Update on U.S. House Vacancies After Swearing In of Troy Carter
By 270toWin Staff
May 12, 2021
Democrat Troy Carter was sworn into office Tuesday as the new representative of Louisiana's 2nd congressional district. Carter won a special election to succeed former Rep. Cedric Richmond (D) who resigned in January to join the Biden Administration.
The U.S. House now has 219 Democrats, 212 Republicans and four vacancies. However, the number of vacancies will return to five later this week when GOP Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15) steps down.
Dates have been scheduled for special elections in four of these seats. Although the candidates aren't yet known in all cases, all of these seats are expected to stay with the incumbent party. As a result, once the House returns to full strength (assuming no other changes along the way), the composition should match the results of the 2020 House elections: 222 Democrats, 213 Republicans.
| Date | District | 2020 | Information |
| June 1 | NM-1 | D + 16% | Deb Haaland (D) resigned in March to become Secretary of the Interior. Nominees are State Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) and State Sen. Mark Moores (R) |
| TBA | TX-6 | R + 9% | Ron Wright (R) died in February. Two Republicans advanced in the May 1 all-party primary, ensuring a GOP hold. They are Wright's widow, Susan, and State Rep. Jake Ellzey. A date for the runoff has not yet been set. |
| November 2 | OH-11 | D+60% | Marcia Fudge (D) resigned in March to become Secretary of HUD. Primaries will be held August 3. |
| November 2 | OH-15 | R+27% | Steve Stivers (R) to resign May 16 to become CEO of Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Primaries will be held August 3. |
| Jan. 11, 2022 | FL-20 | D+57% | Alcee Hastings (D) died in April. Primaries will be held November 2. |
Note that redistricting will not directly affect any of these elections. That is, they will all be contested using the current district boundaries.
