks following a COVID-19 briefing for senators and that she would not protect healthcare for people with pre-existing conditions.[21]

Loeffler became co-owner of the WNBA team Atlanta Dream in 2011. She said of Democrats and Warnock at a runoff debate, "Chuck Schumer said it best, 'Now we take Georgia, then we change America.' They would increase our taxes, open our borders, socialize our healthcare, and my opponent, radical liberal Raphael Warnock, is his agent of change." Loeffler said she lived the American dream, growing up on a farm, waitressing her way through college, and becoming a businesswoman. She said she created jobs in the state and was "the only candidate qualified to help rebuild our economy and get past this pandemic."[21]

Click here for more on candidates' key messages, backgrounds, and campaign themes.

In Georgia, a general election advances to a runoff between the two top finishers if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. Twenty candidates were on the special election ballot for U.S. Senate in Georgia on November 3, 2020. Eight Democrats, six Republicans, four independents, one Green Party candidate, and one Libertarian ran. Warnock received 33% of the vote to Loeffler's 26% in the November election.

Georgia's last Democratic senator, Zell Miller, left office in 2005. As of 2020, Republicans had a trifecta in the state—holding the governor's office and controlling both chambers of the state legislature—since 2005. And Republicans had a triplex—holding the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state—since 2011.

Joe Biden won the presidential election in Georgia in 2020—the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. In 2018, Democrat Stacey Abrams lost the gubernatorial election to Brian Kemp (R) 48.8% to 50.2%.

Heading into the November 3, 2020, elections, Republicans held 53 seats in the U.S. Senate, with Democrats holding 45 and independents who caucus with Democrats holding the remaining two. Thirty-five of the 100 seats were up in 2020, including two special elections. Twenty-three of those seats were held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats, giving Republicans greater partisan risk in 2020.

Special elections that did not change partisan control

Special elections to the 116th Congress that did not result in a partisan flip are presented below in chronological order of the general election.

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District

Rep. Tom Marino (R)
See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District special election, 2019

State Rep. Fred Keller (R) defeated college professor Marc Friedenberg (D) in a May 21, 2019, special election to fill the vacant seat representing Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Keller received 68 percent of the vote while Friedenberg received 32 percent.

The vacancy occurred following the resignation of former Rep. Tom Marino (R) on January 23, 2019.[22] He beat Friedenberg by 32 points in November 2018. Donald Trump (R) won the district by 36 points in the 2016 presidential election.

This district was expected to be a Republican hold. G. Terry Madonna, a pollster in Pennsylvania, said that "[b]arring something that emerges to damage the Republican candidate, a Republican victory is virtually assured."[23]

In 2018, Democrats picked up three Pennsylvania U.S. House districts in special elections: Conor Lamb (D) won in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District in March 2018, while Mary Gay Scanlon (D) won Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District and Susan Wild (D) won Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District in November 2018. At the time of this special election, Pennsylvania's U.S. House delegation had nine Democrats and eight Republicans.

There were 10 special elections called during the 116th Congress. Eight were called for seats in the U.S. House, and two for seats in the U.S. Senate. From the 113th Congress to the 115th Congress, 40 special elections were held. For more data on historical congressional special elections, click here.

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District is located in central and northern Pennsylvania and includes portions of Bradford, Centre, Clinton, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, and Wyoming counties.[24]

Rather than hold a primary, party committees nominated their candidates for the race.[25][26] Keller was selected at his party's convention from a field of 14 candidates, receiving the nomination after four rounds of voting.[27] Friedenberg was the only Democratic candidate to declare his candidacy, and he received his party's nomination by default.[28]

North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Walter Jones (R)
See also: North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District special election, 2019

Greg Murphy (R) defeated Allen Thomas (D), Tim Harris (L), and Greg Holt (Constitution Party) in the special election for North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on September 10, 2019. The district's former incumbent, Rep. Walter Jones (R), died February 10, 2019.[29]

Murphy, who defeated Joan Perry in the Republican primary runoff, campaigned on his support of President Donald Trump (R) and described himself as a consistent conservative. Thomas won the Democratic primary and emphasized economic development and improving access to healthcare. Harris stated that he was "running for Congress to fight for an end to foreign wars, an end to trade wars, an end to terrible domestic policy and for fiscal sanity."[30] Holt ran on a promise to "get back to Constitutional Limited Government."[31]

The Republican and Democratic primaries were held on April 30, 2019. A Republican primary runoff occurred July 9, 2019.[32] Because a primary runoff was necessary, the general election was moved to September 10.[33][34][35]

North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District is located in the eastern portion of the state and includes all or parts of Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Tyrrell, Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Pamlico, Carteret, Pitt, Craven, Onslow, Jones, Lenoir, and Greene counties.[36] In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won the district with 60.55% of the vote.[37]

Democrats held a 235-197 majority in the House of Representatives at the time of the September 10 general election.

There were 10 special elections called during the 116th Congress. Eight were called for seats in the U.S. House, and two for seats in the U.S. Senate. From the 113th Congress to the 115th Congress, 40 special elections were held. For more data on historical congressional special elections, click here.

North Carolina's 9th Congressional District

See also: North Carolina's 9th Congressional District special election, 2019

State Sen. Dan Bishop (R) defeated Dan McCready (D), Jeff Scott (L), and Allen Smith (G) in the special election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District on September 10, 2019.

Bishop described himself as a "pro-life, pro-gun, pro-wall" conservative and said McCready would fall in line with Democrats in Congress such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who Bishop called radical socialists. Bishop said his record in the state legislature included helping pass a constitutional amendment requiring voter ID in 2018, lowering income taxes, and opposing sanctuary cities.

McCready campaigned on a promise to "always put country over party," saying he would pursue bipartisan legislation on healthcare, taxes, and education. McCready emphasized his plan to lower prescription drug prices. He criticized Bishop's sponsorship of House Bill 2, a law that required individuals to use bathrooms or changing rooms in schools and public agencies that corresponded with the sex on their birth certificates. The law was repealed in 2017.[38]

"The messages that Dan Bishop and Dan McCready are using will be mirrored by the messages of the national parties, ultimately, in 2020," North Carolina political strategist Lawrence Shaheen told the Washington Examiner.[39]

The special election saw more than $10.7 million in satellite spending, the second-highest total for a U.S. House special election. Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election in 2017 saw $27 million spent by satellite groups.[40]

McCready was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Bishop won the Republican primary against nine other candidates.[41] Click here for coverage of the primary.

The state board of elections called a new election following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in the 2018 race. Unofficial returns from the 2018 election showed Mark Harris (R) leading McCready, who was also the Democratic candidate in 2018, by 905 votes. Harris said he did not run again in 2019 due to health issues. Click here for more information on the aftermath of the 2018 election.[42]

North Carolina's 9th Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state and includes all or parts of Mecklenburg, Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson, Bladen, and Cumberland counties.[43] Donald Trump (R) won the 2016 presidential election in the district by 12 percentage points.[44]

Maryland's 7th Congressional District

See also: Maryland's 7th Congressional District special election, 2020

Kweisi Mfume (D) defeated Kimberly Klacik (R) in the special general election for Mayland’s 7th Congressional District and filled the vacancy left by Elijah Cummings (D), who died in October 2019.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Maryland Board of Elections authorized the sending of mail-in ballots to all voters. Although election officials encouraged voters to cast their ballots by mail, there were three in-person voting centers open for anyone unable to cast a mail ballot (such as residents without mailing addresses or voters requiring special assistance at the polls).[45] Ballots were quarantined for 24 hours after they were received before they were counted.

Going into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the 7th Congressional District since 1953 when the seat was re-added to Maryland's district map after the 1950 census. Between 1843 and 1953, the size of Maryland's congressional delegation fluctuated between five and six members.[46] In the 2018 general election, Cummings defeated Richmond Davis (R) 76% to 21%. The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+26, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 26 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 7th Congressional District the 41st-most Democratic nationally.[47]


Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District

Rep. Sean Duffy (R)
See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District special election, 2020

Tom Tiffany (R) defeated Tricia Zunker (D) in the special election for Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District on May 12, 2020. Tiffany received 57% of the vote to Zunker's 43%.

The special election was called to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Sean Duffy (R), who left office in September 2019 in anticipation of the birth of a child with health complications.[48]

During his daily COVID-19 briefing on April 29, Gov. Tony Evers (D) stated that no changes would be made to the special election in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[49]

Tiffany, a state senator, defeated Jason Church in the February 18 Republican primary by a margin of 15 percentage points. Zunker, a member of the Wausau School Board and associate justice on the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court, defeated Lawrence Dale in the Democratic primary with 89% of the vote to Dale's 11%.

Duffy won his last election in 2018 by a margin of about 22 percentage points. Before Duffy took office in 2011, former Rep. Dave Obey (D) held the 7th District seat for 42 years. The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+8, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. The 7th District includes or overlaps with six pivot counties, counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012: Jackson, Juneau, Forest, Lincoln, Price, and Sawyer.

To remain in office past January 2021, Tiffany needed to win a partisan primary on August 11, 2020, and the district's regular election on November 3, 2020.[50] The filing deadline for the regular election was June 1, 2020.

Evers originally scheduled the special election for January 27, 2020, but moved the date to May 12 due to conflicting state and federal election laws.[51]

As of May 2020, nine special elections had been called during the 116th Congress, seven of those for seats in the U.S. House. The Democratic Party was in the majority in the United States House of Representatives, holding 233 seats to Republicans' 196 seats, with one seat held by an independent, and five vacancies. All 435 seats in the House were up for election on November 3.

New York's 27th Congressional District

Rep. Chris Collins (R)
See also: New York's 27th Congressional District special election, 2020

Christopher Jacobs (R) won a special election to fill the seat representing New York's 27th Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2020. Jacobs defeated Nate McMurray (D), Duane Whitmer (L), and Michael Gammariello (G) in the June 23, 2020, special general election. The filing deadline was February 24, 2020. Ballots were scheduled to be certified on March 6, 2020.[52]

New York state law prohibits absentee ballots from being counted until the beginning of the canvassing period, which starts one week after election day. In a June 18, 2020, article, Decision Desk HQ projected that several high-profile New York primaries would not be possible to call until June 30, 2020, at the earliest, owing to a higher rate of absentee ballot requests during the coronavirus pandemic.[53] On June 30, 2020, the New York City Board of Elections announced it would begin counting absentee ballots from Staten Island on July 6 and from the other boroughs on July 8.[54]

This election was originally scheduled on April 28, 2020. On March 28, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) postponed New York’s presidential preference primary and special elections to June 23, 2020, amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.[55]

The special election filled the vacancy left by Chris Collins (R), who resigned on October 1, 2019, after pleading guilty to conspiracy and making false statements in an insider trading case. For more information, click here.[56]

Georgia's 5th Congressional District

Rep. John Lewis (D)
See also: Georgia's 5th Congressional District special election, 2020

A special election for Georgia's 5th Congressional District was held September 29, 2020. Former incumbent Rep. John Lewis (D) died on July 17, 2020. On July 27, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) issued an executive order scheduling the election. Kwanza Hall (D) defeated Robert Franklin (D) in a December 1, 2020, special runoff election. Robert Franklin (D) and Kwanza Hall (D) advanced to a December 1, 2020 runoff election. Hall received 32% to Franklin's 28% Mable Thomas (D) received 19% and Keisha Sean Waites (D) received 12%. No other candidate received more than 10% of the vote. Franklin, Hall, Barrington Martin II (D), Thomas, and Waites received the most media coverage. The Democratic and Republican nominees for the November election in Georgia’s 5th, Nikema Williams (D) and Angela Stanton King (R), opted to not run in the special election.[57]

The winner of this race served the remainder of John Lewis’ Congressional term through January 3, 2021. Because no candidate received at least 50% of the vote, Franklin and Hall advanced to a December 1st runoff election, which Hall won.[58] If a candidate won the primary outright, their time in Congress would last 96 days, and if the election advanced to a runoff, their tenure in Congress would last 33 days.

Robert Franklin is a professor of theology at Emory University and was on the Georgia Democratic Party's shortlist for the replacement nominee for the November election in Georgia's 5th.[58] Kwanza Hall is a former member of the Atlanta City Council who, leading up to the election, was managing director at Entrepreneurial Enterprises.[59] Barrington Martin II is an educator who ran in the June primary against John Lewis, where he garnered 12.4% of the vote. Leading up to the election, Mable Thomas had served as a representative in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2013. Keisha Sean Waites is a former representative in the Georgia House of Representatives and, previous to this election, ran for the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, garnering 25.5% of the vote.[58]

Steven Muhammad (I) and Chase Oliver (Libertarian) also ran.

Historical election data

Special elections, 2013-2020

Fifty special elections to the United States Congress were held during the 113th through 116th Congresses. During that time, special elections were called for 16 seats vacated by Democrats and 34 vacated by Republicans.

The table below details how many congressional seats changed parties as the result of a special election between 2013 and 2020. The numbers on the left side of the table reflect how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the numbers on the right side of the table show how many vacant seats each party won in special elections.

Congressional special election vacancies and results, 113th Congress to 116th Congress
Congress Total elections held Vacancies before elections Seats held after elections Net change
Democratic Party Democrats Republican Party Republicans Democratic Party Democrats Republican Party Republicans
116th Congress 10 3 7 4 6 +1D, -1R
115th Congress 17 4 13 8 9 +4 D, -4 R
114th Congress 7 2 5 2 5 No change
113th Congress 16 7 9 7 9 No change
Averages 13 4 7 5 7 N/A


U.S. Senate special election partisan change from special elections, 113th Congress to 116th Congress
Party As of special election After special election
Democratic Party Democrats 4 7
Republican Party Republicans 6 3
Total 10 10
U.S. House special election partisan change from special elections, 113th Congress to 116th Congress
Party As of special election After special election
Democratic Party Democrats 12 14
Republican Party Republicans 28 26
Total 40 40


Special elections, 1986-2012

The table below presents the results of special elections to Congress from 1986 to 2012. Contact Ballotpedia at editor@ballotpedia.org for access to earlier data.

Results of special elections to Congress (1986-2012)
Election cycle Total special elections U.S. House elections Seats changing partisan control U.S. Senate elections Seats changing partisan control
2011-2012 11 11 None None None
2009-2010 15 10 3 (2 Democratic gains; 1 Republican gain) 5 2 (all Republican gains)
2007-2008 14 12 3 (2 Republican gains; 1 Democratic gain) 2 None
2005-2006 12 12 3 (all Democratic gains) None None
2003-2004 6 6 None None None
2001-2002 6 5 2 (all Democratic gains) 1 1 (Republican gain)
1999-2000 9 8 1 (Republican gain) 1 1 (Democratic gain)
1997-1998 3 3 None None None
1995-1996 11 9 1 (Republican gain) 2 1 (Democratic gain)
1993-1994 9 6 1 (Republican gain) 3 3 (all Republican gains)
1991-1992 10 7 2 (all Republican gains) 3 1 (Democratic gain)
1989-1990 10 8 1 (Democratic gain) 2 None
1987-1988 12 12 3 (2 Democratic gains; 1 Republican gain) None None
1985-1986 8 8 1 (Republican gain) None None
Total 136 117 21 (11 Democratic gains; 10 Republican gains) 19 9 (6 Republican gains; 3 Democratic gains)

Analysis of federal elections, 2020

See also: Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020


All 435 U.S. House seats, 34 U.S. Senate seats, and the presidency were up for regular elections in the 2020 elections. At the time of the election, the president and a majority of members of the U.S. Senate were Republicans, while a majority of members of the U.S. House were Democrats.

Election analysis

Presidential election

Congressional elections


See also


Footnotes

  1. Daily Kos, "2008, 2012, & 2016 Presidential Election Results by District," accessed February 1, 2019
  2. Jones died on February 10, 2019.
  3. The 9th District was not filled in the 2018 elections due to allegations of electoral fraud. In February 2019, the North Carolina Board of Elections called for a new election to fill the vacant seat.
  4. This election was between two Democrats
  5. In December 2018, McSally was appointed to fill the Senate seat previously held by John McCain (R), who passed away in August 2018. Jon Kyl (R) was first appointed to the seat and held it from September 2018 to December 2018. The 2020 special election decided who would serve out the rest of the six-year term McCain was elected to in 2016.
  6. Isakson announced his resignation effective December 31, 2019. The 2020 special election decided who would serve out the rest of the six-year term Isakson was elected to in 2016.
  7. Washington Post, "Republican Mike Garcia wins Democratic-held House seat in California in a boost for GOP," May 13, 2020
  8. CBS News, "Katie Hill, California congresswoman, resigns amid allegations of affairs with staff," October 27, 2019
  9. The Hill, "California Democrat Christy Smith launches first TV ad in bid for Katie Hill's former House seat," accessed January 28, 2020
  10. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named smithsite
  11. 11.0 11.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named garciasite
  12. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  13. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named executiveorder
  14. AZCentral, "Martha McSally will be appointed to John McCain's Senate seat," December 18, 2018
  15. Federal Election Commission, "Arizona - Senate," accessed September 22, 2020
  16. DSCC, "DSCC Endorses Mark Kelly in Arizona Senate Campaign," April 19, 2020
  17. Federal Election Commission, "NRSC," accessed September 22, 2020
  18. FiveThirtyEight, "Georgia Will Now Have Two Senate Elections In 2020," August 29, 2019
  19. Roll Call, "Sen. Johnny Isakson to resign at the end of 2019," August 28, 2019
  20. The Washington Post, "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) names Kelly Loeffler to fill Senate seat in move that could set up clash with Trump," December 4, 2019
  21. 21.0 21.1 Rev.com, "Georgia U.S. Senate runoff Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock debate in Atlanta (LIVE) USA TODAY," December 6, 2020
  22. Philly.com, "Rep. Tom Marino from Pa.'s 12th congressional district to resign," January 23, 2019
  23. Newsmax, "Signs Point to Republican Keeping Open House Seat in PA-12," March 4, 2019
  24. Pennsylvania Courts, "Composite Listing of Congressional Districts," accessed April 12, 2018
  25. The Express, "Centre requests special election on ‘primary’ day," January 24, 2019
  26. Politics PA, "PA12: Special Election To Replace Marino Set For May 21," January 24, 2019
  27. Lewistown Sentinel, "Fred Keller selected as GOP nominee," March 4, 2019
  28. WITF, "Democrats pick candidate to fill Marino's term in US House," February 12, 2019
  29. Roll Call, "GOP Rep. Walter Jones dies at 76," February 10, 2019
  30. Twitter, "Tim Harris for Congress," accessed August 21, 2019
  31. Greg Holt For U.S. Congress, "Home," accessed August 21, 2019
  32. Under North Carolina law, runoffs must be requested by second-place candidates if the winning candidate does not clear 30 percent of the vote. Perry confirmed on April 30 that she requested a runoff.
  33. The News & Observer, "Who’s running to replace Walter Jones in Congress – and when is the election?" February 27, 2019
  34. North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Detail List," accessed March 11, 2019
  35. North Carolina State Board of Elections, "NC 03 Info sheet," accessed March 27, 2019
  36. General Assembly of North Carolina, "2016 Contingent Congressional Plan - Corrected*," accessed September 28, 2018
  37. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections Statewide Results by CD (public)," accessed August 11, 2019
  38. Roll Call, "North Carolina gears up for competitive special election in 9th District," July 10, 2019
  39. Washington Examiner, "'Test drive': Democrats hope to flip last undecided House race of 2018 and use it as a template for 2020," September 4, 2019
  40. Open Secrets, "NC-09’s near-record $10 million in outside spending fuels blitz of TV ads," September 6, 2019
  41. Charlotte Observer, “Biggest GOP field since 2012 to compete in North Carolina’s 9th district primary,” March 15, 2019
  42. The Hill, "GOP's Mark Harris won't run again in contested North Carolina House race," February 26, 2019
  43. General Assembly of North Carolina, "2016 Contingent Congressional Plan - Corrected*," accessed September 28, 2018
  44. Cook Political Report, "Under Four Months Until the Special Election, NC-09 Remains in Toss Up," May 17, 2019
  45. The Baltimore Sun, "Limited in-person voting to be offered April 28 for Maryland’s 7th Congressional District special election," April 13, 2020
  46. Maryland State Archives, "Historical List United States Representatives," accessed December 12, 2019
  47. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  48. Roll Call, "GOP Rep. Sean Duffy resigning on Sept. 23," August 26, 2019
  49. WSAU, "Seventh Congressional District Election to Proceed as Planned," April 29, 2020
  50. Wausau Daily Herald, "Winner in 7th Congressional District special election in May will face quick transition — and another election in November," March 16, 2020
  51. Wisconsin Public Radio, "Evers Sets New 7th Congressional District Special Election Date," October 18, 2019
  52. New York State Board of Elections, "Official Special Election Political Calendar," accessed February 12, 2020
  53. Decision Desk HQ, "Elections In The Age Of Covid-19: Don’t Expect Complete Results On Election Night In High Profile Kentucky Or New York Primaries," June 18, 2020
  54. QNS, "NYC Board of Elections to canvas absentee ballots on July 6 and 8," July 1, 2020
  55. ‘’New York State,’’ “No. 202.12: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” March 28, 2020
  56. The Washington Post, "Republican Rep. Chris Collins resigns House seat ahead of guilty plea to insider-trading charges," September 30, 2019
  57. WABE, "7 Seek To Follow John Lewis In U.S. House, Likely For A Short Time," July 31, 2020
  58. 58.0 58.1 58.2 11 Alive, "Here's who qualified to run in the special election to fill John Lewis' seat," July 31, 2020
  59. LinkedIn, "Kwanza Hall," accessed August 31, 2020
  60. Both general election candidates were Republicans.
  61. This race was unopposed.
  62. 62.0 62.1 Both general election candidates were Democrats.
  63. Lamb won by a margin of 0.4 percentage points.
  64. Wild won by a margin of 0.2 percentage points.
  65. The state Board of Elections declined to certify the results of the 2018 election following allegations of absentee ballot fraud.
  66. Collins won by 0.3 percentage points.