Special elections to the United States Senate are held to fill the vacancies that occur when a senator dies or resigns before the completion of their six-year term. Winners of these special elections typically serve the remainder of the term of the senator who has caused the vacancy. General elections to the U.S. Congress are held in November of even-numbered years. New Congresses convened on March 4 of the following year until 1934, and since then, new Congresses have begun on January 3 of the following year.
Because of the cost of conducting a special election, [1] most states hold elections to fill a Senate vacancy in conjunction with the next general election, while some states, such as Alabama [2] and Texas, allow for special elections to the Senate to be held before a general election (similar to special elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, though special elections are on a state-wide basis). Special elections can alter the balance of power in the Senate, [3] as can temporary appointments.
Prior to ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913, most state legislatures elected senators (Sen.), as well as replacement senators. Some states empowered their governor to make temporary appointments until the legislature was in session.
The Seventeenth Amendment now requires the governor (Gov.) of the state to issue a writ for a special election to fill a vacant Senate seat, but no timeframe is specified in the provision for when the special election is to be held. State legislatures may also empower the governor to fill a vacancy by a temporary appointment until the winner of the special election is certified. The constitution does not set out how the temporary appointee is to be selected (e.g., there is no federal requirement that the appointee be of the same party, as happened most recently in New Jersey in 2013), and the state legislature can legislate as to how the replacement is to be selected.
North Dakota, Oregon and Wisconsin do not empower their governor to make temporary appointments and require special elections. [4] [5] Between 2004 and 2008, Massachusetts denied the power of the governor to appoint a replacement; in 2004, the Democratic-controlled legislature wanted to limit the power of the Republican governor (Gov. Mitt Romney) to appoint a successor to then-senator John Kerry if he were elected president that year. With the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy, the legislature chose to revert the rules to allow the Democratic governor (Gov. Deval Patrick) to appoint a temporary replacement senator while awaiting the results of a special election to complete the existing term. Hawaii allows the governor to appoint an interim senator "who serves until the next regularly-scheduled general election, chosen from a list of three prospective appointees that the prior incumbent's political party submits". Alaska in 2004 enacted conflicting legislation and a separate ballot referendum law that took effect on the same day. It is uncertain if the Alaska governor may successfully appoint an interim senator to serve until the mandated special election occurs 60 to 90 days after the vacancy happens. The ballot-approved law fails to specifically authorize the governor to appoint, though the legislative law does. [5] Since 2021, Oklahoma permits its governor again to appoint a successor who is of the same party as the previous senator for at least the preceding five years when the vacancy arises in an even-numbered year, only after the appointee has taken an oath not to run in either a regular or special Senate election. [6]
This is an incomplete list of special elections to the United States Senate. The list only includes vacancies that were filled by special election. Not included are those situations in which vacancies were only filled by appointment or general election, or new seats.
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held.
The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ex officio commander-in-chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not called into federal use. Despite being an executive branch official, the governor also holds legislative and judicial powers. The governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the Oklahoma Legislature, submitting the annual state budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and that the peace is preserved. The governor's term is four years in length.
James Mountain Inhofe is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest serving U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He served in various elected offices in the state of Oklahoma for nearly sixty years, between 1966 and 2023.
These are tables of congressional delegations from Indiana to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931, to March 4, 1933, during the last two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census. The Senate had a Republican majority. The House started with a very slim Republican majority, but by the time it first met in December 1931, the Democrats had gained a majority through special elections.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
Charles Ellsworth Goodell Jr. was an American politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1968 and the United States Senate from 1968 to 1971. In both cases he came into office following the deaths of his predecessors, first in a special election and second as a temporary appointee succeeding Robert F. Kennedy.
Paul Grattan Kirk Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 2009 to 2010, having been appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of Ted Kennedy. From 1985 to 1989, he chaired the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.
The 1789 United States Senate election in New York was held in July 1789 to elect two U.S. senators to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate. It was the first such election, and before the actual election the New York State Legislature had to establish the proceedings how to elect the senators.
The 1845 United States Senate special election in New York was held on January 18, 1845 by the New York State Legislature to elect two U.S. Senators to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate. The regular 1845 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 4, 1845, to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress. The United States Senate, along with the lower chamber of Congress, the United States House of Representatives, comprise the federal bicameral legislature of the United States. The Senate and House maintain authority under Article One of the U.S. Constitution to pass or defeat federal legislation. The U.S. Senate has exclusive power to confirm U.S. presidential appointments, ratify treaties, exercise advice and consent powers, try cases of impeachment brought by the House, all of which provide a check and balance on the powers of the executive and judicial branches of government.
The 1844–45 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with James K. Polk's election. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1844 and 1845, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 1.
The 2014 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oklahoma, concurrently with the regularly-scheduled election to Oklahoma's other Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oklahoma on November 4, 2014. All of Oklahoma's executive officers were up for election, as well as the state's five seats in the United States House of Representatives and both of the state's United States Senate seats. Primary elections were held on June 24, 2014, and primary runoffs were held on August 26, 2014.
A member of the United States Senate can resign by writing a letter of resignation to the governor of the state that the senator represents. Under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States, and under the Seventeenth Amendment, in case of a vacancy in the Senate resulting from resignation, the executive authority of the state can make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy if so authorized by the state legislature. A special election may follow depending on timing and state law. Whenever a senator needs to be appointed or elected, the Secretary of the Senate mails one of three forms to the state's governor to inform that person of the proper wording to certify the appointment of a new Senator.
The 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate for Oklahoma. The election took place concurrently with the regularly scheduled election for Oklahoma's other Senate seat. The candidate filing deadline was between April 13–15, 2022.
{{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help)