Election day November 4 Net change 0 Net change Republican +2 Location United States of America | Seats contested 2 Seats contested 4 Date 4 November 2003 | |
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Other Instances United States elections, United States elections, United States elections, United States elections, United States elections | ||
The 2003 United States elections, most of which were held on Tuesday, November 4, were off-year elections in which no members of the Congress were standing for election. However, there were three gubernatorial races, state legislative elections in four states, numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races in several major cities, and a variety of local offices on the ballot.
Contents
- United States House of Representatives special elections
- Gubernatorial elections
- Other state wide Officer elections
- State legislative elections
- Mayoral elections
- References
The most high-profile race during this year was the California gubernatorial recall election: California voters replaced incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
United States House of Representatives special elections
In 2003, two special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives were held. They were for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district (on January 4) and Texas's 19th congressional district (June 3). None of these congressional seats changed party hands
Gubernatorial elections
Three states held elections for Governor in 2003. In addition to these regularly scheduled elections, California held a recall election. California held a recall election on October 7. Kentucky and Mississippi voted on November 4. Louisiana's election dates do not coincide with that of most states: Louisiana held its open primary on October 4, with a runoff on November 15.
Going into the elections, Republicans held the governorships of twenty-six states and Democrats held twenty-four. Republicans achieved a net gain of two with victories in Kentucky and Mississippi as well as the successful recall and replacement of Californian Governor Gray Davis with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Democrats succeeded capturing Louisiana's Governorship. Thus, Republicans succeeded in reversing a trend in which Republicans had been losing gubernatorial seats to the Democrats since 1998.
Other state-wide Officer elections
In the three states which held regularly scheduled state general elections, elections for state executive branch offices of Lieutenant Governor (in a separate election in Louisiana and Mississippi and on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee in Kentucky), Secretary of state, state Treasurer, state Auditor, state Attorney General, and Commissioners of Insurance and Agriculture will be held. In addition, there will also be elections for each states' respective state Supreme Courts and state appellate courts.
State legislative elections
Four states and one territory held elections for their state legislatures.
The Covenant Party led by Benigno Fitial won control of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, but the Northern Mariana Islands Senate would remain in Republican control. Change in Control of any other state legislature did not occur in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, or Virginia.
Mayoral elections
Some of the many major American cities that held their mayoral elections in 2003 included: