Utah Sen. Mitt Romney (R) becomes 6th Senator not to seek re-election in 2024
On Sept. 13, Utah U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R) announced he would not run for re-election in 2024, becoming the second Senate Republican and sixth U.S. Senator overall not to seek re-election.
The six U.S. Senators who have announced they are not running for re-election are one more than the five who had announced at this point in the 2022 election cycle and two more than the four who had announced at this point in the 2020 cycle.
Romney and Democratic Sens. Diane Feinstein (Calif.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Ben Cardin (Md.), and Tom Carper (Del.) are retiring from public office. The sixth retiring Senator, Mike Braun (R-Ind.), is running for governor of Indiana.
Four months to go until the Iowa caucuses
Last week, 11 of the 14 noteworthy Republican presidential candidates we are following campaigned in Iowa, the state set to hold the first nominating contest of the Republican presidential primary. Caucuses there are set for Jan. 15, 2024.
Our analysis of presidential campaign tracking from the Des Moines Register found that, between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2023, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy spent the most days in Iowa at 31. Businessman Ryan Binkley follows at 27, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson spent the third-most days in the state with 26.
State governors issue 85 executive orders from Aug. 28-Sept. 10
From Aug. 28-Sept. 10, governors issued 85 executive orders. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) led the field with 45, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) with five each. Governors in 31 states issued no executive orders.
The last two weeks account for 7% of the year-to-date total of 1,163.
In states with a Republican trifecta, governors issued 736 orders, while governors in states with a Democratic trifecta issued 312. A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both state legislative chambers. In states where neither party holds trifecta control, governors issued 115 orders.