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 February 27-March 3.
California ends COVID-19 emergency, leaving five states with active orders
On Feb. 28, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ended the statewide COVID-19 emergency order—1,091 days after issuing it on March 4, 2020. At the beginning of the pandemic, all 50 governors declared emergencies.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, most states ended their COVID-19 emergencies. As of this writing, five states have active emergencies:
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- New Mexico
- Rhode Island
- Texas
New Mexico’s emergency was scheduled to end March 3. As of this writing on March 3, we have not seen that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has renewed the order.
With the exception of Texas, the remaining states with emergencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic are Democratic trifectas, meaning Democrats control the governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature. New Mexico’s emergency will end on March 3, while Rhode Island’s is scheduled to end March 11.
What’s next in the Chicago mayoral election
Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas advanced from Tuesday’s election and will face each other in a runoff on April 4. With 99% of the votes in, Vallas and Johnson received 33.8% and 20.3% of the votes, respectively.
Incumbent Lori Lightfoot finished in third place and did not advance to the runoff. She is the first Chicago mayor in 34 years not to win re-election.
Nine candidates ran in the general election.
Lightfoot received 17.1% of the vote, and U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D) received 13.7%. No other candidate received more than 10% of the vote.
Five noteworthy presidential candidates have declared for 2024, nine fewer than this point in the 2020 cycle
Last week, we added two noteworthy 2024 presidential candidates to our list: entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy (R), and author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D). Our total tally currently stands at five noteworthy 2024 presidential candidates.
Ramaswamy joins former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R), former President Donald Trump (R), and former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton (R) in the Republican primary.
Williamson is the first Democratic candidate to have declared a campaign for the nomination. President Joe Biden (D) has yet to officially announce whether he intends to run for a second term.
At this point in the 2020 cycle, 14 noteworthy candidates had announced their campaigns.
A look at this year’s voter registration deadlines
Every state except North Dakota requires residents to register with election officials before voting.
This year, eight states are holding statewide elections for state executive, legislative, or judicial offices: Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
This year’s earliest registration deadline has already passed. Wisconsin residents had until Feb. 17 to register to vote in the statewide primary on Feb. 21.
Wisconsin also has the next upcoming deadline: residents can register by mail or online until March 15 or in person until March 31 to participate in the April 4 general election.