Historical precedents for special elections triggered by resignations or deaths in 2025?
Executive summary
Special elections in 2025 proliferated at both federal and state levels primarily because incumbents resigned for new jobs or died in office; Ballotpedia counts at least 95 state legislative special elections scheduled in 23 states as of November 7, 2025 [1], and multiple U.S. House vacancies produced special contests — Texas’s 18th district after the March 5, 2025 death of Sylvester Turner is one prominent example [2] [3]. Minnesota set or tied a record pace for legislative special elections in 2025, with six already held by November and the state potentially matching a 1994 high, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library cited by the League of Minnesota Cities [4].
1. Why 2025 saw so many special elections — appointments, deaths and career moves
Special elections in 2025 followed familiar patterns: officeholders resigned to take new posts or were appointed elsewhere, and several lawmakers died in office, triggering gubernatorial calls for contests. Ballotpedia catalogues the common causes — resignations, deaths, appointments and legal convictions — and counts dozens of state legislative special elections across the year [1]. At the federal level, governors called special U.S. House elections after resignations and deaths, a phenomenon tracked closely on Ballotpedia and in reporting on individual districts [5] [3].
2. High-profile federal precedents in 2025: Gaetz, Waltz, Turner and Texas’s 18th
Several high-profile House vacancies produced special contests. Matt Gaetz’s resignation after being nominated for attorney general produced a special election (Ballotpedia notes that his 2024 resignation led to an April 1, 2025 special election) and Mike Waltz resigned to become National Security Advisor, prompting another special contest [3] [5]. The death of Sylvester Turner on March 5, 2025 led Governor Greg Abbott to set a special election in Texas’s 18th congressional district for November 4, 2025; Texas law and the timing raised criticism from Democrats who alleged the governor delayed the contest for partisan benefit [2] [3].
3. State-level surge: Minnesota’s unusual calendar and record-tying year
Minnesota’s experience in 2025 illustrates how state-specific events and calendars can concentrate special elections. The League of Minnesota Cities reported that, because of several deaths and resignations, six special elections had already been held in 2025 — tying the previous 1994 record — and two additional vacancies created new contests after Nov. 4, preserving narrow partisan balances in the legislature [4]. Those outcomes affected control of the state Senate and created follow-on vacancies in House seats, producing a chain reaction of special elections [4].
4. How states handle vacancies differs widely — appointments, special elections, hybrids
There is no single formula: Ballotpedia documents that 21 states fill legislative vacancies through appointment, four states use hybrid systems, and others hold special elections; as of early November 2025, Ballotpedia counted 95 state legislative special elections scheduled across 23 states [1]. That variation explains why some vacancies are filled almost immediately by party or legislative appointment while others produce high-profile, competitive special elections on general election dates [1].
5. Timing and political strategy: governors, runoff rules and partisan calculations
The timing of special elections can be political. Texas provided a case study: Abbott scheduled the 18th district special election for Nov. 4, 2025 and critics said the timing advantaged Republicans given the narrow House majority — an allegation reported in coverage of the Texas special contest [2]. Runoff rules also shape strategy: some states use nonpartisan all‑candidate primaries with runoffs if no one wins a majority, which occurred in Texas’s 18th and other districts in 2025 [2] [5].
6. What this means for control of chambers and the 2026 map
Special elections in 2025 shifted seats and occasionally preserved razor-thin majorities. Ballotpedia reported several state legislative seats changed partisan control in 2025, and the aggregate of special contests influenced chamber control and legislative agendas [1]. Observers noted that the outcomes of some April and November special elections bolstered the Republican House majority early in the 119th Congress, while other contests left seats vacant pending runoffs [6] [5].
Limitations and sourcing note: This analysis relies solely on the provided sources — Ballotpedia, League of Minnesota Cities, 270toWin, Wikipedia entries and related reports — and does not cite reporting or data outside that set. Available sources do not mention other contemporaneous special-election examples beyond those summarized here (not found in current reporting).