A special election for the District 19 seat of the Connecticut House of Representatives is being held April 16. Candidates running for special elections in Connecticut are nominated through party conventions. The March 8 Republican nominating convention chose Robert Margolis as the party’s candidate, and the March 9 Democratic nominating convention chose Tammy Exum.

 

The seat became vacant after Democrat Derek Slap won the February 26 special election to fill the vacant District 5 seat in the Connecticut State Senate.

 

The April 16 election is the sixth state legislative special election the state has held in 2019. A seventh is scheduled for May 7.

 

Entering this election, the Connecticut House of Representatives has 89 Democrats, 60 Republicans, and two vacant seats. Connecticut has a Democratic trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.