Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, a conservative firebrand known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change, has died. He was 89.
Inhofe, a powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for over six decades, died Tuesday morning after he had a stroke over the July Fourth holiday, his family said in a statement.
Inhofe, who was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020, stepped down in early 2023.
How does voting work when this happens? Like, let’s say R’s control the Senate 51-50, but this guy suddenly dies. Is the Senate now split on votes?
He retired in 2023.
As OP mentioned, it’s not relevant since he retired, but the seat becomes vacant for a period, meaning one fewer member votes, and results may be affected. There’s generally some mechanism for filling the vacant seat, which can vary on timing (and state law). Generally a replacement can be appointed by the state governor, special elections are held if there is still a substantial term remaining, or the position is held by the appointee if an election is already imminent.
There is no such thing as controlling the Senate 51-50. There are 100 senators and if there are only 99 voting (e.g. because one of them died), then if there was previously a 50-50 party split, party-line votes will now have 50-49 results, i.e. not a tie, i.e. the Vice President will not be asked to break a tie.
It wouldn’t actually be a 51-50 split. What happens is the senators vote, and if there’s a tie, the Vice President (aka the President of the Senate) is asked to break the deadlock. If it was a 50-50 split, and one of the senators dies, it’s now a 50-49 split, and the VP is no longer asked to break ties.