2017 United States elections
2015          2016          2017          2018          2019
Off-year elections
Election dayNovember 7
Senate elections
Seats contested1 mid-term vacancy
Net seat changeDemocratic +1
Map of the 2017 Senate special elections
     Democratic gain (1)
House elections
Seats contested6 mid-term vacancies
Net seat change0
Map of the 2017 House special elections
     Democratic hold (1)      Republican hold (5)
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested2
Net seat changeDemocratic +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

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 seatsone 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:

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[lower-alpha 1] Rep 51–49[lower-alpha 1]
House Congressional seats
  Before 2017 elections[48] After 2017 elections[49]
Seat Incumbent State delegation Winner State delegation
California 34th Dem Dem 39–14 Dem Dem 39–14
Georgia 6th Rep Rep 10–4 Rep Rep 10–4
Kansas 4th Rep Rep 4–0 Rep Rep 4–0
Montana at-large Rep Rep 1–0 Rep Rep 1–0
South Carolina 5th Rep Rep 6–1 Rep Rep 6–1
Utah 3rd Rep Rep 4–0 Rep Rep 4–0
United States Rep 241–194 Rep 241–194[lower-alpha 2]
Governorships
State Incumbent[48] Winner[49]
New Jersey Rep Dem
Virginia Dem Dem
United States Rep 34–15–1[lower-alpha 3] Rep 33–16–1
State legislatures
State Incumbent[48] Winner[49]
New Jersey Dem Dem
Virginia[lower-alpha 4] Rep Rep

Notes

  1. 1 2 Maine Senator Angus King and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the two Independents who caucus with the Democrats, are counted as Democrats.
  2. Vacant seats that have pending special elections in 2018 are counted as still being held by their respective incumbent party.
  3. Reflects the August 2017 announcement by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice that he changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
  4. Includes both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. The then-Republican-controlled Senate of Virginia was not up for election in 2017.

References

  1. "Special Elections So Far Point To A Democratic Wave In 2018". December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  2. Cillizza, Chris. "This number suggests a MAJOR Democratic wave in 2018". CNN. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  3. Prokop, Andrew (December 12, 2017). "Doug Jones's win just vastly improved Democrats' chances of retaking the Senate in 2018". Vox. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  4. Wire, Sarah D.; Myers, John (December 1, 2016). "Los Angeles Rep. Xavier Becerra poised to become California's first Latino attorney general". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  5. "California politics updates: Lawmakers hope to move up California's presidential primary, Gomez and Ahn get post-election boosts". Retrieved April 13, 2017 via LA Times.
  6. Pear, Robert; Rappeport, Alan (February 10, 2017). "Tom Price Is Sworn in as Health Secretary Amid Senate Disunity". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  7. Dixon, Kristal (February 10, 2017). "Gov. Deal Calls Special Election For 6th Congressional District Seat". Patch Media. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  8. "Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS04) resignation letter read in House after Senate CIA Director confirmation". Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  9. "Live Results: Republicans Defend House Seat in Kansas Special Election". The New York Times. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  10. "Trump taps Montana congressman Ryan Zinke as interior secretary". The Washington Post.
  11. "Election Results: Gianforte Wins U.S. House Seat in Montana". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  12. "Election Results: Curtis Wins U.S. House Seat in Utah". Retrieved December 19, 2017 via NYTimes.com.
  13. Chaffetz, Jason (May 18, 2017). "Chaffetz Letter to Utah's 3rd Congressional District". U.S. Congressman Jason Chaffetz. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  14. "Republican Chris Christie ends bid for the White House". BBC News. February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  15. WRAL (November 29, 2016). "Federal court orders new NC legislative elections in 2017 :: WRAL.com". WRAL.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  16. WRAL (January 10, 2017). "US Supreme Court puts 2017 legislative election rerun on hold :: WRAL.com". WRAL.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  17. Coto, Danica (February 3, 2017). "Puerto Rico gov approves referendum in quest for statehood". The Washington Post. DC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  18. Wyss, Jim (January 26, 2017). "Will Puerto Rico become the newest star on the American flag?". Miami Herald. Miami Herald. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  19. Crabbe, Nathan (June 15, 2014). "Part of our country but still not a State". Gainesville Sun. Gainesville, FL. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  20. Frances Robles (June 11, 2017). "23% of Puerto Ricans Vote in Referendum, 97% of Them for Statehood". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  21. Fries, Amanda (December 22, 2017). "Four more years for Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan". Times Union. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  22. Opilo, Emily (November 8, 2017). "Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski wins fourth term despite charges". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  23. Deere, Stephen (December 6, 2017). "Bottoms declares victory in Atlanta mayoral race; Norwood seeks recount". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  24. Edgemon, Erin (October 3, 2017). "Randall Woodfin defeats William Bell in historic Birmingham mayor's race". The Birmingham News. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  25. Wright, Barnett (August 23, 2017). "Attorney Randall Woodfin Forces Incumbent William Bell into Oct. 3 Runoff for Birmingham Mayor". The Birmingham Times. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  26. Morrill, Jim (November 7, 2017). "Democrat Vi Lyles makes history in Charlotte mayoral win". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  27. Higgs, Robert (November 7, 2017). "Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson wins unprecedented fourth 4-year term". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  28. Gerstein, Michael (November 8, 2017). "Flint Mayor Weaver wins recall election". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  29. McKelvey, Wallace (November 8, 2017). "Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse reelected in uncontested race". Penn Live. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  30. "Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says she will not seek re-election". www.nj.com. June 20, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  31. "Ravi Bhalla wins Hoboken election, becomes N.J.'s first Sikh mayor". www.nj.com. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  32. Stuhldreher, Tim (November 7, 2017). "Sorace wins race to be Lancaster mayor; Democrats sweep City Council". Lancaster Online. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  33. Garcia, Julie (November 8, 2017). "Andy Schor 'ecstatic' to become mayor of Lansing after taking 72% of votes". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  34. "Manchester, N.H., elects first female mayor". The Boston Globe. November 8, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  35. Smiley, David (November 7, 2017). "Miami's new, homegrown mayor has a 'mandate' and a big agenda". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  36. Belz, Adam (November 9, 2017). "Jacob Frey wins mayor election in Minneapolis". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  37. "LaToya Cantrell elected New Orleans' first female mayor". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  38. Cusick, Ashley (May 6, 2018). "As New Orleans mayor is sworn in Monday, La. has three black women leading its largest cities". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  39. Beekman, Daniel (May 9, 2017). "Seattle Mayor Ed Murray won't seek second term: 'It tears me to pieces to step away'". Seattle Times. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  40. "Tim Burgess becomes the 55th Mayor of Seattle". September 18, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  41. McDermott, Kevin. "St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay announces he will not run again next year". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  42. "St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will not run for re-election". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  43. "Melvin Carter is St. Paul's new mayor; Jacob Frey leads in Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  44. Frago, Charlie (January 5, 2017). "St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman files for re-election". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
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  46. Duncan, Brenda (November 8, 2017). "Election 2017: Results for Syracuse mayor, other Onondaga County races". syracuse.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  47. Goldberg, Michelle (November 10, 2017). "Revenge of the Obama Coalition". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  48. 1 2 3 4 "2017 Pre-Election Legislative Partisan Composition Table" (PDF). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  49. 1 2 3 4 "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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