Welcome to the Monday, October 31, Brew.
By: Samuel Wonacott
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- 143 candidates said they would be Superman—and other fun responses from our Candidate Connection survey
- Election preview—Michigan governor
- Missouri voters to elect new state auditor, the only Democrat currently holding statewide office
143 candidates said they would be Superman—and other fun responses from our Candidate Connection survey
Happy Halloween!
Each year, thousands of candidates fill out our candidate connection survey. The survey asks candidates thoughtful questions about their political philosophy and provides valuable information to voters making tough decisions at the ballot box. More than 5,000 candidates have completed the survey this year, and more continue to do so.
In honor of Ballotpedia’s 15th anniversary, we dug through thousands of surveys to identify and share 15 fun references. So, let’s take a break from the deluge of regular political content—which, with Election Day eight days away, is important—and have a light-hearted plunge into some fun questions.
Our survey includes 15 universal questions. There are optional questions based on office type. For today’s Brew, we will focus on the following three questions:
- If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
- What is your favorite book?
- What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
- 143 candidates would be Superman.
- 77 candidates would be Batman.
- 73 would be Wonder Woman.
- 26 would be Sherlock Holmes.
- 16 would be James Bond.
- 11 would be Atticus Finch.
- 6 would be Leslie Knope.
- 6 would be Doctor Who.
- 5 would be Hermione Granger.
In honor of Halloween, we thought we’d include some spooky honorable mentions. Three candidates told us they would be: Michael Myers (the one with the knife, not the jokes), Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Captain Jack Sparrow.
What is your favorite book?
- 428 candidates look to “The Bible” for inspiration.
- 51 candidates favor “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
- 24 candidates admire “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling.
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
- 36 candidates (or should we say parents?) can’t get “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong out of their heads.
- 19 candidates can’t shake “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the movie “Encanto”.
- 12 candidates keep humming “My Shot” from the musical “Hamilton”.
We hope you enjoyed these references! If you or a candidate you know would like to join in on the fun, we encourage you to fill out our candidate connection survey here. There is still time to share both the serious and not-so-serious aspects of yourself and your candidacy with our readers. As always, thank you for supporting Ballotpedia!
Election preview—Michigan governor
With the fun stuff out of the way, let’s return to that regular political content we mentioned above and look at one of the 36 gubernatorial elections taking place this November.
Incumbent Gretchen Whitmer (D), Tudor Dixon (R), and five other candidates are running in the general election.
Whitmer was first elected governor in 2018. She was a member of the state House from 2001 to 2006 and the state Senate from 2006 to 2015. Whitmer is running on her record, saying she “has created jobs, led the way for business investment, moved dirt to fix the damn roads, and invested in education.”
Dixon worked in steel sales from 2002 to 2017 before entering news media and working as an anchor for America’s Voice News. Dixon said she was “running for governor to get us back on track,” saying she would create a “family-friendly Michigan, one with good careers, better schools, safe communities, and … roads you can actually drive on.”
Whitmer won the office in 2018 after defeating Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) 53% to 44%. Whitmer succeeded Rick Snyder (R), switching partisan control of the governorship to Democrats, who had held the office from 2002 to 2010.
In the 2020 presidential election, Michigan was one of five states that voted for Joe Biden (D) after voting for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Trump’s 2016 win in the state was the first time Michigan supported a Republican for president since 1988. In 2016, Trump won Michigan by a margin of 0.3 percentage points. Biden won Michigan by 2.8 percentage points in 2020.
If Whitmer wins re-election, she will be Michigan’s first governor elected from the same party as the incumbent president since 1990. Between 1994 and 2018, Michiganders elected governors from the opposite party as the incumbent president. In 1990, voters elected John Engler (R) during the presidency of George H.W. Bush (R). If Whitmer loses, she would become the first incumbent governor since John Swainson (D) in 1962 to lose a second term re-election bid.
Michigan is one of 13 states with a divided government with Democrats controlling the governorship and Republicans controlling both chambers of the legislature. Since 1992, Michigan has had a divided government for 17 years, and a Republican trifecta for the remaining 14.
Kevin Hogan (G), Mary Buzuma (L), Daryl Simpson (Natural Law), Donna Brandenburg (U.S. Taxpayers), and Evan Space (I) are also running in the general election. Minor party and independent candidates collectively received 3.6% of the vote in 2018.
Click below to learn more about Michigan’s gubernatorial election.
Missouri voters to elect new state auditor, the only Democrat currently holding statewide office
Today is the 45th day of our 50 States in 50 Days series, and we’re featuring Missouri, the Show-Me State.
Week One: Pennsylvania, Indiana, South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota
Week Two: California, Georgia, Texas, Montana
Week Three: North Carolina, Virginia, New Mexico, Illinois, Idaho
Week Four: Kentucky, Michigan, Arkansas, Minnesota, West Virginia
Week Five: Vermont, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, Ohio
Week Six: South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Tennessee
Week Seven: Colorado, New Jersey, Washington, Alabama, Utah
Week Eight: Mississippi, Maryland, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Maine
Week Nine: Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida
On the ballot in Missouri
Missouri voters will elect one new member to the United States Senate. Incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt (R) is not seeking re-election.
Eight U.S. House seats are up for election in Missouri. Two Democratic representatives are seeking re-election, four Republicans are seeking re-election, and two races are open.
Missouri is holding one state executive election this year. Voters will elect a new Missouri Auditor. Incumbent Nicole Galloway (D) is not seeking re-election.
Seventeen of the 34 seats in the Missouri State Senate and all 163 seats in the Missouri House of Representatives are up for election this year. Forty-nine state legislative races are open.
Two Missouri Supreme Court justices are up for retention election. A retention election is a type of election where voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term.
St. Louis will be holding a special general election for Board of Aldermen President to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Lewis Reed, who resigned after he was indicted on federal bribery charges
Redistricting highlights
Missouri was apportioned 8 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census.
Congressional and state legislative elections will take place under new district lines following the census. Our side-by-side map comparison tool allows you to immediately see what redistricting looks like in your state. Here are the congressional maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle in Missouri:
To use our tool to view Missouri’s state legislative maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle, visit our Missouri redistricting page.
Partisan balance
Missouri’s current U.S. Congressional delegation is made up of two Republican senators, two Democratic U.S. House members, and six Republican U.S. House members.
Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Republicans have a 24-10 Republican majority in the Missouri State Senate, and a 107-48 majority in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Governor Mike Parson is a Republican, meaning Missouri has a Republican trifecta. Missouri has had a Republican trifecta since 2017, when former Gov. Eric Greitens (R) assumed office. Before 2017, Missouri had a divided government.
Missouri has a Republican triplex, meaning the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Republicans.
Seats contested by only one major party
In 2022, 102 state legislative seats in Missouri, or 57% of all seats up for election, do not have major party competition. When a candidate from only one of either the Democratic or Republican parties runs for a state legislative seat, that party is all but guaranteed to win the seat.
Democrats are running in 59% of all state legislative races. Seventy-three state legislative seats (41% of all state legislative seats) do not feature a Democratic candidate and a Republican is likely to win.
Republicans are running in 84% of all state legislative races. Twenty-nine seats (16% of all state legislative seats) do not feature a Republican candidate and a Democrat is likely to win.
Key races
- U.S. Senate election in Missouri, 2022: Trudy Busch Valentine (D), Eric Schmitt (R), Paul Venable (Constitution Party), and Jonathan Dine (L) are running. Incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt (R) is not seeking re-election.
- Missouri Auditor election, 2022: Alan Green (D), Scott Fitzpatrick (R), and John Hartwig (L) are running in Missouri’s only state executive election this year. Incumbent Nicole Galloway (D), the only Democratic state executive office holder, is not seeking re-election.
- St. Louis Alderman President special election, 2022: John Coatar and Megan Ellyia Green are running in the special nonpartisan general election. The special election was called due to the resignation of Lewis Reed as President of the Board of Aldermen after he was indicted on federal bribery charges.
- Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2022: The elections for districts 14, 15, 69, 82, 89, 95, and 105 in the Missouri House of Representatives are rematches between candidates who ran against one another in 2020. Districts 21 and 135 were decided by less than 0.5% in 2020.
Ballot measures
Missouri voters will decide five statewide measures on Nov. 8.
- Amendment 1 would authorize the state treasurer to invest in highly rated municipal securities.
- Amendment 3 would legalize the purchase, possession, consumption, use, delivery, manufacture, and sale of marijuana for personal use for adults over the age of twenty-one.
- Amendment 4 would allow the legislature to pass a law until December 31, 2026, that would require a city to increase funding without reimbursement from the state to a police force that was established by a state board of police commissioners.
- Amendment 5 would give the Missouri National Guard its own department in the state government.
- Constitutional Convention Question asks voters whether to hold a state constitutional convention.
In Missouri, 131 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2020. Eighty-three ballot measures were approved, and 48 ballot measures were defeated.
Voting
- On Election Day, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.
- Missouri requires voters to present photo identification while voting. For more information about voter ID requirements in Missouri, click here.
- The voter registration deadline was October 12, 2022.
- Absentee voting is available to some voters. Click here for a list of valid absentee reasons. Absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. the Wednesday before an election if submitted by mail, or by the close of polls on Election Day if submitted in person.
Want to learn more about the elections you’ll be voting in this year? Click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup tool!