Caitlin Vanden Boom – Ballotpedia News

May 9, 2022 at 6:57 PM

In Washington County, Oregon, Banks Fire District #13 board members Mark Schmidlin and Ed Ewing faced a recall election on April 12, 2022. Schmidlin was recalled with 51.1% of votes cast in favor of the recall. Ewing retained his seat with 52.4% of votes cast against the recall. Schmidlin’s seat will be filled via a vote by the remaining board members.

The recall effort was led by Jacoba Kemper. The recall petition stated that the two board members failed to properly investigate harassment accusations against Chief Rodney Linz. Recall supporters gathered 513 signatures in support of recalling Ewing and 537 signatures in support of recalling Schmidlin. The threshold to send the recall to a vote was 449 signatures.

There have been four recall efforts against six special district board members in 2022. Of those, one recall was approved, one was defeated, three did not go to a vote, and one is underway.

Between January and June of 2021, 10 special district members were targets of recall efforts.

Additional reading:

Ballotpedia’s Mid-Year Recall Report (2021)

Michigan county commissioner recall results in party control flip

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In Local

May 9, 2022 at 6:54 PM

William Bunek (R) was removed as Leelanau County Commissioner in Michigan through a recall election on May 3, 2022. Bunek lost the seat with 55% of votes cast in favor of the recall. Lois Bahle (D) was elected as the replacement candidate in tandem with the recall. Bahle’s election switched the board majority from Republican to Democratic.

Recall supporters criticized Bunek for statements he made in a county board meeting on Sept. 14, 2021. In that meeting, Bunek and three other Republicans on the board recommended zeroing out the Early Childhood Services millage passed by voters in Nov. 2019. According to the Traverse City Record Eagle, “Bunek at that time said the United States is a constitutional republic and when voters make a wrong decision, the county board is there to make sure that it doesn’t go on.” Before the recall, Bunek held the seat for 14 years.

Bunek appealed the factual nature of the recall petition in the 13th Circuit Court, stating that he felt his statements were misrepresented. The appeal was denied and recall supporters were able to gather 663 signatures to send the recall to a vote.

There have been 15 recall efforts against 33 county commissioners in 2022. Of those, nine are underway, 19 did not go to a vote, one resulted in a resignation, two were approved, one was defeated, and one is on the ballot in May 2022.

There have already been more recall efforts against county commissioners in 2022 than in the first half of 2021. Between January and June of 2021, 12 county commissioners were targets of recall efforts. As of May 9, 2022, 33 county commissioners had been the targets of recall efforts.

Additional reading:

Ballotpedia’s Mid-Year Recall Report (2021)

Oregon county recall defeated in March 22 vote

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In State

March 25, 2022 at 4:27 PM

In Oregon, Yamhill County Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer defeated the recall effort against her with 52.4% of the vote on March 22. Berschauer was first elected to the three-member board in 2020.

The recall effort began in Aug. 2021. Recall supporters failed to gather enough signatures during their first effort, but they launched a successful second petition effort in Nov. 2021. They submitted 7,675 signatures on Feb. 1, 2022, and the county verified enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot.

Recall supporters accused Berschauer of “extremism, fiscal mismanagement, and bad-faith representation” in the second recall petition.

In response, Berschauer stated, “Disagreement over public policy does not warrant a recall in the minds of voters, as we just witnessed in Newberg with the failed recall attempts on school board members.”

There have been 15 recall efforts against 33 county commissioners in 2022. Of those, 10 are underway, 18 did not go to a vote, one resulted in a resignation, one was approved, one was defeated, and two are on the ballot in May 2022.

There have already been more recall efforts against county commissioners in 2022 than in the first half of 2021. Between January and June of 2021, 12 county commissioners were targets of recall efforts. As of March 24, 2022, 15 county commissioners have been the targets of recall efforts.

Additional reading:

2021 Candidate Connections report

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In Uncategorized

February 1, 2022 at 3:43 PM

A total of 694 candidates completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The largest number of responses came from Colorado, Texas, and New York with 62, 61, and 60 candidates responding to the survey respectively.

City candidates made up the largest portion of respondents at 43%. School board candidates accounted for 21% of survey responses.

Of the 694 candidates who completed our survey, 21% went on to win their respective races. Some of those winners include Glenn Youngkin (R), who completed the survey before winning the Virginia governorship, and Michelle Wu (D), who completed the survey before winning the Boston mayoral election.

You can read more about notable respondents and find additional statistics in the full 2021 report.

Additional reading:

Kentucky statewide filing deadline passed on Jan 25

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In State

January 28, 2022 at 4:12 PM

The filing deadline to run for elected office in Kentucky passed on Jan 25. Candidates filed for the following offices:

U.S. Senate (one seat)
U.S. House (six seats)
Incumbent John Yarmuth (D) is not running for re-election in Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District.
Incumbents filed to run in the other five House races.
State Senate (19 seats)
State House (100 seats)
State Supreme Court
Intermediate appellate courts

Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in the following areas:

Frankfort, Lexington, and Louisville
Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools

The primary is scheduled for May 17, and the general election is scheduled for Nov 8.

Kentucky’s statewide filing deadline was the second to take place in the 2022 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is on Jan. 28 in Alabama.

Entering the 2022 election, the Kentucky state House has 24 Democrats, 75 Republicans, and one vacancy. All 100 seats are up for election. A majority in the chamber requires 51 seats. Kentucky has a divided government and no state government trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.

Entering the 2022 election, the Kentucky State Senate has eight Democrats and 30 Republicans. There are 19 seats up for election.

Additional reading:

Jan. 7 marks the filing deadline for three Michigan House seats

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In State

January 3, 2022 at 11:41 AM

Candidates interested in running in the special elections for Michigan House of Representatives Districts 36, 43, and 74 have until Jan. 7 to file. The primary election is scheduled for March 1, and the general election is scheduled for May 3.

The special election for District 36 was called after Douglas Wozniak (R) was elected to District 8 of the Michigan State Senate. District 43 became vacant after the death of Andrea Schroeder (R), and District 74 became vacant after Mark Huizenga (R) was elected to District 28 of the Michigan State Senate.

Michigan held two state legislative special elections in 2021. The special elections for Senate Districts 8 and 28 were held on Nov. 2.

Additional reading:

86% of incumbents were successful in their Nov. bid for re-election

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In Uncategorized

December 14, 2021 at 7:45 AM

In the 2021 general election, an average of 85.54% of incumbents nationwide won their re-election bids. The number drops to 82.35% when including incumbents that withdrew or were disqualified.

In 2020, 93% of incumbents won their elections. In 2019, that number was 90%, and it was 92% in 2018.

Minnesota incumbents were the least successful in 2021 with a win rate of 55%, followed by Kansas (59%) and Colorado (67%).

Additional reading:

Special primary for Arkansas State Senate District 7 to be held on Dec. 14

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In State

December 11, 2021 at 2:27 PM

The special primary for Arkansas State Senate District 7 is on Dec. 14. Lisa Parks and Derek Van Voast are competing in the Democratic primary, and Jim Bob Duggar, Colby Fulfer, Edge Nowlin, and Steven Unger are competing in the Republican primary to advance to the special general election scheduled for Feb. 8. The candidate filing deadline passed on Nov. 22.

The special election was called after Lance Eads (R) left office to assume another position on Oct. 28. Eads served from 2017 to 2021. Eads also served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017.

Arkansas held 12 state legislative special elections between 2010 and 2020. The year with the most special elections during that time period was 2018. There were five state legislative special elections called that year.

Additional reading:

Arkansas State Senate District 7

Jacksonville City Council special election to be held on Dec. 7

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In Local

December 2, 2021 at 12:25 PM

The special general election for Jacksonville City Council At-large Position 3 in Florida is on Dec. 7. Four candidates are competing in the general election: James Jacobs (D), Tracye Polson (D), Nick Howland (R), and Howland Russell (R).

If necessary, a runoff election is scheduled for Feb. 22. The filing deadline to run passed on Oct. 1.

The special election was called after Tommy Hazouri (D) died on Sept. 11. Hazouri served from 2015 to 2021.

Additional reading:

Candidates set for Arkansas state senate special primaries

By Caitlin Vanden Boom

In State

November 23, 2021 at 3:25 PM

Candidates interested in running in the special election for Arkansas State Senate District 7 had until Nov. 22 to file. The primaries are scheduled for Dec. 14, and the general election is set for Feb. 8.

Lisa Parks and Derek Van Voast will compete in the Democratic primary. The Republican primary includes Jim Bob Duggar, Colby Fulfer, Edge Nowlin, and Steven Unger.

The special election was called after Lance Eads (R) left office to assume another position on Oct. 28. Eads served from 2017 to 2021. Eads also served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017.

The District 7 special election was the first special legislative election called for 2022 in Arkansas.

Additional reading: