Author: Janie Valentine
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All candidates for Houston Independent School District school board District I seat complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey
All three candidates running for the District I seat on the Houston Independent School District board of education have completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. The survey asks candidates questions aimed to help voters learn why candidates are running and what they hope to achieve in office. Three candidates—incumbent Elizabeth Santos, Matias Kopinsky, and Janette Garza…
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Three 2021 mayoral primaries still ahead in top-100 U.S. cities
Three of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population—Boston, Massachusetts, Cleveland, Ohio, and Toledo, Ohio—held mayoral primaries on Sept. 14. Three top-100 cities have mayoral primaries still ahead: Durham, North Carolina (Oct. 5), Hialeah, Florida (Nov. 2), and New Orleans, Louisiana (Nov. 13). Twenty-eight top-100 cities will elect mayors in 2021. While most of these…
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Eight state legislative seats switched parties in special elections last year
In the 59 state legislative special elections held in 2020, eight seats changed partisan control. Democrats flipped seven seats and Republicans flipped one. Between 2010 and 2020, an average of 71 state legislative special elections took place each year. In those 782 elections, 103 seats (13.2%) changed partisan control. Democrats flipped 56 seats, Republicans flipped…
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71 new members of Congress elected in 2020 election
Seventy-one new members were elected to the 117th U.S. Congress on Nov. 3, 2020, or in subsequent runoff elections: nine new senators and 62 new representatives. This includes Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.), who died from complications related to COVID-19 on Dec. 29. The last race was called on Feb. 8, when the New York Board…
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Mayoral partisanship control changed in 2020’s elections in seven of the 100 largest cities
Mayoral elections were held in 29 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2020. Seven party changes took place as a result of these elections. Five offices held by Republican incumbents and two offices held by Democratic incumbents changed partisan control: Scottsdale, Arizona: Independent David Ortega won the open seat. Incumbent Jim Lane (R) was…
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Nancy Pelosi elected speaker of the House for 117th Congress
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was elected speaker of the House on Sunday with 216 votes. Five Democratic representatives did not vote for her: Jared Golden (D-Maine), Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). Golden voted for Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Lamb voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Sherrill,…
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Democrats gain veto-proof legislative majorities in two states, leaving them with eight to Republicans’ 16
Democrats gained veto-proof state legislative majorities in Delaware and New York in the Nov. 3 elections. This increases the number of state legislatures with a veto-proof majority in both chambers from 22 to 24: 16 held by Republicans and eight held by Democrats. Democrats had a veto-proof majority in both states’ lower legislative chambers heading…
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Summary of Nov. 3 state appeals court elections — Democrats win seats in Texas, Republicans gain in North Carolina
Democrats won eight of the 24 seats up this year in Texas’ intermediate appellate courts, all of which were held by Republican judges heading into the election. Republicans made gains in North Carolina, winning all five intermediate appellate court seats up this year, four of which were held by Democratic or Democratic-aligned justices. The Republican…
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Democrats gain veto-proof majority in New York State Senate
Democrats gained a veto-proof majority in the New York State Senate after enough remaining races were called over the weekend to bring them to a two-thirds majority in the chamber. Democrats already held a veto-proof majority in the state Assembly. In New York, two-thirds of members in both chambers must vote to override a veto,…
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U.S. House elects leadership for 117th Congress
Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives held elections for leadership positions in the 117th Congress, which convenes on January 3, 2021. The speaker of the House, who presides over sessions of the chamber and is second in the line of presidential succession, is elected on the first day the new Congress…