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 July 3-7.
One party controls the top state executive offices in 44 states—up from 30 in 2010
In 44 states, one party controls that state’s top executive offices—governor, attorney general, and secretary of state—known as a state government triplex. This is up from 30 states with a state government triplex in 2010.
There is a Republican state government triplex in 24 of those 44 states. Democrats have 20. Both figures represent the largest number of triplexes for either party since Ballotpedia began tracking this data in 2010. Six states have divided state executive leadership, which is the smallest number since 2010.
Oregon voters in 2024 to decide measures related to ranked-choice voting, impeachment
On June 25, the Oregon House and Senate passed House Bill 2004 (HB 2004), making Oregon the fifth state to put a measure about ranked-choice voting before voters. The measure will appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot.
On June 25, the Oregon legislature certified for the 2024 ballot a measure that would empower the legislature to impeach and remove elected state executives—including the governor. Oregon is the only state where the legislature cannot impeach the governor.
Click below to read more about 2024 Oregon ballot measures.
100 of Biden’s U.S. District Court nominees confirmed
As of July 1, the U.S. Senate has confirmed 100 of Biden’s U.S. district court nominees.
District courts are the general trial courts of the federal judicial system. There are 94 district courts, where both civil and criminal cases are filed, and 677 judgeships. There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Senate confirms the president’s judicial nominations, though there are multiple steps in the process.
Since taking office, Biden (D) has nominated 164 individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts, including district courts, appeals courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).