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 June 19-June 23.
More bills related to Juneteenth introduced and enacted so far this year than in all of 2022
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to deliver the news of the end of slavery and the Civil War. In 2021, it officially became America’s 11th federal holiday. President Joe Biden (D) signed the bill into law on June 17, 2021.
Between 2011 and June 15, 2023, state lawmakers introduced 381 bills or resolutions related to Juneteenth, more than 147 of which have been enacted. State lawmakers have introduced 62 Juneteenth bills or resolutions so far this year, and have enacted 13. That’s already more than the total number of bills or resolutions both introduced and enacted in 2022.
A look at results from key Virginia primaries
On June 20, Virginia held a decade-high 47 state legislative primaries. Leading up to the primary, we identified 14 battlegrounds in Virginia, eight in the Senate and six in the House. There were also two incumbent v. incumbent primaries where at least one incumbent was guaranteed to lose. In Senate District 18, Sen. Louise Lucas (D) defeated Sen. Lionell Spruill (D), 53% to 47%. In House District 47, Del. Wren Williams (R) defeated Del. Marie March (R), 68% to 33%.
3.7% of state legislative incumbents who ran for re-election have lost in primaries
At least six incumbents lost in Virginia, or 6% of the 97 incumbents who ran for re-election and 35% of the incumbents who faced contested primaries. Incumbents who lost included four Democrats (state Senate) and two Republicans (one in the state House and the other in the state Senate).
This is the largest number and percentage of incumbents defeated in Virginia’s primaries in more than a decade.
One incumbent—a Democratic state senator—lost in New Jersey’s state legislative primaries on June 6, bringing the total to seven this year, or 3.7% of incumbents running for re-election this year. This is slightly less than in 2021 (3.9%).