A special election is being held on Dec. 14 for District 116 of the Connecticut House of Representatives. Trenee McGee (D), Richard DePalma (R), and Portia Bias (I) are running in the general election. The winner of the special election will serve until Jan. 2023.
The seat became vacant on Oct. 18 when Michael DiMassa (D) resigned from the state House after he was arrested for one count of wire fraud. DiMassa had represented the district since 2017.
Heading into the special election, Democrats have a 96-54 majority in the Connecticut House with one vacancy. Connecticut has a Democratic state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.
As of December, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Connecticut held 40 state legislative special elections from 2011 to 2020.
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