Welcome to the Friday, February 17, Brew.
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Fifty-six minor party candidates received more votes than the margins of victory between the winning candidates last year
- Eight candidates running for mayor of Jacksonville, Florida
- #FridayTrivia: How many U.S. House members sought other offices in 2022?
Fifty-six minor party candidates received more votes than the margins of victory between the winning candidates last year
Of the more than 40,000 elections we covered last year, at least 56 minor party or independent candidates received more votes than the margins of victory between the winning candidates in their elections, potentially altering the outcome.
Those 56 candidates include:
- Five in congressional elections;
- 18 in statewide elections;
- 26 in state legislative elections; and,
- Seven in municipal elections
These 56 candidates represent a decrease from 77 in 2020.
The affiliations of these 56 candidates are shown below, along with the affiliations of the candidates who won their respective elections.
These 56 candidates appeared in 43 total elections. This is because, in some cases, more than one minor party or independent candidate received a vote total larger than the margin. In those 43 races, 27 Democrats, 14 Republicans, and two other party candidates won.
A few notable examples of close races from 2022 include the U.S. Senate election in Nevada, Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, and the Wisconsin Secretary of State contest.
- In Nevada, incumbent U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) defeated Adam Laxalt (R) by 7,928 votes. Independent candidate Barry Lindemann received 8,075 votes.
- Two candidates received more votes than the margin of victory in the open race for Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. John James (R) defeated Carl Marlinga (D) by 1,600 votes—0.5% of the total votes cast. Andrea Kirby (Working Class) received 1.8% of the vote, and Mike Saliba (L) received 1.1%.
- Two candidates received more votes than the margin of victory in the Wisconsin Secretary of State election. Incumbent Douglas La Follette (D) defeated Amy Loudenbeck (R) by 7,442 votes—0.3% of the total votes cast. Neil Harmon (L) received 2.1% of the vote, and Sharyl McFarland (G) received 1.6%.
Use the link below to view all races in 2022 where a minor party or independent candidate received more votes than the margin of victory.
Eight candidates running for mayor of Jacksonville, Florida
Eight candidates are running in the March 21 general election for mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, the country’s most populous city with a Republican mayor.
Incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry (R), first elected in 2015, is term-limited.
Donna Deegan (D), Audrey Gibson (D), Leanna Cumber (R), Daniel Davis (R), and Al Ferraro (R) lead the field in media coverage and fundraising.
The Florida Times-Union’s Nate Monroe wrote that Jacksonville’s mayoral election system “makes larger fields with multiple viable candidates, as this year appears to feature, difficult to handicap.”
Deegan and Gibson are the only two Democrats running. Deegan is a philanthropist, author, and local TV news anchor. Gibson represented Jacksonville in the state Senate from 20016 to 2022 after serving in the House from 2002 to 2010.
Cumber, Davis, and Ferraro represent three of the field’s four Republicans. Cumber and Ferraro are both business owners and city council members. Davis is the C.E.O. of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and a former state representative.
Frank Keasler (R), Omega Allen (I), and write-in candidate Brian Griffin (I) are also running.
In Jacksonville, all candidates run in the same general election regardless of party affiliation. If no candidate receives a majority of votes on March 21, the top-two vote-getters will advance to a runoff on May 16.
In 2015, Curry defeated then-incumbent Alvin Brown (D), 51% to 49%, in a runoff election. Curry won re-election outright in the 2019 general election with 58% of the vote.
Out of the 100 most populous cities and all state capitals, we are covering 40 mayoral elections this year, up from 34 in 2022 but the same as in 2021.
#FridayTrivia: How many U.S. House members sought other offices in 2022?
In Thursday’s Brew, we told you that the number of U.S. House members who sought other offices in 2022 was higher than in 2020. This figure does not include House members who ran in other districts due to redistricting, but rather those who sought offices outside the chamber like the U.S. Senate or governorships.
How many U.S. House members sought other offices in 2022?