A special election is being held on Nov. 2 to fill a vacancy in District 86 of the Maine House of Representatives. Augusta City Council member Raegan LaRochelle (D) and U.S. Army veteran James Orr (R) are facing off in the special election. The winner of the special election will serve until December 2022.
The seat became vacant on July 4 when Justin Fecteau (R) resigned because he moved outside of the district. He had represented the district since 2018. He was re-elected in 2020 with 57% of the vote.
Heading into the special election, Democrats have a 79-65 majority in the Maine House with five third-party members and two vacancies. Maine has a Democratic state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.
As of October, 64 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Maine held 15 state legislative special elections from 2011 to 2020.
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