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Who were the candidates in the 2025 special elections?
Executive summary
Reporting compiled by national outlets and election trackers shows that there were multiple special elections across 2025 for U.S. House seats and a large number of state legislative vacancies; notable federal special contests included Texas’s seat vacated by Sylvester Turner (a 16‑candidate field that produced a Menefee–Edwards runoff) and two Florida special elections on April 1, 2025 (Florida’s 1st and 6th districts) [1] [2]. Sources also record a Tennessee 7th District special election called for December 2, 2025 and an Arizona special election held September 23, 2025; statewide and local special elections were numerous and varied [3] [4] [2].
1. What “the candidates” means: many contests, many lists
“Who were the candidates in the 2025 special elections?” is not a single listable answer because 2025 featured multiple special elections at both federal and state levels: at least five special U.S. House elections were called during the 119th Congress cycle (including Florida’s two April 1 contests, Arizona’s September 23 contest, Virginia’s September 9 contest, Texas’s November 4 contest, and Tennessee’s December 2 contest), plus dozens of state legislative special elections—Wikipedia documentation notes 97 state and territorial legislative special elections scheduled in 2025 [1] [5] [2]. Any complete answer requires specifying which contest and date the user means [5].
2. Federal highlights: Texas special with a crowded field
The special election in Texas to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sylvester Turner drew a very large, multiparty field; reporting says 16 candidates ran and no one achieved a majority, producing a December runoff after the November 4, 2025 general special election where county attorney Christian Menefee and former city councillor Amanda Edwards advanced [1] [6]. Ballotpedia’s race page likewise highlights Menefee and Edwards advancing to a runoff after the top-two finish [6].
3. Florida and other April contests: two House vacancies on April 1
Florida had two special House elections on April 1, 2025 — for the 1st and 6th congressional districts — that were widely noted in national election roundups; state-level schedules and reporting indicate primaries and candidate filing dynamics [6] [2]. Ballotpedia’s special‑election roundup and 2025 election summaries list these April contests among the earlier special elections that year [6] [2]. Specific candidate names for those Florida contests are referenced in the Ballotpedia excerpts (for example, Randy Fine is named in Ballotpedia reporting on the 1st District race) [6].
4. Arizona, Virginia and Tennessee: state dates and candidate processes
Arizona’s statewide election pages cover a September 23, 2025 special general election and list candidate filings and ballot progress, indicating formal candidate listings were maintained by the Secretary of State [4]. Virginia’s special election called for September 9, 2025 followed the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly and included an endorsed Democratic nominee James Walkinshaw according to reporting about Connolly’s planned retirement and endorsement [1]. Tennessee’s Secretary of State released a timeline for the 7th Congressional District special election, with a December 2, 2025 general date and candidate qualifying deadlines documented by the state office [3].
5. State legislative churn: dozens of single-seat contests
Beyond congressional vacancies, 2025 saw many state legislative special elections; one tracking page places the count at 97 special elections across states and territories for legislative seats, with multiple flips and local dynamics noted [5]. 270toWin and other aggregators emphasize that special elections for state legislatures and commissions were frequent and tracked separately from the federal special House races [7] [5].
6. How to get the exact candidate lists you likely want
If you want the names for a specific special election (for example, “all candidates who ran in Texas’s November 4, 2025 special” or “the two Florida April 1 special contests”), the authoritative place to look is the state secretary of state or county election offices (state pages for Arizona and California are examples) and specialty trackers like Ballotpedia and 270toWin, which compile candidate lists and filing PDFs [4] [8] [6] [7]. Ballotpedia’s special‑election pages provide candidate rosters and fundraising snapshots for many of the federal contests [6].
Limitations and next steps
Available sources summarize multiple races but do not provide a single consolidated, exhaustive list of every candidate across all 2025 special elections in the materials provided here; for a complete roster please specify which special election[9] you mean, and I will extract the candidate names from the relevant state or Ballotpedia pages cited above [6] [4] [8] [7].