Author: Joel Williams
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10 percent of open Congressional seats changed party hands in 2020
Forty Congressional incumbents—four in the Senate and 36 in the House—did not run for re-election in 2020. Of these 40 open seats, four (10 percent) changed party hands as a result of the 2020 elections, and an additional three races were still too close to call as of Nov. 18. All four changes occurred in…
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One-sixth of U.S. House retirees in 2020 won re-election in 2018 by less than six points
Of the 36 U.S. House incumbents that did not run for re-election in 2020, six (16.7%) won re-election in 2018 by less than six points. That’s a higher percentage than in both 2018 (10.3%) and 2016 (7.3%). Exactly one-third of 2020 retirees won re-election in 2018 by more than 36 points. That’s a higher percentage…
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Number of Republican-majority federal circuit courts has doubled in Trump administration
Since Donald Trump (R) took office in January 2017, he has appointed 52 judges to the 13 federal circuit courts. At the time of his inauguration, a majority of members on four of those courts were appointed by Republican presidents. Before the 2020 election, a majority of members on eight of those courts were appointed…
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Veterans in the 116th Congress
Ninety-six veterans served as members of the 116th Congress (2019-2020). Seventy-three served in active duty with one of the four main military branches: 15 in the Air Force, 36 in the Army, 15 in the Marine Corps, and eight in the Navy (Steven Palazzo served in both the Army and Marine Corps). The remaining veterans…
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Learn more about the arguments in the debate over religious service restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic
Discussions about policy responses to the coronavirus are happening at a fast pace. As part of our ongoing coverage Documenting America’s Path to Recovery, Ballotpedia has published a series of articles capturing the regular themes in support of and opposition to these policy responses. Here’s how it works. First, we identify a topic area, (such…
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Learn more about the arguments in the debate over lockdown/stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic
Discussions about policy responses to the coronavirus are happening at a fast pace. As part of our ongoing coverage Documenting America’s Path to Recovery, Ballotpedia has published a series of articles capturing the regular themes in support of and opposition to these policy responses. Here’s how it works. First, we identify a topic area, (such as…
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Learn more about the arguments in the debate over expanding absentee/mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic
Discussions about policy responses to the coronavirus are happening at a fast pace. As part of our ongoing coverage Documenting America’s Path to Recovery, Ballotpedia has published a series of articles capturing the regular themes in support of and opposition to these policy responses. Here’s how it works. First, we identify a topic area, (such…
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Learn more about the arguments in the debate over travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic
Discussions about policy responses to the coronavirus are happening at a fast pace. As part of our ongoing coverage Documenting America’s Path to Recovery, Ballotpedia has published a series of articles capturing the regular themes in support of and opposition to these policy responses. Here’s how it works. First, we identify a topic area, (such as…
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Presidents lose an average of 81 same-party members of the U.S. House during their first term
On average, presidents from Lyndon Johnson (D) through Donald Trump (R) took office with 241 members of the same political party serving in the U.S. House. An average of 81 same-party members did not run for re-election at the time of the next presidential election, creating an average U.S. House member attrition rate of 33.4…
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Learn more about the arguments in the debate over school closures during the coronavirus pandemic
Discussions about policy responses to the coronavirus are happening at a fast pace. As part of our ongoing coverage Documenting America’s Path to Recovery, Ballotpedia has published a series of articles capturing the regular themes in support of and opposition to these policy responses. Here’s how it works. First, we identify a topic area, (such as…