Gov. Haley Barbour on Tuesday set Dec. 19 special elections to fill two vacancies in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

If runoffs are needed, they’ll be Jan. 2 — the first day of the 2007 legislative session.

House officials said Republican Reps. Virginia Carlton of Columbia and Joey Fillingane of Sumrall submitted their letters of resignation on Tuesday, effective immediately.

Carlton has been elected to the state Court of Appeals, and Fillingane has been elected to the state Senate. They won runoffs last week, and are awaiting certification of those election results.

Special elections are nonpartisan. State law says candidates’ filing deadline is at least 10 working days before voters go to the polls — in this case, Dec. 5. In multi-county districts such as these, candidates file qualifying papers with the secretary of state’s office.

Carlton’s House District 100 includes parts of Jefferson Davis, Lamar and Marion counties. She was first elected to the seat in November 2003.

Fillingane’s House District 101 includes parts of Lamar and Forrest counties. He first won the seat in November 1999.

The two districts are next to each other in south Mississippi.