Welcome to the Tuesday, June 1, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Comparing 2020 presidential and senatorial vote share by party
- Voters to decide municipal runoff elections on June 5 in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington, Texas
- COVID-19 policy changes and events one year ago this week
Welcome to June! We hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend.
Comparing 2020 presidential and senatorial vote share by party
Our staff recently published a comparison of the performance of Joe Biden (D) and Donald Trump (R) in the 2020 presidential election to Democratic and Republican Senate candidates in each state. Here’s a rundown for you.
- Thirty-five U.S. Senate elections were held in the Nov. 3 general election. Biden outperformed Chris Janicek (D) in Nebraska, Sara Gideon (D) in Maine, and the cumulative vote total for Democratic Senate candidates in Louisiana by the largest margins with a percentage difference of 27.0%, 22.5%, and 15.8%, respectively.
- Biden underperformed Steve Bullock (D) in Montana, Doug Jones (D) in Alabama, and Mike Espy (D) in Mississippi by the largest margins with a percentage difference of 10.7%, 8.0%, and 7.0%, respectively.
- Trump outperformed Allen Waters (R) in Rhode Island, Bryant Messner (R) in New Hampshire, and Lauren Witzke (R) in Delaware by the largest margins with a percentage difference of 19.2%, 11.4%, and 7.5%, respectively.
- Trump underperformed Susan Collins (R) in Maine, Mike Rounds (R) in South Dakota, and Ben Sasse (R) in Nebraska by the largest margins with a percentage difference of 14.6%, 5.7%, and 4.7%, respectively.
The following map shows the percentage difference between Biden and Democratic Senate candidates in all states that held Senate elections. Positive numbers indicate Biden overperformed. Negative numbers indicate Biden underperformed.
The following map shows the percentage difference between Trump and Republican Senate candidates in all states that held Senate elections. Positive numbers indicate Biden overperformed. Negative numbers indicate Biden underperformed.
Voters to decide municipal runoff elections on June 5 in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington, Texas
Ballotpedia is covering municipal elections in 22 counties and 71 cities, including 43 mayoral elections, in 2021. Today, let’s focus on the three upcoming municipal runoff elections in Texas.
Nonpartisan runoff elections for Dallas City Council, Fort Worth Mayor, and Arlington Mayor in Texas will take place on June 5. The general elections took place on May 1. Here’s a rundown on these races.
Michael Glaspie and Jim Ross advanced to the mayoral runoff from a field of seven candidates with 21.3% and 47.9% of the vote, respectively. This is the first mayoral election in Arlington without an incumbent seeking re-election since 2003. Incumbent Jeff Williams (R) is term-limited.
Glaspie served on the Arlington City Council from 2012 to 2019 and the Arlington school board from 1991 to 2008. He received endorsements from former Mayor Elzie Odom (1997-2003), The Dallas Morning News, and all five general election mayoral candidates who did not advance to the runoff.
Ross owns a law firm and previously worked as a police officer with the Arlington Police Department. Ross received endorsements from incumbent Mayor Williams, former Mayor Richard Greene (1987-1997), and four of the city’s police unions.
Deborah Peoples and Mattie Parker advanced to the mayoral runoff from a field of ten candidates with 33.6% and 30.8% of the vote, respectively. Incumbent Mayor Betsy Price (R), first elected in 2011, did not run for re-election.
Peoples formerly worked as a business executive and was Chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. She has received endorsements from five Democratic members of the Texas State Legislature, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D), and EMILY’s List.
Parker works in education and formerly worked as the chief of staff for the Fort Worth mayor and city council. She has received endorsements from Mayor Price (R), the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News, and former Fort Worth mayoral candidate Brian Byrd, who finished third in the general election with 14.7% of the vote.
Six districts are holding runoff elections for member of the city council. Three races are for open seats, and three are between an incumbent and a challenger. All fourteen seats were up for election this year.
Three races with incumbents advanced to a runoff. In District 4, incumbent Carolyn King Arnold and Maxie Johnson advanced to a runoff with 47% and 37% of the vote. In District 7, incumbent Adam Bazaldua and Kevin Felder advanced with 39% and 15% of the vote. In District 14, Paul Ridley and incumbent David Blewett advanced with 46% and 32% of the vote.
In Districts 2, 11, and 13, incumbent councilmembers Adam Medrano, Lee Kleinman, and Jennifer Staubach Gates are not running for re-election due to term limits. In District 2, Jesse Moreno and Sana Syed advanced to the runoff with 39% and 25% of the vote. In District 11, Jaynie Schultz and Barry Wernick advanced with 38% and 26% of the vote. In District 13, Leland Burk and Gay Donnell Willis advanced with 43% and 41% of the vote.
For more on the elections Texas is holding this year, click the link below.
COVID-19 policy changes and events one year ago this week
Let’s continue our Monday series looking back at coronavirus-related policy changes and events that happened last year. Here is a sampling of events from one year ago this week.
- Election changes:
- On June 3, 2020, Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) issued an executive order extending the voter pre-registration deadline to July 7 for the July 14 election.
- On June 4, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed a district court decision ordering that all eligible Texas voters be allowed to cast absentee ballots in order to avoid transmission of COVID-19.
- On June 4, Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) signed SB631 into law, permitting any registered voter to cast an absentee ballot in any 2020 election, subject to a notarization requirement.
- Travel restrictions:
- On June 1, Delaware Gov. John Carney Jr. (D) ended the quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers.
- On June 5, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that travelers from Louisiana would no longer need to self-quarantine for 14 days. The requirements remained in effect for visitors from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
- Federal government responses:
- On June 1, United States Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette announced that the Department of Energy would enter the first phase of its reopening plan on June 8, allowing some mission-critical personnel to return to work at facilities in Washington and Maryland.
- On June 5, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would resume committal services in all but two VA national cemeteries on June 9.
- Stay-at-home orders:
- On June 1, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) ended the statewide stay-at-home order, allowing bars, restaurants, and retailers to reopen with restrictions. Whitmer first enacted the order on March 23 and extended it on April 25 and May 7.
- On June 4, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) allowed the statewide stay-at-home order to expire. He first issued the order, which applied to seven counties, on March 24. A subsequent order expanded that number to 26 counties. On April 1, the stay-at-home order applied to all 67 counties.