Vacancies in Congress: Which Seats Are Empty Right Now

A majority on the House floor is a majority of the members sworn and living, not of 435 seats. With 433 members sworn, a majority is 217 votes — 1 fewer than the 218 usually quoted. The current split is 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats and 1 Independent, with 2 seats empty, so the majority party holds 1 vote beyond what it needs. Every vacancy in the majority's column narrows that cushion by one; a vacancy in the minority's column widens it.

In the Senate a majority is 51 of 100 sworn senators, and the Vice President breaks a tie — so the Senate's working majority is less sensitive to a single vacancy than the House's. See the live party breakdown for both chambers and the majority math for 2026.

House. Only by election. Article I, Section 2 requires the state's executive to “issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies” — a governor cannot appoint a representative, so every House vacancy stays empty until a special election, typically two to five months after the seat opens. When a seat opens late in a term, states sometimes leave it empty until the regular November election rather than hold a separate special.

Senate. The 17th Amendment lets a state legislature empower the governor to make a temporary appointment until a special election; most states do, and several require the appointee to belong to the departing senator's party. A handful of states allow no appointment and leave the seat empty until the special. The special election is usually folded into the next regular November election, as with Florida and Ohio above, so an appointed senator can serve close to two years.

Either way, a member who wins a special election takes office as soon as the result is certified and the oath is administered — not in January — and serves only the remainder of the term. See how long congressional terms are and how the Senate's three classes stagger.