Both Florida and Georgia have state legislative special primaries on the ballot on April 9.
In Georgia, Chris Erwin and Dan Gasaway are running in a Republican primary for the state House’s District 28 seat. The special election will be the third contest between Gasaway and Erwin. The regularly scheduled primary on May 22, 2018, was deemed inconclusive due to ballot errors, so a new primary took place on December 4, 2018. The results of the December 2018 special election were also deemed inconclusive, so a judge ruled that another new election should be held.
Because the special primary election is being held to rectify the results of the original primary, and because no Democratic candidates filed to run in 2018, the winner of the April 9 primary will be declared the winner of the seat outright.
Gasaway held the seat from 2013 to 2019. After Erwin was declared the winner of the special primary in December 2018, he was sworn in on January 14. On February 8, a judge determined that Erwin was no longer a member of the state House.
In Florida, special primaries are being held on April 9 for three state House seats. General elections will take place on June 18.
- In District 7, Lynda Bell, Virginia Fuller, Jason Shoaf, and Mike Watkins are running in the Republican primary. Ryan Terrell is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. The seat became vacant after Halsey Beshears (R) resigned on January 11, 2019, to become the Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
- In District 38, Randy Maggard and David McCallister are running in the Republican primary. Kelly Smith is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. The seat became vacant after Daniel Burgess (R) was appointed as the Executive Director of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on January 24, 2019.
- In District 97, Dan Daley is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed to run for election. The seat became vacant after Jared Moskowitz (D) resigned in January 2019 to become the Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
In 2019, there have been 52 state legislative special elections scheduled or held so far in 20 states. Between 2011 and 2018, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.