Author: Joel Williams
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Supreme Court issued rulings in two Texas abortion cases
On December 10, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued rulings in a pair of cases related to Texas' S.B. 8. S.B. 8 restricted abortion procedures after six weeks of pregnancy and authorized private civil right of action related to violations of the law. One case, United States v. Texas, questioned whether the federal…
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Democrats raised 78 percent more than Republicans in seven flipped Virginia House seats
Elections for all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates took place on November 2, 2021. Democrats lost their majority in the chamber. Republicans regained their majority, winning 52 seats to Democrats’ 48 seats. Seven seats changed party hands as a result of the elections this year. In those seats, Democrats raised $12.3 million…
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Democrats outraise Republicans by 125% in Virginia state legislative races
New campaign finance filings for Virginia state legislative races showed that Democrats led Republicans in fundraising through the election cycle. Between January 1, 2020, and November 25, 2021, Democratic candidates outraised Republican candidates by 125 percent. Heading into the general elections, 103 Democratic candidates raised $56.39 million compared to $25.11 million raised by 103 Republicans.…
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Six of 11 wave elections in the U.S. House took place during a president's first midterm election
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. With the 2022 Congressional elections approaching, the question of what qualifies as a wave election is once again gaining significance. In a 2018 study, we examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred…
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Sixteen seats changed party control and 14 incumbents lost in state legislative general elections
Three of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regularly-scheduled elections on Nov. 2: the New Jersey State Senate, New Jersey General Assembly, and Virginia House of Delegates. Elections in these three chambers represented 220 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (2.9%). Final results were recently certified in both states, though recounts recently began…
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Three of the five Virginia House races with the most fundraising resulted in partisan control changes
Elections for all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates took place on November 2, 2021. Democrats lost their majority in the chamber. Republicans regained their majority, winning 52 seats to Democrats’ 48 seats. Three of the seats that changed party hands were among the five districts with the most fundraising in the 2021…
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Virginia to become the third state with a split legislature following 2021 general elections
As a result of the 2021 elections, Republicans gained a 52-48 majority in the Virginia House of Delegates. Democrats hold a 21-19 majority in the Virginia State Senate. When the new legislature takes office in January, Virginia will join Alaska and Minnesota as the only states where control of two legislative chambers is split between…
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Biden issues no pardons or commutations through Sept. 30
From his inauguration through Sept. 30, President Joe Biden (D) issued no pardons or commutations. Since 1902, the other presidents not to issue a pardon or commutation in that same window of time were Barack Obama (D), George W. Bush (R), Bill Clinton (D), and Richard Nixon (R). Bush and Clinton did not issue a…
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Nine state legislative seats changed party hands on Nov. 2
On Nov. 2, 2021, control of at least nine state legislative seats flipped from one political party to another. Eight of those seats flipped from Democratic to Republican control and the other flipped from Republican to Democratic control. There are 14 outstanding races still to be called, so these numbers could still change. The nine…
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Seven incumbents lose in state legislative elections on Nov. 2, bringing the total for the year to 15
At least seven state legislative incumbents lost their re-election campaigns on Nov. 2, 2021. All seven of those legislators were Democrats—five in Virginia and two in New Jersey. This brings the total number of incumbents defeated in the 2021 elections to 15. Incumbents ran in 203 of the 220 state legislative elections this year, meaning…