By: David Luchs
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Candidates for state and federal office in New Mexico have until today to file; four more states have filing deadlines next week
- Candidate Connection update: One race reached 100% completion in the past week
- Election spotlight—Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary
Candidates for state and federal office in New Mexico have until today to file; four more states have filing deadlines next week
March (filing deadline) Madness continues this week. Let’s check in on one state – New Mexico – as the filing deadline for candidates running for state or federal office is today, March 24.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House are up for election this year, including all three in New Mexico. New Mexico will also hold elections for 12 state executive offices, including the governorship, all 70 seats in the state House, and three of the five seats on the state Supreme Court.
Four more states will have filing deadlines upcoming next week:
- March 28: State legislative candidates in Pennsylvania
- March 29: All candidates for state and federal office in Missouri
- March 29: All candidates for state and federal office in South Dakota
- March 30: All candidates for state and federal office in South Carolina
New Mexico and South Dakota are among the seven states that will hold primaries on June 7. Pennsylvania’s primaries will take place May 17, while South Carolina’s are scheduled for June 14 and Missouri’s for August 2.
We’ll be following all these primaries as they unfold in our free Heart of the Primaries newsletters, delivered weekly on Thursdays. This pair of newsletters—one focusing on Republican primaries and the other on Democratic primaries—brings you the latest on policy differences between candidates, moves by political operatives, polling, and more. Click here for more and to sign up!
Candidate Connection update: One race reached 100% completion in the past week
Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey asks candidates for federal, state, and local office to share what motivates them on a personal and political level. We’ll be providing regular updates on how many races have a 100% survey completion rate in Thursday editions of the Brew this year.
As of March 22, 2022, we’re tracking 19 races with final candidate lists and a 100% Candidate Connection completion rate. One of those races, the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 6, reached 100% completion in the past week.
We use the term race to describe a primary, runoff, or general election for a single office or seat or for a single set of seats that are elected as a batch. For example, a school board general election for three at-large seats where each voter selects three candidates would be one race, while a school board general election for three seats elected by district where each voter is voting for one candidate would be three separate races.
Some other details about the 19 races with a 100% response rate:
- As of this week, there are now six states with at least one race with a 100% response rate.
- Thirteen of the 19 races are taking place in Texas.
- Three of the 19 races are general elections.
- Of the 16 primaries and primary runoffs, nine are for the Democratic nomination and seven are for the Republican nomination.
- Ten of the 19 are races for U.S. House.
The Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 6 is between Bill Ferko and
Lindsey Tichenor. This will be the first state legislative election in Kentucky to take place under new district lines following the 2020 census. Under the new lines, Senate District 6 covers an area northeast of Louisville that was part of Senate Districts 20 and 26 under the post-2010 district lines. In the last round of regular elections, held in 2018, Paul Hornback (R) was elected to represent District 20 by a 56.5% to 43.5% margin. The same year, Ernie Harris (R) was elected to represent District 26 by a 51.8% to 46.3% margin. Karen Berg (D) won a special election to represent District 26 following Harris’ retirement in 2020.
Here’s how both candidates responded to the question, “What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?”
Bill Ferko:
“Elected Officials need to listen to their voters and understand what is important for them. Frequent communication, open communication lines, surveys, community meetings, etc are all methods where the elected officials can hear the needs of the community.”
Lindsey Tichenor:
“To listen to and communicate with their constituents and to be active in their districts and know what issues are directly affecting those they represent. Our job as a representative of the people, is to be their voice in government and write legislation that upholds the rights granted within the constitution for them to have the best opportunities to prosper.”
Help us contact candidates to ask them to complete the Candidate Connection survey by sending us candidate contact information here.
Election spotlight—Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary
Let’s turn to Ohio for a look at an upcoming battleground primary for U.S. Senate.
Seven candidates are running in the May 3 Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Ohio on May 3, including Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel, Jane Timken, and J.D. Vance. Incumbent Rob Portman (R), first elected in 2010, announced on January 25, 2021, that he would not seek re-election.
Matt Dolan, Neil Patel, and Mark Pukita are also running in the primary. Gibbons, Mandel, Timken, and Vance have led in fundraising, endorsements, and polling.
Gibbons, a businessman and investor, says his background in the private sector has prepared him for the U.S. Senate: “My job was to go in and convince CEOs and CFOs that they could trust me to handle the most important transactions those companies would ever do. And I have to tell you, I think it’s great practice for the U.S. Senate.” Sen. Rand Paul (R) endorsed Gibbons.
Mandel served as Ohio treasurer from 2011 to 2019. Mandel said, “when I get to Washington, I’m not just going to drain the swamp, I’m going to blow up the swamp. And yes, I’ll be taking on the secular left, yes, I’ll be taking on the radical left. But with as much ferocity and strength and force, I’m going to take on the squishy establishment RINO Republicans,” a group he says includes Utah Sen. Mitt Romney (R), Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney (R), and Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R). U.S. Sens. Mike Lee (R) and Cynthia Lummis (R) endorsed Mandel.
Timken has been the chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party since 2017. Timken said her experience leading the Ohio Republican Party shows that she can unite the party: “I successfully unified the party when I became chair, and so I have a real understanding of building a broad base and coalition of support. And that’s what I’ve been working on since I announced this campaign.” On February 16, 2022, Portman endorsed Timken.
Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007 before working in venture capital in San Francisco. In 2016, he wrote Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir about growing up in Middletown, Ohio. Vance has campaigned on bringing manufacturing back to Ohio, fixing the country’s immigration system and completing the wall along the southern border, and breaking up large technology companies. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) endorsed Vance.
In 2016, Portman defeated Ted Strickland (D) 58% to 37.2%. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., who served from 1974 to 1999, was the last Democrat to hold the seat, serving from 1974 to 1999.
Donald Trump (R) won Ohio by eight percentage points in 2016 and in 2020.