Author: Joseph Brusgard

  • A special election for District 35 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will determine majority control

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    Dan Goughnour (D), Charles Davis (R), and Adam Kitta (L) are running in the special election for District 35 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on March 25, 2025. Incumbent Rep. Matthew Gergely (D) died on January 19. Gergely’s death left the state House tied 101-101. Before his death, Democrats controlled the House 102-101. Goughnour…

  • Four candidates are running in the nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri on March 4

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    Incumbent Tishaura Jones, Michael Butler, Andrew Jones Jr., and Cara Spencer are running in the nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Louis on March 4, 2025. St. Louis Public Radio’s Lara Hamdan and Rachel Lippmann wrote, “The next mayor of St. Louis will come into office with crime numbers mirroring the national downward trend…But he…

  • Ten candidates are running in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York, New York

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    Ten candidates are running for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York on June 24, 2025. Six have led in polling and fundraising: Eric Adams, Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos, and Scott Stringer. City & State NY’s Annie McDonough wrote “The 2025 mayoral race will be one of the first tests for how New York Democrats confront a rightward shift in a reliably…

  • Three candidates are running in the nonpartisan election for Wisconsin’s Superintendent of Public Instruction

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    Incumbent Jill Underly, Brittany Kinser, and Jeff Wright are running in the nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin’s superintendent of public instruction on Feb. 18, 2025. The top two finishers will then run in a general election on April 1, 2025. PBS Wisconsin’s Steven Potter wrote, “Although the position is described as non-partisan, the job of running…

  • Fifty-eight minor party candidates received more votes than the margin-of-victory (MOV) in the 2024 elections

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    In 2024, 58 minor party or independent candidates received more votes than the margin of victory in their election. Margins of victory can be used to measure electoral competitiveness or political party or candidate strength. This page identifies those elections where the difference between the winning and losing candidates was smaller than the number of…

  • Majority control at stake in special election for Minnesota Senate District 60

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    Doron Clark (D) and Abigail Wolters (R) are running in a special election for District 60 in the Minnesota Senate on Jan. 28, 2025. The district is vacant due to the death of state Sen. Kari Dziedzic (D) on Dec. 27, 2024. Her death left a vacancy that turned Democrats’ 34-33 majority in the Senate…

  • Kannan Srinivasan (D) and Tumay Harding (R) are running in the special election for Virginia’s 32nd Senate District

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    Kannan Srinivasan (D) and Tumay Harding (R) are running in the special election for District 32 of the Virginia Senate on January 7, 2025. Incumbent Suhas Subramanyam (D) is resigning to represent Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. The Downballot’s David Nir and Jeff Singer wrote before the election, “Given Democrats’ slender 21-19 edge in the Senate,…

  • A look at gubernatorial elections in 2026

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    In the aftermath of the Gubernatorial elections held in 2024, Republicans held 27 governorships and Democrats held 23. In 2024, 11 elections were held for governor across the country. In 2026, elections for governor will be held in 36 states. Of these seats, Republicans and Democrats each hold 18 seats.  Here’s what this could mean…

  • Incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens and Jenifer Branning are running in the runoff election for a seat for Mississippi Supreme Court

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    The seats of four Mississippi Supreme Court justices were up for election on November 5, 2024. One of the four seats is going to a runoff election on November 26, 2024. The other three were decided in the November 5 general election. Judicial elections in Mississippi are officially nonpartisan. Bolts Magazine’s Caleb Bedillion and Daja…

  • Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao faces a recall election on Nov. 5, 2024

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    An election to recall Mayor Sheng Thao is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5, 2024, in Oakland, California. Governing’s Joshua Spivak wrote this election, along with the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price also on Nov. 5, “were in part launched due to pushback against approaches to crime and the criminal justice…