2017 United States elections Election day November 7 Seats contested 1 mid-term vacancy Net seat change Democratic +1
Map of the 2017 Senate special elections Democratic gain (1) Seats contested 6 mid-term vacancies Net seat change 0
Map of the 2017 House special elections Democratic hold (1) Republican hold (5) Seats contested 2 Net seat change Democratic +1
Map of the 2017 gubernatorial races Democratic hold (1) Democratic gain (1)
The 2017 United States elections were held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. This
off-year election featured
gubernatorial elections in
Virginia and
New Jersey , as well as
state legislative elections in both houses of the
New Jersey Legislature and in the
Virginia House of Delegates (the
lower house of the Virginia legislature). Numerous
citizen initiatives ,
mayoral races, and a variety of other local elections also occurred.
Special elections were also held for one seat of the
U.S. Senate , representing Alabama, and six seats of the
U.S. House of Representatives . The Democrats picked up the governorship in New Jersey and the Alabama Senate seat that was up for a special election. The governorship in Virginia and the six House seats that were up for special elections did not change party hands.
Analysts such as
Harry Enten of
FiveThirtyEight and
Chris Cillizza of
CNN interpreted the 2017 election results overall as demonstrating a move toward the
Democratic Party . With the Democrats picking up the Senate seat in Alabama, it reduced the
Republicans ' majority in the Senate to 51–49. The analysts also noted that although none of five House seats held by a Republican switched to the other party in the 2017 special elections, in each race the Democrat received a higher percentage of votes than in recent elections for the same seat. Furthermore, Democrats made large gains in the
Virginia House of Delegates , and picked up 42 seats in state legislatures.
[1]
[2]
Federal elections
The following special elections were held to replace Senators or Representatives who resigned in the
115th U.S. Congress :
Senate
House of Representatives
California's 34th congressional district :
Democrat
Xavier Becerra resigned to become
Attorney General of California .
[4] The primary election was held on April 4, 2017. With no candidate receiving 50% of the vote,
[5] a runoff between the top two candidates, Democrats
Jimmy Gomez and Robert Lee Ahn, was held June 6. Gomez defeated Ahn 60.1% to 39.9% to become the new representative.
Georgia's 6th congressional district :
Tom Price resigned February 10, 2017, to become the
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services .
[6] A special election was held on April 18, 2017. A runoff was held on June 20, 2017, and was won by Republican
Karen Handel , although Democrat
Jon Ossoff gained 47% of the historically Republican district.
[7]
Kansas's 4th congressional district :
Republican
Mike Pompeo resigned January 23, 2017, to become
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency .
[8] A special election was held on April 11, 2017, and won by
Ron Estes , the Republican
Kansas State Treasurer .
[9]
Montana's at-large congressional district :
Ryan Zinke resigned on March 1, 2017, to become the
United States Secretary of the Interior .
[10] Republican
Greg Gianforte , a businessman and nominee for the
previous year's gubernatorial race , defeated Democrat
Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks 49.7% to 44.1% and 5.7%.
[11]
South Carolina's 5th congressional district :
Mick Mulvaney resigned on February 16, 2017, to become the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget . A special election was held on June 20, 2017, and was won by Republican
Ralph Norman , defeating Democratic nominee,
Archie Parnell .
Utah's 3rd congressional district :
Jason Chaffetz resigned on June 30, 2017, for health reasons.
Governor
Gary Herbert scheduled a special election, the primary was held on August 15 and the general election was held on November 7. Republican
John Curtis was elected.
[12]
[13]
State and territorial elections
Gubernatorial
Two states held gubernatorial elections in 2017:
Legislative
The two states that held gubernatorial elections also held legislative elections:
Democrats also won control of the Washington Senate through a November special election. As part of a federal court ruling that invalidated its state legislative districts, the
North Carolina General Assembly was ordered to hold special elections in the fall of 2017 with updated district lines. However, the US Supreme Court has put a hold on the 2017 election until it rules on the matter.
[15]
[16]
Judicial
Two states held supreme court elections in 2017:
Pennsylvania held elections for three seats—one competitive election and two retention elections. In the Pennsylvania system, a justice must first be elected in a competitive race, and at the end of their term there is an up-or-down election on whether that justice should be retained.
Wisconsin re-elected Republican-backed justice
Annette Ziegler without opposition to a second ten-year term.
Puerto Rican status referendum
A referendum regarding the
political status of Puerto Rico was held on June 11. Puerto Rican voters were asked whether they prefer
statehood ,
independence /
free association , or maintain the
current U.S. territorial status . This was the fifth such plebiscite overall, and the first one since
2012 .
[17] Because there were almost 500,000 blank ballots in that 2012 referendum, creating confusion as to the voters' true desire, Congress decided to ignore that vote and then subsequently allocated funds for holding this 2017 one.
[18]
[19] 97% of the voters chose statehood in the referendum, though turnout was only at 23%.
[20]
Constitutional convention of New York
Under the provisions of the
New York Constitution , every twenty years the state is required to place before the voters a proposal to hold a constitutional convention to be held the following year, with any suggested amendments being voted on in the year after that. Therefore, in November 2017 a proposal was placed on the ballot for a 2018 convention, with any amendments to be voted on in 2019. On this vote, over 80% voted against a constitutional convention.
Mayoral elections
Various elections were held for officeholders in numerous cities, counties, school boards, special districts and others around the country. Below is a list of the mayoral elections held in the main cities of the United States:
Albany, New York : incumbent
Democrat
Kathy Sheehan was re-elected to a second term.
[21]
Albuquerque, New Mexico , Democratic state auditor
Tim Keller won the open seat. Prior to his victory,
Republicans held the city's top leadership position for eight years.
Allentown, Pennsylvania : incumbent Democrat
Ed Pawlowski was re-elected to a fourth term.
[22]
Atlanta, Georgia : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent
Kasim Reed was term-limited and could not run for reelection to a third term in office.
Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected to replace Reed.
[23]
Atlantic City, New Jersey : incumbent Republican Mayor
Don Guardian was defeated for reelection by Democratic City Councilman
Frank Gilliam .
Birmingham, Alabama : incumbent Democrat
William A. Bell was defeated for re-election by fellow Democrat
Randall Woodfin .
[24]
[25]
Boston, Massachusetts : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent
Marty Walsh won reelection to a second term in office.
Buffalo, New York : incumbent Democrat
Byron Brown won re-election for a fourth term in office.
Charlotte, North Carolina : Democratic councilwoman
Vi Lyles defeated Republican councilman Kenny Smith to become the city's first African-American female mayor.
[26]
Cincinnati, Ohio : incumbent Democrat
John Cranley won reelection to a second term in office.
Cleveland, Ohio : incumbent Democrat
Frank G. Jackson won reelection to a fourth term in office, making him the longest-serving mayor in the city's history.
[27]
Detroit, Michigan : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent
Mike Duggan won reelection to a second term in office.
Flint, Michigan : This is a nonpartisan office. The
recall election was unsuccessful and incumbent
Karen Weaver was re-elected to the remainder of her first term.
[28]
Greensboro, North Carolina : incumbent
Nancy Vaughan was re-elected to a third term.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : incumbent Democrat
Eric Papenfuse was re-elected to a second term.
[29]
Hoboken, New Jersey : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent Democrat
Dawn Zimmer decided not to run for reelection.
[30] City Councilman
Ravi Bhalla was elected to replace Zimmer, making him the first Sikh mayor in New Jersey history.
[31]
Jackson, Mississippi : incumbent Democrat
Tony Yarber ran for reelection but was defeated by fellow Democrat
Chokwe Antar Lumumba , son of the late Mayor
Chokwe Lumumba .
Jersey City, New Jersey : incumbent Democrat
Steven Fulop was reelected to a second term in office.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania : incumbent Democrat
Rick Gray did not seek re-election and was succeeded by fellow Democrat Danane Sorace.
[32]
Lansing, Michigan : incumbent Democrat
Virg Bernero did not seek re-election and was succeeded by fellow Democrat
Andy Schor .
[33]
Los Angeles : incumbent Democrat
Eric Garcetti won reelection to a second term in office.
Manchester, New Hampshire : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent
Ted Gatsas unsuccessfully sought re-election and was succeeded by
Joyce Craig , the city's first female mayor.
[34]
Miami, Florida : incumbent Republican
Tomás Regalado was term-limited and could not run for a third term in office. Republican City Commissioner
Francis Suarez was elected to replace Regalado.
[35]
Minneapolis, Minnesota : incumbent Democrat
Betsy Hodges finished third and was eliminated after four rounds of vote tabulations. Fellow Democratic City Council member
Jacob Frey was elected mayor, after finishing 1st place in all five rounds of vote tabulations.
[36]
New Orleans : incumbent Democrat
Mitch Landrieu is term limited and cannot run for a third term in office. Democrat
LaToya Cantrell was elected to succeed Landrieu, making her the city's first female mayor.
[37]
[38]
New York City : incumbent Democrat
Bill de Blasio won reelection to a second term in office.
Omaha, Nebraska : incumbent Republican
Jean Stothert won reelection to a second term in office.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : incumbent Democrat
Bill Peduto won reelection to a second term in office, with no opposition.
Rochester, New York : incumbent Democrat
Lovely Warren won reelection to a second term.
Seattle, Washington : incumbent Democrat
Ed Murray was not running for re-election before his resignation in September 2017, and subsequent replacement by interim Mayor
Bruce Harrell
[39] who was replaced by current Mayor
Tim Burgess .
[40] Democratic former
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington
Jenny Durkan was elected to succeed Burgess.
St. Louis, Missouri : incumbent Democrat
Francis Slay decided not to run for re-election.
[41] Democrat
Lyda Krewson was elected to succeed Slay.
Saint Paul, Minnesota : incumbent Democrat
Chris Coleman decided not to run for re-election in order to explore a gubernatorial run.
[42] Former Democratic City Councilman
Melvin Carter III was elected to replace Coleman.
[43]
St. Petersburg, Florida : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent
Rick Kriseman was re-elected to a second term in office.
[44]
[45]
San Antonio, Texas : This is a nonpartisan office. Incumbent
Ivy Taylor was defeated for re-election by
Ron Nirenberg .
Syracuse, New York :
Ben Walsh (
Independence ,
Reform ) defeated Juanita Perez Williams (Democratic),
Howie Hawkins (
Green ), Laura Levine (Republican), and
Joseph A. Nicoletti (
Working Families ).
[46]
Milestones
Fifteen candidates who were members of the
Democratic Socialists of America were elected to office in thirteen states, most notably
Lee J. Carter in the
Virginia House of Delegates , thus adding to the twenty members already holding elected office nationwide.
[47]
Tables of partisan control results
These tables show the partisan results of the Congressional special elections and gubernatorial races in 2017. Bold indicates a change in control.
Senate seats
Before 2017 elections
[48]
After 2017 elections
[49]
Seat
Incumbent
State delegation
Winner
State delegation
Alabama Class 2
Rep
Rep 2–0
Dem
Split 1–1
United States
Rep 52–48
[a]
Rep 51–49
[a]
Notes
^
a
b Maine Senator
Angus King and Vermont Senator
Bernie Sanders , the two Independents who caucus with the Democrats, are counted as Democrats.
^ Vacant seats that have pending special elections in 2018 are counted as still being held by their respective incumbent party.
^ Reflects the August 2017 announcement by
West Virginia Governor
Jim Justice that he changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
^ Includes both chambers of the
Virginia General Assembly . The then-Republican-controlled
Senate of Virginia was not up for election in 2017.
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^ Wright, Barnett (August 23, 2017).
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^ Morrill, Jim (November 7, 2017).
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^ Higgs, Robert (November 7, 2017).
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^ Gerstein, Michael (November 8, 2017).
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^ McKelvey, Wallace (November 8, 2017).
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^
"Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says she will not seek re-election" . www.nj.com. June 20, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
^
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^ Stuhldreher, Tim (November 7, 2017).
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^
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^
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^ Cusick, Ashley (May 6, 2018).
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^
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^
"St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will not run for re-election" . Star Tribune . Retrieved April 11, 2017 .
^
"Melvin Carter is St. Paul's new mayor; Jacob Frey leads in Minneapolis" . Star Tribune . Retrieved November 8, 2017 .
^ Frago, Charlie (January 5, 2017).
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^
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^
a
b
c
d
"2017 Pre-Election Legislative Partisan Composition Table" (PDF) . National Conference of State Legislatures . Retrieved December 31, 2017 .
^
a
b
c
d
"2017 Post-Election Legislative Partisan Composition Table" (PDF) . National Conference of State Legislatures . Archived from
the original (PDF) on October 1, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2017 .
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