Author: Joel Williams
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Number of one-party state governments at the highest point in at least three decades
There are 39 state government trifectas, more than twice as many as the 19 there were over 30 years ago in 1992. A state government trifecta is a term to describe a single-party government when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. While there are more total trifectas today…
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U.S. Supreme Court overturns Alabama's congressional maps in Allen v. Milligan decision
On June 8, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Alabama's congressional redistricting plan adopted in November 2021 and used in the state's 2022 elections violated the Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn to include a second majority-Black district. In November 2021, a group of Alabama voters and organizations sued Secretary of…
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Brandon Johnson wins runoff for mayor of Chicago
Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas in the runoff election for mayor of Chicago, Illinois, on April 4, 2023. Johnson received 51.4% of the vote and Vallas received 48.6%. They advanced from a field of nine candidates in the Feb. 28 general election. Johnson was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners as a Democrat…
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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin becomes Paul Vallas' first congressional endorsement in Chicago mayoral runoff
On March 26, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) endorsed Paul Vallas in the April 4, 2023, runoff for mayor of Chicago. The state's other senator, Tammy Duckworth (D), endorsed Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the first round and has not endorsed in the runoff. Vallas and Brandon Johnson are running in the runoff election. Eleven members…
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Johnson and Vallas advance to mayoral runoff in Chicago
Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas advanced from a nine candidate field in the Feb. 28, 2023, general election for mayor of Chicago, Illinois, to an April 24 runoff. Vallas received 33.7% of the vote in the general election. He was the 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. He worked as chief administrative officer at Chicago…
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Chicago mayoral election takes place next week
Nine candidates are running for mayor of Chicago, Illinois on Feb. 28. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will take place on April 4. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, first elected in 2019, is running for re-election. The candidates to perform best in polling and receive the most endorsements are…
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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…