These six off-year races featured special elections to the 113th United States Congress to fill vacancies due to resignations in the United States House of Representatives. Two were due to Congressmen taking seats in the United States Senate, one resigned to take jobs in the private sector, one resigned to take a job in the public sector, and one resigned due to an impending federal indictment regarding misuse of campaign funds.
Summary
All six seats were held by the party of the incumbent.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigned on November 21, 2012, following a months-long battle with bipolar disorder and due to being subject to a federal investigation over the possible misuse of campaign funds.[1]Illinois Gov.Pat Quinn first scheduled the primary elections for February 26, coinciding with municipal primary elections, and initially set the general election for March 19. However, legislation was enacted at Quinn's request to allow the general election to coincide with municipal general elections held on April 9.[2]
Democratic nominee Robin Kelly defeated Republican nominee Paul McKinley on April 9, 2013, taking 71 percent of about 82,000 votes cast.[3] Kelly was sworn into Congress on April 11, 2013.[4]
2013 Illinois's 2nd congressional district special election[5]
On December 17, 2012, South Carolina Gov.Nikki Haley announced the appointment of incumbent Republican Tim Scott[6] to the United States Senate to replace the resigning Jim DeMint. Scott's resignation from Congress became effective January 2, 2013 and Haley ordered the special election to replace him on the same day, with primary election being held on March 19, with runoffs on April 2 and the general election on May 7.[7] On March 19, 2013, former Gov. Mark Sanford, who held the seat from 1995 to 2001, with 36 percent, and former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Bostic, with 13 percent, placed in the top two of a 16-person field,[8] advanced from the Republican primary to a runoff on April 2, 2013. Sanford defeated Bostic in the runoff with 57 percent of over 46,000 votes cast.[9]
On May 7, 2013, Sanford defeated Democratic nominee Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, taking 54 percent of over 140,000 votes cast.[10] Sanford was sworn into Congress on May 15, 2013.[11]
2013 South Carolina's 1st congressional district special election[12]
On December 3, 2012, incumbent Republican Jo Ann Emerson announced her intention to resign from Congress, which became effective on January 22, 2013,[13] to become the CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in March 2013.[14] State law allows the Republican and Democratic parties to select their own nominees without a primary.[15]Gov.Jay Nixon set the date for the special election to be June 4, 2013.[13]Missouri state representativeJason Smith was chosen as the GOP candidate on February 9, 2013.[16] The Missouri Democratic Party chose state representative John Hodges as its nominee on February 16, 2013.[17] Also on the Special General Election Ballot were Libertarian Party nominee Bill Slantz and Constitution Party nominee Doug Enyart.[18] Smith was easily elected on June 4, 2013, taking 68 percent of the vote[19] and was sworn in by House Speaker John Boehner on June 5, 2013[20] in a ceremony that was attended by most of Missouri's Congressional Delegation, Emerson and Missouri's Republican senator Roy Blunt.
2013 Missouri's 8th congressional district special election[21]
On June 25, 2013, 20-term incumbent Democrat Ed Markey defeated Republican Gabriel Gomez[22] in the special election to fill the remaining 18-months of the unexpired term of the Class II United States Senate seat caused by senator John Kerry's confirmation as Secretary of State. Markey resigned from the House of Representatives on July 15, 2013. The special election was scheduled for December 10, 2013.[23] Its primary elections took place on October 15. The Democrat is state senator Katherine Clark and the Republican is lawyer Frank Addivinola.
Clark defeated Addivinola on December 10, 2013, with 66 percent of the vote[24] and was sworn in by Boehner on December 12, 2013.[25]
2013 Massachusetts's 5th congressional district special election[26]
On May 23, 2013, incumbent Republican Jo Bonner announced his intention to resign from Congress to become the vice chancellor of government relations and economic development with the University of Alabama System.,[27] with his resignation becoming effective at midnight on August 15, 2013.[28] This was later moved up to August 2. Alabama Gov.Robert Bentley set the dates for the special election. Primary elections were held on September 24. The Democratic primary was won by Burton LeFlore, a real estate agent, with 70.2% of the vote. On the Republican side, the top two vote-getters in the primary, Bradley Byrne, a former state senator, and Dean Young, a businessman, advanced to a runoff on November 5. Byrne won the runoff, thus becoming his party's nominee.[29][30] Byrne then went on to win the general election on December 17 by a wide margin.[31]
2013 Alabama's 1st congressional district special election[32]
On August 6, 2013, six-term incumbent Republican Rodney Alexander announced plans to not seek a 7th term, citing the partisan gridlock in Congress.[33] On August 7, 2013, Alexander announced that he would not serve the remaining time left in his term and would instead resign effective September 26, 2013,[34] and became the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs under Governor Bobby Jindal. On August 8, 2013, Jindal issued an executive order setting the dates for the special election with the primary being held on October 19, 2013, and the general election on November 16, 2013.[35] Louisiana operates under a jungle primary where candidates do not run for the nominations of individual parties but all run on one ballot and the top two vote getters advance to the general election.
On October 19, 2013, state senatorNeil Riser (with 31.97 percent) and businessman Vance McAllister (with 17.79 percent), both Republicans, advanced to the general election, which was held on November 16.
On November 16, 2013, McAllister defeated Riser in the run-off with 60 percent of the vote,[36] and was sworn in by Boehner on November 21, 2013.[37]
2013 Louisiana's 5th congressional district special election[38]
