Author: Joel Williams
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How state Senates determine term lengths after redistricting
Most of the time, redistricting changes where a district is. But it can also change when incumbents must stand for re-election. This is most commonly the case in state senates, where senators often serve varying term lengths or staggered terms, meaning only a certain number of districts are up for election each cycle. Senators in…
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Average margin of victory in state legislative races was 27.7 percentage points in 2022
On November 8, 2022, 88 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers held regularly-scheduled elections for 6,278 seats. Across those races, the average margin of victory was 27.7 percentage points. This was the highest even-year average margin of victory of the last three even-year elections. The average state legislative margin of victory in 2020 was…
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One hundred and three state legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes in 2022, triple the figure from 2020
One hundred and three (1.64%) of the 6,278 state legislative races that took place in 2022 were decided by fewer than 100 votes. Ninety-eight of the races were in state house chambers, and five were in a state senate chamber. Of the 88 state legislative chambers that held elections in 2022, 31 (35.2%) had at…
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Willie Wilson leads Chicago mayoral candidates in fundraising through 2022; Mayor Lori Lightfoot leads in spending
Willie Wilson has reported the most fundraising of all nine candidates running for mayor of Chicago, Illinois, on Feb. 28. Wilson reported raising $6.1 million. WTTW reported that $5 million was self-funded. Mayor Lori Lightfoot spent the most at $4.3 million. These figures include all reports filed through Dec. 31, 2022. Four other candidates reported…
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Results of state executive endorsements in 2022 school board elections
Ballotpedia tracked 106 endorsements of school board candidates by state executive officials and candidates in 2022. Endorsements included official statements, appearances at campaign rallies, and direct participation in campaign ads and materials. The state executives and candidates to make endorsements were: Arizona: Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) and Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Shiry Sapir…
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Following the 2022 elections, more Americans now live in a Democratic trifecta than a Republican trifecta
As a result of the 2022 elections, a greater percentage of Americans now live in a Democratic state government trifecta than in a Republican trifecta. Once all newly elected officials take office, 41.7% of Americans will live in a state with a Democratic trifecta, 39.6% in a state with a Republican trifecta, and 18.8% in…
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Republicans increase control over state legislative districts overlapping with Pivot Counties and Reverse-Pivot Counties
After the 2022 elections, Republicans hold 540 (65.9%) state legislative seats overlapping a Pivot County, up from 507 (63.6%) after the 2020 elections. Democrats hold 280 state legislative seats (34.1%) overlapping a Pivot County, down from 290 (36.4%) after the 2020 elections. Pivot Counties are the 206 counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in…
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Eleven candidates running for mayor of Chicago in 2023
Eleven candidates are running for mayor of Chicago, Illinois, in the February 28, 2023, general election. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will take place on April 4, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was November 28, 2022. Incumbent Lori Lightfoot, Jesus Garcia, and Brandon Johnson have…
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Republicans win 61 districts overlapping a Pivot County, Democrats win 35
Remember Pivot Counties? Those 206 counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 before voting for Donald Trump (R) in 2016? We last checked in on those counties in 2020 and found that 181—called Retained Pivot Counties—supported Trump again, while 25—called Boomerang Pivot Counties—switched back and supported Joe Biden (D). Today, we…
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Democrats gain three trifectas, Republicans lose one in 2022 elections
As a result of the 2022 elections, there will be at least 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments where neither party had trifecta control. Alaska’s trifecta status remains unclear. Before the election, Alaska was under divided government. State government trifecta is a term to describe single-party government, when one political party…