Year: 2025

  • Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean advance from nonpartisan primary for mayor of Helena, Montana

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    On Sept. 9, Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean advanced from the nonpartisan primary for mayor of Helena, Montana. Shirtliff received 48.33% of the vote and Dean received 36.53%. The general election is on Nov. 4, 2025. Sonda Gaub, Braxton Hudson, and Chris Riccardo also ran in the nonpartisan primary. This election was the first since…

  • All 18 uncontested state legislative incumbents this year are Democrats

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    Welcome to the Thursday, Sept. 11, Brew.  By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: All 18 uncontested state legislative incumbents this year are Democrats Of the 168 incumbents running for re-election on Nov. 4, 18—all Democrats—do not have general election challengers. That means 10.7% of the state legislative…

  • Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #173

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    Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving  school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy.  In today’s edition, you’ll find: Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas! On the issues: The debate over no-zero grading policies  In this section, we curate reporting,…

  • Department of Labor announces ESG retirement plan rule

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    In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C., and around the world Department of Labor announces ESG retirement plan rule What’s the story? The Department of Labor (DOL) announced Sept. 4 that it will issue a new rule governing the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans covered…

  • Why party control of U.S. House seats and national vote totals don’t always align

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Why party control of U.S. House seats and national vote totals don’t always align As states implement or consider new congressional district boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections, debates over how votes translate…

  • Ballotpedia has tracked each major party’s number of U.S. House seats won in relation to U.S. House national vote share gained from 1980 to 2024 (Brew)

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    As states implement or consider new congressional district boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections, debates over how votes translate into control of U.S. House seats are in the spotlight. Our review of more than 40 years of data shows that the share of all House votes a party receives across the country does not always…

  • State legislative session updates: possible special sessions

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    As of Sept. 8, eight state legislatures are in regular session for this year, and one state is in special session, according to the 2025 MultiState Insider Resource. California’s regular session ends on Sept. 12. North Carolina’s regular session ends on Nov. 5. Massachusetts’ regular session ends on Nov. 19. The remaining five states—Michigan, New…

  • California Proposition 50 campaigns top $41.4 million—more than the three previous initiatives on the state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission

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    Welcome to the Tuesday, Sept. 9, Brew.  By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: California Proposition 50 campaigns top $41.4 million—more than the three previous initiatives on the state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission As of Sept. 4, the campaign committees for and against California Proposition 50 have raised a…

  • Massachusetts attorney general approves 44 initiatives to gather signatures for the 2026 and 2028 ballots

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    The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General announced on Sept. 3 that 44 separate initiative petitions have been approved to begin gathering signatures in support of the proposed laws.  The attorney general’s approval to gather signatures does not indicate support for the initiatives or a guarantee that the initiative will be placed on the ballot.…