Welcome to the Friday, December 20, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- The 2024 Cookie Election winner – Sugar Cookie
- More state supreme court incumbents lost in 2024 than in any year since at least 2008
- Did you know: These presidents issued the most executive orders
Thank you for reading the Brew! We’re so grateful to you, our readers, for welcoming us into your inbox. We’ll be back on Jan. 6. Have a wonderful rest of your 2024 and holiday season. See you in 2025!
The 2024 Cookie Election winner is – Sugar Cookie
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Now it’s time for what we’ve all been waiting for: Ballotpedia’s Sixth Annual Holiday Cookie Election results!
This year’s race was close enough to have many of us hanging on the edge of our seats. With 100% of precincts reporting, a winner has emerged: Sugar Cookie wins Ballotpedia’s 2024 Holiday Cookie Election with 29.5% of the vote.
Here are the final results as of poll closing time on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 5 pm ET:
- Sugar Cookie: 29.4%
- Gingerbread Cookie: 25.9%
- Snickerdoodle Cookie: 24.7%
- Chocolate Chip Cookie: 20%
This win is a comeback for Sugar Cookie, who was last elected in 2020 and recalled from office in 2021. Voters in the recall election decided two questions: whether Sugar Cookie should be recalled and, if so, which cookie should replace it. 69.5% of voters voted to recall Sugar Cookie and Chocolate Chip Cookie was elected with 33.2% of the vote. Chocolate Chip Cookie was then immediately sworn into office.
The 2024 general election was open from Dec. 16 until Dec. 19. A primary election was held the previous week between eight candidates, including sixth-time hopefuls Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookie, Peanut Butter Blossom, and Snickerdoodle. When approached for a quote, the cookies’ campaign managers said they would reevaluate their campaign strategies for the 2025 Holiday Cookie Election.
The winners in previous years:
- 2023: Chocolate Chip Cookie
- 2022: Gingerbread Cookie
- 2021: Chocolate Chip Cookie (Elected after voters recalled Sugar Cookie)
- 2020: Sugar Cookie
- 2019: Cookie Chip Cookie
Learn more about this year’s candidates and the results at the link below.
Eight state supreme court incumbents lost in 2024, the most since Ballotpedia started tracking in 2008
Eight incumbent state supreme court justices lost in 2024. This was the largest number of incumbent justices to lose since Ballotpedia started tracking such data in 2008.
State supreme courts play a major role in interpreting state laws and constitutions. The Associated Press’ Andrew DeMillo wrote that while Democrats campaigned on abortion access and redistricting during the 2024 elections, Republicans focused on issues like immigration and crime.
Incumbents lost in four states:
- Two incumbents were defeated in Ohio’s Supreme Court elections on Nov. 5. Megan Shanahan (R) defeated incumbent Justice Michael Donnelly (D) 55.7% to 44.3%. Incumbent Joseph Deters (R) defeated incumbent Melody Stewart (D) 55.2% to 44.8%. As a result, Republicans expanded their majority on the court from 4-3 to 6-1.
- Two incumbents were defeated in Mississippi’s Supreme Court elections. Jenifer Branning defeated incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens 50.5% to 49.4% in a runoff on Nov. 26. Dave Sullivan defeated Incumbent Justice Dawn H. Beam 54.8% to 45.2% in the general election on Nov. 5. Mississippi Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan, but the state Republican Party endorsed Branning and Beam. According to Mississippi Today, Kitchens would have been next in line for Chief Justice and was considered the Democrats’ preferred candidate, though the party did not endorse him.
- In Oklahoma, Yvonne Kauger was defeated in a retention election 50.2% to 49.8% on Nov. 5. This was the first time in Oklahoma history that a supreme court justice was not retained. Former Gov. George Nigh (D) appointed Kauger to the court in 1984. In the event of a supreme court vacancy in Oklahoma, the Judicial Nominating Commission provides a list of names, and the governor appoints a successor. December 20 is the last day for candidates to apply for Kauger’s seat. The nominating commission will select three candidates to send to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who will then make the appointment. Stitt’s new appointee will increase the majority of Republican-appointed judges from 5-4 to 6-3.
- Three incumbents lost in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican primaries on March 5. David Schenck (R) defeated incumbent Justice Sharon Keller (R) 62.6% to 37.4% in the primary election for Presiding Judge. Gina Parker (R) defeated incumbent Justice Barbara Hervey (R) 66.1% to 33.9% in the primary for Place 7. Lee Finley (R) defeated incumbent Justice Michelle Slaughter (R) 53.9% to 46.1% in the primary for Place 8. Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) endorsed Schenck, Parker, and Finley. In 2021, Keller, Hervey, and Slaughter were all part of the court’s 8-1 majority ruling to limit the attorney general’s ability to prosecute voter fraud. Paxton’s endorsed candidates all won election on Nov. 5.
Eighty-two state supreme court seats were up for election in 2024. Incumbents ran in 70 races (85%) and 62 won re-election. There have been 553 total incumbents in state supreme court elections since 2008. Of those, 514 have won re-election, a rate of 93%. The chart below shows the number of incumbents running for re-election and how many were defeated from 2008-2024.
Thirty-eight states hold elections for their supreme court justices. The map below highlights each state by incumbent re-election rates since 2008.
The state with the lowest incumbent re-election rate is North Carolina (44%), where nine incumbents have run in elections, winning four and losing five. Ohio has the highest number of incumbent losses, with seven losses across 19 elections.
Note: The data above do not factor in the 2024 election in North Carolina, which remains subject to legal challenges. Incumbent Allison Riggs (D) defeated Jefferson Griffin (R) by 748 votes, according to a hand recount. Griffin filed a lawsuit challenging 60,000 ballots cast in the election.
Three states – Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana – are holding supreme court elections in 2025.
- In Wisconsin, partisan control of the court is at stake. Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel are running for a 10-year term. Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan, but candidates often take stances on specific issues and receive backing from the state’s major political parties. Crawford is endorsed by the state’s Democratic Party, and Schimel is the former Republican attorney general. The court currently has a 4-3 liberal majority.
- In Pennsylvania, three Democratic justices seats are up for retention election. Those justices are Christine Donohue, David N. Wecht, and Kevin M. Dougherty. Democrats won a 5-2 majority on the court in 2023.
- Louisiana will hold a special election to replace former Justice James Genovese (R), who left office in August after he was named Northwestern State University president. The winner will serve for the remainder of Genovese’s 10-year term until 2026. Before Genovese’s retirement, the court had five Republican justices, one Democratic justice, and one independent.
Did you know that President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) issued the most executive orders per year on average than any other president? Roosevelt issued 3,721 across 12 years in office, an average of 307 per year.
The other presidents who issued the most executive orders were:
- Herbert Hoover (R): 968 (242 average annual executive orders)
- Woodrow Wilson (D): 1,803 (225 average annual executive orders)
- Warren Harding (R): 522 (217 average annual executive orders)
- Calvin Coolidge (R): 1,203 (215 average annual executive orders)
Three presidents only issued one executive order: John Adams (Federalist), James Monroe (Democratic-Republican), James Madison (Democratic-Republican).
As of Dec. 17, President Joe Biden (D) has issued 144 executive orders, an average of 36 per year. President-elect Donald Trump issued 220 executive orders, an average of 55 per year.
Click here to learn more.