Special elections: There are seven special elections across Maine, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee on Tuesday. The marquee races are taking place in Pennsylvania, which we list first below; the others follow in alphabetical order by state. The three races in Mississippi are officially nonpartisan.
PA-HD-114: This is a Democratic seat that covers area immediately north and west of Scranton. This election was triggered by the death of former state Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich a month before the election. Kavulich was running unopposed and there wasn’t enough time to remove his name from the ballot. The candidates were selected by the parties: The Democrat is nurse Bridget Kosierowski and the Republican is former school board president Frank Scavo.
Scavo has been under fire over ugly anti-Muslim comments unearthed from his Facebook account, and after initially apologizing, he took on a more defiant tone and refused to resign as president of the Old Forge School Board. The board soon voted him out, and Scavo responded by calling his ousting “political bullying” and “a vendetta”.
Despite all of this, the race for this seat, which swung from 59-40 Obama to 52-45 Trump, may end up being very competitive.
PA-HD-190: This is a Democratic district in west Philadelphia. This seat became vacant after former state Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown was convicted of bribery in October. Brown was the only candidate on the ballot for the November election but she resigned her seat shortly after.
The Democrat is Movita Johnson-Harrell, a former victims services supervisor at the Philadelphia District Attorney's office, and the Republican is Navy veteran Michael Harvey. Both were selected by their parties as candidates. If she wins, Johnson-Harrell would become the first Muslim woman elected to the Pennsylvania state House. Amen Brown of the Amen Brown Party and Pamela Williams of the Working Families Party are also candidates.
This district voted for Clinton 96-3 and Obama 97-2, making this one of the most Democratic districts in Pennsylvania.
ME-HD-124: This is a Democratic district in the Bangor area. This vacancy was created after the state legislature chose former state Rep. Aaron Frey to replace Gov. Janet Mills as state attorney general. The local party committees selected the candidates for this race: The Democrat is former state Sen. Joe Perry and the Republican is Thomas White, a 24 year-old recent graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy.
This district supported Hillary Clinton 55-37 and Barack Obama 60-38.
MS-HD-32: This is a Democratic district located in Greenwood. The seat came open after former state Rep. Willie Perkins became a chancery judge. Troy Brown, Solomon Osbourne, and Nicholas Onyshko are the candidates in this race.
This is a heavily blue district, voting for 2015 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Robert Gray 69-30.
MS-HD-71: This is a Democratic district located just south of Jackson. The vacancy was created after former state Rep. Adrienne Wooten became a circuit judge. The candidates are Edelia J. Carthan, Ronnie Crudup Jr. and Stephanie Skipper.
This is a heavily Democratic district that voted for Gray 62-35.
MS-HD-101: This is a Republican district located west of Hattiesburg. This seat was vacated after former state Rep. Brad Touchstone was elected Lamar County Court judge. The candidates are former National Guard Lt. Col Gary Crist and four businessmen: Kent McCarty, Steven Utroska, Daniel Wade, and Andrew Waites.
This is a deep red district that voted for GOP Gov. Phil Bryant 88-11 in 2015.
TN-SD-32: This is a Republican seat in the eastern suburbs of Memphis. This vacancy was created after former state Sen. Mark Norris was nominated to be a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Navy veteran Eric Coleman is the Democrat and businessman Paul Rose is the Republican.
This is a strongly Republican district voting for Trump 68-28 and Romney 71-28.