West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant has announced a special election will not be held this year to fill the seat of Senator Robert Byrd, who passed away on June 28, 2010.  Under West Virginia law, Governor Joe Manchin will appoint someone to serve until a replacement is elected at the next possible election.  Senator Byrd’s replacement cannot be elected in the November, 2010 election, however, because the filing period for candidates has long passed.  This means there will be two elections for the same Senate seat in November 2012.  One will be a special election for the remaining five weeks of Byrd’s term, and the other will be for a full six-year term since Byrd was due to stand for re-election in 2012 regardless.

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