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Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2022

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In 2022, four special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Pennsylvania


If there is a vacancy in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election. There are no deadlines set in the state constitution on when a special election can be held.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Pennsylvania Cons. Art. II, §2


About the legislature

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, with 203 members, and the Pennsylvania State Senate, with 50 members.

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


Pennsylvania State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 21 21
     Republican Party 28 28
     Independent 1 1
Total 50 50


Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 93 90
     Republican Party 109 113
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 203 203

Special elections

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

April 5, 2022


May 17, 2022


Historical data

There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Pennsylvania held 54 special elections during the same time period; the second-most of any state. The largest number of special elections in Pennsylvania took place in 2015 when eight 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, 2022

In 2022, 54 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2022 special elections

In 2022, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 21 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 24 due to resignation
  • 9 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2022. 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 (2022)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 36 36
     Republican Party 18 18
     Independent 0 0
Total 54 54

Flipped seats

In 2022, two 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. ↑ State of Pennsylvania, "Pennsylvania Constitution," accessed February 15, 2021 (Article II, Section 2)
  2. ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Special state House election to replace Jake Wheatley will be held April 5," February 1, 2022
  3. ↑ Pennsylvania House of Representatives, "Jake Wheatley, Jr.," accessed February 1, 2022
  4. ↑ Ballotpedia Staff, "Email communication with PA Elections Office of Communications and Press," January 19, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bryan Cutler, "Speaker Announces Special Election for the 24th District," January 10, 2022
  6. ↑ Ballotpedia Staff, "Email communication with PA Elections Office of Communications and Press," January 19, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fox 56 WOLF, "Special election to fill vacant seat in 116th Legislative District, ordered for April 5th," January 10, 2022
  8. ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Special election slated for Pennsylvania’s 5th Senate District," January 8, 2022
  9. ↑ Ballotpedia Staff, "Email communication with PA Elections Office of Communications and Press," January 19, 2022
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