On April 13, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that a special election for District 4 of the Georgia State Senate will take place on June 9. A runoff, if necessary, will be held on August 11. Candidates wishing to run in the election had until April 15 to file for election. Scott Bohlke (R), Billy Hickman (R), Kathy Palmer (R), Neil Singleton (R), and Stephen Sammons (I) filed to run in the special election.

The seat became vacant after Jack Hill (R) passed away on April 6. Hill had represented District 4 since 1991.

Heading into the special election, Republicans have a 34-21 majority in the Georgia State Senate with one vacancy. Georgia has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.

Regularly scheduled elections are being held in Georgia State Senate districts in 2020. A primary is scheduled for June 9, and a primary runoff is scheduled for August 11. Bohlke, Hickman, Palmer, and Singleton filed to run in the Republican primary. The general election will be held on November 3. Minor party and unaffiliated candidates have until August 14 to file to run in the general election. A general election runoff is scheduled for December 1.

As of April, 42 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 20 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Additional reading:
Georgia State Senate elections, 2020
State legislative special elections, 2020
Georgia State Senate District 4