Georgia House seat is the eighth to change partisan control in state legislative special elections this year


Georgia Democrat Eric Gisler won the special election for state House District 121, gaining partisan control of the seat from Republicans. According to CNN’s Ethan Cohen, President Donald Trump (R) won the district by a 12-point margin in the 2024 presidential election.

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said, “Fresh off the resounding victories in the Georgia Public Service Commissioner races and now this historic flip, the DNC will continue to invest, organize, and compete in every corner of Georgia.”

Including Gisler’s win, seven special state legislative elections have resulted in changes in partisan control in 2025—all from Republican to Democratic. 

Most recently, on Nov. 4, three special state legislative elections in Mississippi resulted in changes from Republican to Democrat, one in the House and two in the Senate. The other three seats that changed party control this year were:

  • January 28: Iowa Senate District 35
  • March 25: Pennsylvania Senate District 36
  • August 26: Iowa Senate District 1

Between 2010 and 2024, 121 special elections resulted in changes in partisan control of state legislative seats.

As of December 2025, 95 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 23 states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.