These six off-year races featured special elections to the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...

to fill vacancies due to resignations in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. 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. Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. (born March 11, 1965) is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative from from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential candi ...

, , 1995 , , Incumbent resigned November 21, 2012.
A

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

was held April 9, 2013.
Democratic hold. , nowrap , , - ! ,

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...

, ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , Incumbent resigned January 2, 2013.
A

was held May 7, 2013.
Republican hold. , nowrap , , - ! ,

Jo Ann Emerson Jo Ann Emerson (née Hermann; born September 16, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2013. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel, the Lead Belt an ...

, , 1996 , , Incumbent resigned January 22, 2013.
A

was held June 4, 2013.
Republican hold. , nowrap , , - ! ,

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representati ...

, , 1976 , , Incumbent resigned July 15, 2013.
A

was held December 10, 2013.
Democratic hold. , nowrap , , - ! ,

Jo Bonner Josiah Robins Bonner Jr. (born November 19, 1959) is an American academic administrator and former politician who currently serves as the fourth president of the University of South Alabama. He was previously the U.S. representative for from 200 ...

, ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , Incumbent resigned August 2, 2013.
A

was held December 17, 2013.
Republican hold. , nowrap , , - ! ,

Rodney Alexander Rodney McKinnie Alexander (born December 5, 1946) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs from September 30, 2013, until June 3, 2014. Previously he ...

, ,

, , Incumbent resigned September 26, 2013.
A

was held November 16, 2013.
Republican hold. , nowrap ,

Illinois's 2nd congressional district

Jesse Jackson, Jr. Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. (born March 11, 1965) is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative from from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential can ...

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. 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. Democratic nominee

Robin Kelly Robin Lynne Kelly (born April 30, 1956) is an American politician from Illinois who has served as the U.S. representative from since 2013. A Democrat, Kelly served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. She then served as ...

defeated Republican nominee Paul McKinley on April 9, 2013, taking 71 percent of about 82,000 votes cast. Kelly was sworn into Congress on April 11, 2013.

South Carolina's 1st congressional district

On December 17, 2012, South Carolina Gov.

Nikki Haley Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...

announced the appointment of incumbent Republican

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to replace the resigning

Jim DeMint James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American political advocate, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from South Carolina and as president of the Heritage Foundation. DeMint is a member ...

. 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. On March 19, 2013, former Gov.

Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019, and also as the ...

, 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, 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. On May 7, 2013, Sanford defeated Democratic nominee

Elizabeth Colbert Busch Elizabeth Colbert Busch (born December 10, 1954) is an American economist and politician who is the Director of Business Development at Clemson University's Restoration Institute, and was the Democratic Party nominee for the 2013 special election ...

, sister of comedian

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

, taking 54 percent of over 140,000 votes cast. Sanford was sworn into Congress on May 15, 2013.

Missouri's 8th congressional district

On December 3, 2012, incumbent Republican

announced her intention to resign from Congress, which became effective on January 22, 2013, to become the CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in March 2013. State law allows the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Democratic parties to select their own nominees without a primary. Gov.

Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th Governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the governorship in 2008 and reele ...

set the date for the special election to be June 4, 2013. Missouri state representative Jason Smith was chosen as the GOP candidate on February 9, 2013. The

Missouri Democratic Party The Missouri Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its chair is Michael Butler, vice chair is Genevieve Williams, treasurer is Cydney Mayfield, and secretary is Manny Abarca. Mayfield has been th ...

chose state representative John Hodges as its nominee on February 16, 2013. Also on the Special General Election Ballot were

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

nominee Bill Slantz and Constitution Party nominee Doug Enyart. Smith was easily elected on June 4, 2013, taking 68 percent of the vote and was sworn in by House Speaker John Boehner on June 5, 2013 in a ceremony that was attended by most of Missouri's Congressional Delegation, Emerson and Missouri's Republican senator

Roy Blunt Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Sec ...

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district

On June 25, 2013, 20-term incumbent Democrat Ed Markey defeated Republican Gabriel Gomez in the

to fill the remaining 18-months of the unexpired term of the Class II United States Senate seat caused by senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

's confirmation as Secretary of State. Markey resigned from the House of Representatives on July 15, 2013. The

was scheduled for December 10, 2013. Its primary elections took place on October 15. The Democrat is state senator

Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea Clark (born July 17, 1963) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district since 2013. She has been Assistant House Democratic Leader (officially Assistant Speak ...

and the Republican is lawyer Frank Addivinola. Clark defeated Addivinola on December 10, 2013, with 66 percent of the vote and was sworn in by Boehner on December 12, 2013.

Alabama's 1st congressional district

On May 23, 2013, incumbent Republican

announced his intention to resign from Congress to become the vice chancellor of government relations and economic development with the

University of Alabama System The University of Alabama System is a public university system in Alabama that coordinates and oversees three research universities: University of Alabama (UA), University of Alabama at Birmingham, and University of Alabama in Huntsville. These u ...

., with his resignation becoming effective at midnight on August 15, 2013. 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 Bradley Roberts Byrne (born February 16, 1955) is an American business attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district from 2014 to 2021. Elected as a member of the state Board of Education ...

, a former state senator, and Dean Young, a businessman, advanced to a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

on November 5. Byrne won the runoff, thus becoming his party's nominee. Byrne then went on to win the general election on December 17 by a wide margin.

Louisiana's 5th congressional district

On August 6, 2013, six-term incumbent Republican

announced plans to not seek a 7th term, citing the partisan gridlock in Congress. 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, and became the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs under Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...

. 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. Louisiana operates under a

jungle primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

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 senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Neil Riser Hartwell Neil Riser Jr. (born April 25, 1962) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member for the 32nd district of the Louisiana State Senate. Riser is currently a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Riser was bo ...

(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, and was sworn in by Boehner on November 21, 2013.

References

{{United States House of Representatives elections United States House of Representatives special elections