We’ve reached the final election day of 2021, and we’re ending it with a handful of special elections from across the country. We really appreciate you following along with us this year as we have brought you election results from every state legislative special election run in 2021 and much more. Expect all of that and more out of DDHQ in 2022 as we lead up to the midterms, and if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay up-to-date on all elections to come.
Massachusetts Senate Suffolk & Middlesex 1st District
Our first race is a special Democratic primary for the vacant seat in the 1st Suffolk & Middlesex Senate District. The district covers much of the heart of Boston, part of southern Cambridge, and all of Revere and Winthrop. The seat is vacant after Democrat Joe Boncore resigned to lead the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. Running to replace him is Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards and Revere School Committee member Anthony D’Ambrosio. Edwards has received endorsements from both Massachusetts U.S.senators, as well as Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and newly elected Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. This will be the first contested election for this district’s seat since the 2016 special election where Joe Boncore first took office. Lydia Edwards was one of his opponents in that race. No Republicans filed to run for this vacancy, but a special general election is scheduled for January 11. We will have the election results below once the polls close at 8 p.m. (EST)
Connecticut House of Representatives 116th District
In Connecticut, the 116th state House District is vacant after Democrat Michael DiMassa resigned following charges that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal pandemic relief funds meant for the city of West Haven. The 116th District covers northern West Haven, as well as a small portion of New Haven. Candidates to replace him are selected by local party committees, or candidates can file to run as an independent. Democrats chose current West Haven City Councilor Trenee McGee as their candidate, Republicans chose former West Haven City Councilor Richard DePalma as theirs, and another former West Haven City Councilor Portia Bias filed to run as an independent. DePalma has been the Republican nominee in this district twice before but has never garnered more than 27% of the vote in this heavily Democratic district. We will have the election results below once the polls close at 8 p.m. (EST)
Arkansas Senate 7th District
There are two primary contests to fill the vacancy in the 7th Arkansas Senate District. The district covers northeastern Washington County including most of Springdale and the outskirts of Fayetteville. The seat is vacant after Republican Lance Eads resigned to take a position with Capitol Consulting Firm, a Little-Rock based lobbying group. Running in the Democratic primary is Lisa Parks, an attorney from Tontitown, and Derek Van Voast, a 2020 Springdale City Council candidate and former Arkansas Razorbacks football player. This will be the first time since 2012 Democrats have fielded a candidate for this seat. On the Republican side, the biggest name is former state Representative and star of the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting” Jim Bob Duggar. Joining him in the race is Colby Fulfer, who is currently the chief of staff to the mayor of Springdale, Edge Nowlin, a retired IT specialist who has unsuccessfully run for local office in Springdale twice, and Steve Unger, a retired U.S. Navy captain from Springdale. If no candidate reaches a 50%+1 majority threshold of the vote, a primary runoff will take place on January 11. We will have the election results for both races below once the polls close at 7:30 p.m. (CST)
Iowa Senate 1st District
The last race takes us to Iowa, where the seat in the Iowa Senate’s 1st District is vacant after Republican Zach Whiting resigned to join the Texas Public Policy Foundation. That is not a typo, he did resign to take a job at a think tank in a different state. Iowa’s 1st Senate District covers all of Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola, and Palo Alto Counties. The candidates for this special general election were selected by local party conventions. Both selected local businessmen from Spirit Lake in Dickinson County. We will have the election results below once the polls close at 8 p.m. (CST)