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Florida state legislative special elections, 2023
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In 2023, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Florida State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
House special elections called:
- District 24: May 16
- District 118: December 5
How vacancies are filled in Florida
If there is a vacancy in the Florida State Legislature, a special election must be called to fill the vacant seat.[1] The governor is responsible for calling the election and must consult with the secretary of state to set the election dates and nominating deadlines.[2] The person elected to fill the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[3]
See sources: Florida Stat. § 100.101
About the legislature
The Florida State Legislature is the state legislature of Florida. The Florida Constitution mandates a bicameral state legislature with an upper house, the Florida State Senate, and a lower house, the Florida House of Representatives. Due to term limits, House members may be elected for up to four terms (eight years), while State Senators can be elected for up to two terms (eight years).
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).
Florida State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 16 | 12 | |
Republican Party | 23 | 28 | |
Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 40 | 40 |
Florida House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 42 | 35 | |
Republican Party | 76 | 85 | |
Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 120 | 120 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
May 16, 2023
Florida House of Representatives District 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Florida House of Representatives District 24 was called for May 16, 2023. A primary will take place on March 7, 2023. The candidate filing deadline was January 10, 2023.[4][5] The seat became vacant after Representative Joe Harding (R) resigned on December 8, 2022.[6] General electionSpecial general election for Florida House of Representatives District 24Ryan Chamberlin defeated Robert Fox in the special general election for Florida House of Representatives District 24 on May 16, 2023.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 24Ryan Chamberlin defeated Jose Juarez, Charlie Stone, Stephen Pyles, and Justin Albright in the special Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 24 on March 7, 2023.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
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December 5, 2023
Florida House of Representatives District 118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special primary election for Florida House of Representatives District 118 was called for October 3, 2023. The general election took place on December 5, 2023.[7] The seat became vacant after Juan Fernandez-Barquin (R) resigned on June 16, 2023, after he was appointed to be the Miami Clerk of Courts by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).[8] General electionSpecial general election for Florida House of Representatives District 118Mike Redondo defeated Johnny Farias and Francisco De La Paz in the special general election for Florida House of Representatives District 118 on December 5, 2023.
Democratic primary electionThe Democratic primary election was canceled. Johnny Farias advanced from the special Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 118. Republican primary electionThe Republican primary election was canceled. Mike Redondo advanced from the special Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 118. |
Historical data
There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. Florida held 28 special elections during the same time period; about two per year on average. The largest number of special elections in Florida took place in 2015 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
In 2023, 53 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2022, an average of 73 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
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
- Florida State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Florida Legislature, "2023 Florida Statutes," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 100.101(2), Florida Election Code)
- ↑ Florida Legislature, "2023 Florida Statutes," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 100.141 (1) (2), Florida Election Code)
- ↑ Florida Legislature, "2023 Florida Statutes," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 100.111 (1) (a-c), Florida Election Code)
- ↑ Ron DeSantis 46th Governor of Florida, "MEMORANDUM:Executive Order 22-278 (Special Election – House District 24)," accessed December 22, 2022
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "MEMORANDUM," accessed December 22, 2022
- ↑ USA Today, "Florida legislator, who sponsored ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, resigns amid federal fraud charges," December 9, 2022
- ↑ State of Florida Office of the Governor, "EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 23-141 (Special Election - House District 118)," July 19, 2023
- ↑ Miami Herald, "DeSantis names Republican ally to succeed Miami-Dade’s longtime Democratic clerk," accessed June 20, 2023
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