Each week, we bring you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. Here are the top stories from the week of January 30- February 3.
How 2024’s presidential election timeline compares to 2020 and 2016
If history is any indication, the bulk of 2024 presidential candidate announcements will likely occur in the next few months. In the 2020 cycle, 87% (27) of the noteworthy candidates announced their campaigns by June 2019. And in the 2016 cycle, 77% (17) had by that time in 2015.
An update on the partisan composition of state legislatures
At the end of January 2023, 54.85% of all state legislature seats in the United States are Republican while 44.45% of seats are Democratic. There are 7,386 state legislative seats in the country.
Democrats hold 854 state Senate seats, gaining six Senate seats since last month, while Republicans hold 1,108 state Senate seats, gaining three seats since last month. Independent or third-party legislators hold three state Senate seats. Eight state Senate seats are vacant.
When it comes to state House seats, Democrats hold 2,429, a gain of 31 seats since last month, while Republicans hold 2,943 seats, a gain of 25 seats since last month. Independent or third-party legislators hold 20 state House seats. Twenty-one state House seats are vacant.
Three Pennsylvania House special elections on Feb. 7
Voters in three Pittsburgh-area districts will head to the polls on Feb. 7 to fill three vacancies in the narrowly-divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Last November, Democrats won a 102 to 101 majority in the chamber, switching majority control for the first time since 2010.
But three Democratic districts became vacant after the election, giving Republicans a functional 101-99 majority when the legislative session began in early January.
Those three vacant districts are:
- District 32: Former Allegheny Democratic Committee Director Joe McAndrew (D) and pastor and Army veteran Clay Walker (R) are running. Incumbent Anthony DeLuca (D) died on Oct. 9, 2022. DeLuca’s name remained on the ballot, and he was re-elected, creating a vacancy.
- District 34: Attorney Abigail Salisbury (D) and former law enforcement officer Robert Pagane (R) are running. Incumbent Summer Lee (D) was re-elected but was also elected to the U.S. House. Lee resigned on Dec. 7, 2022.
- District 35: McKeesport chief finance officer Matthew Gergely (D) and former school board member Don Nevills (R) are running. Incumbent Austin Davis (D) was re-elected but was also elected lieutenant governor. Davis resigned on Dec. 7, 2022.