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Andrew McNair

Andrew McNair is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Six of seven Missouri school board incumbents win re-election in April 2022, four races uncalled

Nine Missouri school districts covered by Ballotpedia held nonpartisan general elections for 18 school board seats on April 5, 2022, including one special election for a one-year term. Four of these elections were too close to call on election night, including races for seats on the Center School District school board, Hickman Mills C-1 School District school board, Liberty Public Schools school board, and Platte County R-III School District school board.    

Of the races called by Ballotpedia, six of seven school board incumbents were re-elected, giving an 85.7% success rate for incumbent re-election bids. In two districts, all incumbents were reelected and in one district one incumbent won re-election and one incumbent lost re-election.

As of April 8, 2022, the incumbent in the Center School District race leads the next closest candidate by 0.71% of votes cast and the incumbent in the Hickman Mills C-1 School District race trails the next closest candidate by 0.16% of votes cast. In the other two uncalled races, no incumbents ran.

In 2021, Ballotpedia tracked elections for 27 seats across 11 Missouri school boards in which 59 candidates ran, including 21 incumbents. Incumbents ran in all but one of these contests and won re-election 57.1% of the time. In four school districts all incumbents won re-election and in five districts at least one incumbent won and one incumbent lost. No incumbents won re-election in two districts.

In 2022, Ballotpedia is tracking elections for over 1,000 school board seats across 39 states and Washington, D.C. As of April 5, this included 12 school board recall elections.



School board elections taking place across nine Missouri school districts in April 2022

A total of 18 school board seats across nine Missouri school districts covered by Ballotpedia are up for nonpartisan general election on April 5, 2022, one of which is up for a special election to a one-year term. Of the 52 candidates running in these contests, nine (17.3%) are incumbents running for re-election. Races in four of the nine districts have no incumbents running. 

The figures above do not include two at-large seats up for election on the St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education, for which a general election will be held on Nov. 8, 2022.

The Missouri school boards for which elections are being held on April 5 include the Center School District, Grandview C-4 School District, Hickman Mills C-1 School District, Liberty Public Schools, North Kansas City Schools, Park Hill School District, Platte County R-III School District, Raytown C-2 School District, and St. Joseph School District.

In 2021, Ballotpedia tracked elections for 27 seats across 11 Missouri school boards in which 59 candidates ran, including 21 incumbents. Incumbents ran in all but one of these contests and won re-election 57.1% of the time. In four school districts all incumbents won re-election and in five districts at least one incumbent won and one incumbent lost. No incumbents won re-election in two districts.

In 2022, Ballotpedia is tracking elections for over 1,000 school board seats across 39 states and Washington, D.C. As of April 5, this includes 12 school board recall elections.



Seven candidates file to run in special election for Austin City Council District 4 seat

Candidates interested in running in the nonpartisan special election for Austin City Council District 4 had until Dec. 16 to file. The special general election is scheduled for Jan. 25. If needed, a general runoff election is scheduled for March 22.

Seven candidates filed to run in the special election by the deadline: Isa Boonto, Monica Guzmán, Jade Lovera, Amanda Rios, Melinda Schiera, Ramesses II Setepenre, and José “Chito” Vela. The candidate withdrawal deadline passed on Dec. 21.

The special election was called after incumbent Greg Casar announced his intention to run for Texas’ 35th Congressional District in 2022. Casar began serving on the 11-member Austin City Council in 2015 and stated he intends to continue serving as a council member until the winner of the special election is sworn into office. 

The winner of the special election will serve the unexpired portion of Casar’s term, which ends in 2025.

Austin is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 11th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

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Five candidates file to run in special election for Houston City Council District G seat

Candidates interested in running in the nonpartisan special election for Houston City Council District G had until Dec. 16 to file. The special general election is scheduled for Jan. 25.

Five candidates filed to run in the special election by the deadline: Mary Nan Huffman, Piper Madland, D. Duke Millard, Raul Reyes Jr., and Houshang Taghizadeh.

The special election was called after former incumbent Greg Travis resigned on Oct. 27 to run for the District 133 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Travis served on the 16-member Houston City Council from 2016 to 2021. 

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest city in the U.S. by population.

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Fiebelkorn and Grout win Albuquerque City Council seats in Dec. 7 runoff election

The nonpartisan general runoff election for Albuquerque City Council Districts 7 and 9 in New Mexico was on Dec. 7. The general election was held on Nov. 2, and the filing deadline for publicly funded candidates passed on July 5. The filing deadline for privately funded candidates passed on Aug. 24.

Tammy Fiebelkorn defeated Lori Robertson for the District 7 seat with 61.8% of the vote, and Renee Grout defeated Rob Grilley for the District 9 seat with 51.7% of the vote.

Odd-numbered seats on the nine-member Albuquerque City Council were up for election on Nov. 2. Only the races for District 7 and District 9 advanced to a general runoff. Two of the three incumbents running for re-election to the city council were defeated outright in the general election.

Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and the thirty-second largest city in the U.S. by population.

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Belsito (D) defeats Snow (R) in Massachusetts House special election

A special general election was held for the Massachusetts House of Representatives 4th Essex District on Nov. 30. Jamie Zahlaway Belsito (D) won the special election with 2,504 votes, or 55.4% of the total, defeating Robert Snow (R).

Belsito is the first Democrat to win election to the district since 1858.

Special Democratic and Republican primary elections were held on Nov. 2. The filing deadline passed on Sept. 28.

The special election was called after Bradford Hill (R) resigned from office on Sept. 15 to be appointed to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Hill represented the 4th Essex District from 1999 to 2021.

As of December, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Massachusetts has held 45 state legislative special elections from 2010 to 2020.

Entering the special election, the Massachusetts House of Representatives had 129 Democrats, 29 Republicans, and one independent. A majority in the chamber requires 81 seats. Massachusetts has a divided government where neither party holds a trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor, while the Democratic Party controls both chambers of the state legislature.

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Filing deadline passes for Dec. 14 special election in Iowa State Senate District 1

The filing deadline to run in the Iowa State Senate District 1 special election passed on Nov. 19. The special election is being held on Dec. 14. Governor Kim Reynolds (R) called the special election on Nov. 3, following the resignation of incumbent Zach Whiting (R) on Oct. 30. Whiting resigned to accept a position with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. 

Two candidates filed to run in the special election: Dave Rowley (R) and Mark Allen Lemke (D). The candidate withdrawal deadline was Nov. 22. 

As of November, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Iowa has held 22 state legislative special elections from 2010 to 2020.

Entering the 2021 special election, the Iowa State Senate has 18 Democrats and 31 Republicans. A majority in the chamber requires 26 seats. Iowa has a Republican trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers. 

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Two Hialeah City Council at-large seats up for election on Nov. 16

The nonpartisan general election for two of the seven seats on the Hialeah City Council in Florida is on Nov. 16. The primary election was held on Nov. 2, and the candidate filing deadline passed on July 6. 

Bryan Calvo and Angelica Pacheco are competing for the council’s at-large Group VI seat, and Luis Rodriguez and Maylin Villalonga are competing for the at-large Group VII seat. The general election for the council’s Group V seat was canceled after incumbent Carl Zogby won the primary election outright on Nov. 2 with 56.7% of the vote.

Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida and the eighty-eighth-largest city in the U.S. by population. 

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U.S. Senate confirms two nominees to lifetime federal judgeships

The U.S. Senate on Nov. 1 confirmed two of President Joe Biden’s (D) federal judicial nominees to lifetime Article III judgeships:

  1. Beth Robinson, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, by a vote of 51-45
  2. Toby Heytens, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, by a vote of 53-43

To date, 28 of Biden’s appointees have been confirmed. For historical comparison since 1981, the following list shows the date by which the past six presidents had 28 Article III judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate:

  1. President Donald Trump (R) – March 5, 2018
  2. President Barack Obama (D) – June 7, 2010
  3. President George W. Bush (R) – Dec. 20, 2001
  4. President Bill Clinton (D) – Nov. 20, 1993
  5. President George H.W. Bush (R) – April 27, 1990
  6. President Ronald Reagan (R) – Nov. 18, 1981

As of this writing, four Article III nominees are awaiting a confirmation vote from the U.S Senate, six nominees are awaiting a Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance their nominations to the full Senate, and 22 nominees are awaiting a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

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Maneval (D) defeats Mattson (R) in New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 9 special election

A special general election was held for the Cheshire 9 District of the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Oct. 26. Andrew Maneval (D) won the special election with 1,209 votes, 64.9% of the vote total, and defeated Rita Mattson (R).

A Democratic primary and a Republican primary were held on Sept. 7. The filing deadline passed on July 9. The special election was called after Douglas Ley (D) died of cancer on June 10. Ley served from 2012 to 2021. 

As of October, 64 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. New Hampshire held 29 special elections from 2010 to 2020, an average of nearly three per year. 

Four New Hampshire House of Representatives special elections have been held so far in 2021. A fifth is scheduled in the Rockingham 6 District for Dec. 7.

As of October, the New Hampshire House of Representatives had 188 Democrats and 207 Republicans. All 400 seats are up for election in 2022. A majority in the chamber requires 201 seats. New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers. 

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