Author: Elisabeth Moore
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Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski killed in car accident
Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski (R) was killed in a wrong-way vehicle crash on Aug. 3, 2022. Walorski was driving on an Indiana highway with two members of her staff, who were also killed in the crash. Walorski represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District. She was first elected in 2012. Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress,…
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54% of state legislatures are Republican, 44% Democratic
At the end of June 2022, 54.27% of all state legislators in the United States are Republicans while 44.41% are Democrats. There are 7,383 state legislative seats in the country. Republicans control 62 chambers, while Democrats hold 36. The Alaska House of Representatives is the only chamber organized under a multipartisan, power-sharing coalition. Democrats hold…
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Congressman Jim Hagedorn (R) passes away
Congressman Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) passed away on Feb. 17 at the age of 59. He was battling kidney cancer. Hagedorn’s wife Jennifer wrote, “Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota. Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others. There was no stronger conservative in our state…
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39 state executives left office early in 2021—the most since at least 2012
In 2021, Ballotpedia identified 39 irregular state executive official office changes—the most since we started tracking these changes in 2012. An irregular office change is when an officeholder leaves office before their term ends. Of the 39 who resigned, 19 were nonpartisan, 11 were Democratic, and nine were Republican. One notable change in 2021 was…
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Checking in on the candidates for Congress in 2022
Next year’s Congressional midterm elections on Nov. 8, 2022, are less than one year away. Already, 1,444 candidates have filed to run for Congress. Of those candidates, 742 are Republicans, 573 are Democrats, and 20 are Libertarians. The remaining are Green Party, independents, or other parties. The states with the highest number of declared congressional…
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns, Hochul sworn in as successor
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned on Aug. 24, effective at 12:00 a.m. Eastern. He first announced his plans to step down on Aug. 10. Immediately after Cuomo’s resignation took effect, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul (D) was sworn in as the 57th governor of New York. Hochul is the first female to serve as…
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New York attorney general releases results of sexual harassment inquiry into Gov. Cuomo, impeachment inquiry approaches conclusion
On Aug. 3, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) released the findings of an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The report found that Cuomo sexually harassed at least eleven women, breaking state and federal laws in doing so. The report’s executive summary stated that Cuomo…
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New Maryland superintendent of schools took office on July 1
Mohammed Choudhury took office as the new Maryland superintendent of schools on July 1. He replaces Karen Salmon, who stepped down at the end of her term on June 30. The state board of education appointed Choudhury to a four-year term on May 29. “When we set out on our search for Maryland’s next superintendent,…
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Ohio governor appoints new utility commission chairwoman
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) appointed former county judge Jenifer French as chairwoman of the state’s public utilities commission on March 19. French will fill a position that has been vacant since November, when former Chairman Sam Randazzo resigned. If confirmed by the state Senate, French’s term will run through April 10, 2024. French was…
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August breakdown of state legislative party membership: 52.0% Republicans, 46.8% Democrats
Ballotpedia’s latest analysis of the partisan affiliation of all 7,383 state legislators in the United States shows 46.8% of state legislators are Democrats and 52.0% are Republicans. The partisan composition of state legislators stayed consistent as compared with July 2020. Every month, Ballotpedia analyzes the partisan composition of state legislatures—1,972 state Senate seats and 5,411…