Author

Juan Garcia de Paredes

Juan Garcia de Paredes is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Next steps in Moore v. Harper

Welcome to the Thursday, March 23, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Litigants in Moore v. Harper submit briefs on SCOTUS’ next steps after North Carolina’s highest court re-hears case
  2. Jacksonville’s mayoral election advances to a runoff
  3. Learn about this year’s state executive and state legislative races with On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

Litigants in Moore v. Harper submit briefs on SCOTUS’ next steps after North Carolina’s highest court re-hears case

First, let’s update you on Moore v. Harper, a Supreme Court case involving North Carolina’s redistricting process and one of the high-profile SCOTUS cases we’re covering in 2023.

The parties in the case filed supplemental briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court on March 20 at SCOTUS’ request after the North Carolina Supreme Court announced it would re-hear the case. The briefs outlined each party’s view on whether SCOTUS still had jurisdiction in light of the state court’s decision. Reuters’ Joseph Ax wrote that “If the justices decide they no longer have jurisdiction, they could dismiss the case without issuing a ruling.”

The case, which was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 7, concerns the Constitution’s election clause and whether it gives state legislatures sole authority to regulate federal elections without oversight from state courts. North Carolina House Speaker Timothy Moore (R) and a group of Republican legislators brought the case before SCOTUS after the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in February 2022 that the congressional boundaries the Republican-controlled legislature adopted in 2021 were unconstitutional. The North Carolina Supreme court had a 4-3 Democratic majority at the time. 

After the state supreme court overturned the original congressional district boundaries, it sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. In February 2022, the Wake County Superior Court adopted congressional districts that three court-appointed former judges had adopted. Those districts were used for the 2022 elections.

As a result of the 2022 elections, the North Carolina Supreme Court changed partisan control from a 4-3 Democratic majority to a 5-2 Republican majority. In February 2023, that court agreed to re-hear its decision overturning the district boundaries. The court re-heard oral arguments on March 14.

SCOTUSblog Amy Howe wrote, “Lawyers involved in [in Moore v. Harper] disagreed on Monday about whether the Supreme Court has the power to reach a decision in the case.”

Here’s a look at the views different petitioners filed in their briefs: 

  • The legislators that brought the case told the justices the Court should decide on the case. In their brief, the group said “the North Carolina Supreme Court decision to rehear [the case] had no effect on this Court’s continued jurisdiction.” 
  • Lawyers for the group Common Cause, another challenger in the case, agreed. In their brief, the group said that “the Court should, if at all possible, decide this question now, rather than on an emergency basis during the 2024 election cycle.”
  • Attorneys representing the state of North Carolina wrote, “The State’s 2022 congressional elections have already taken place under the state court’s interim map, and Petitioners will suffer no prejudice from letting the ordinary appeals process play out…Although the Court has already received briefing and heard oral argument in this case…The decisions on review are nonfinal, and this Court should therefore dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.”

Reuters’ Ax wrote that the congressional boundaries the state supreme court overturned “would likely have secured 11 of the state’s 14 congressional seats for Republicans.” In the 2022 elections, Republicans and Democrats won seven U.S. House districts each.

Keep reading 


Jacksonville’s mayoral election advances to a runoff 

Let’s move further south and take a look at Tuesday’s general election for mayor in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Donna Deegan (D) and Daniel Davis (R) advanced from Tuesday’s election and will face each other in a runoff on May 16. With 100% of precincts reporting, Deegan received 39% of the vote, and Davis received 25%. Six other candidates, including one Democrat and three Republicans, also ran.

Incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry (R) was term-limited.

In Jacksonville, all candidates run in the general election regardless of party affiliation. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.

Broken down by party, Democratic candidates received a combined 48% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, while Republican candidates received a combined 51%. Candidates not affiliated with any party received 1%. 

Deegan is a philanthropist and local news anchor. Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Deegan’s campaign had focused on infrastructure, public health, and housing affordability. “Folks are with us because they see the vision that we are looking out to the future, not reactive. We’re trying to bring people into things, so the next step is to continue those conversations,” Deegan said. Deegan completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. Click here to read her responses. 

Davis, the former president and CEO of Jacksonville’s Chamber of Commerce, highlighted public safety. Speaking to supporters on Tuesday, Davis said, “Will we elect a mayor who will stand with our brave men and women in uniform to make Jacksonville safer? Will we as Jacksonvillians go down the pathway of San Francisco and New York? … Will we elect a mayor who will stand with Gov. Ron DeSantis to keep Florida free? Or will we embrace the policies of the left that punish hard-working taxpayers?”

The last time a Jacksonville mayoral election advanced to a runoff was 2015. Then-incumbent Alvin Brown (D) and Lenny Curry (R) advanced to the runoff after receiving 42.6% of 38.4% of the vote in the general election, respectively. Curry defeated Brown 51% to 49% in the runoff.

Jacksonville also held general elections for city council, supervisor of elections, property appraiser, sheriff, and tax collector. Seven city council elections and the election for property appraiser advanced to a runoff. 

As we mentioned earlier this week, we’re covering 40 mayoral elections in the country’s 100 largest cities this year, with at least one election being held every month except for January and July.

The current partisan breakdown of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities is 62 Democrats, 26 Republicans, three independents, and seven nonpartisans. Two mayors’ partisan affiliations are unknown. Based on 2020 population estimates, 76.1% of the population of the top 100 cities lives in cities with Democratic mayors, and 16.2% lives in cities with Republican mayors at the start of 2022.

Keep reading 


Listen to the latest episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

On the Ballot, our weekly podcast, takes a closer look at the week’s top political stories.

In this week’s episode, host Victoria Rose and Ballotpedia’s Marquee Staff Writer Doug Kronaizl take a very early look at the state executive and state legislative races that will take place later this year, including elections in New Jersey, Kentucky, and Virginia.   

Episodes of On the Ballot come out Thursday afternoons, so if you’re reading this on the morning of March 23, you’ve still got time to subscribe to On the Ballot on your favorite podcast app before this week’s episode drops! 

Click below to listen to older episodes and find links to where you can subscribe.

Listen Here!



Four incumbents lose re-election in primaries for downsized Board of Aldermen in St. Louis

The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held nonpartisan primaries for the Board of Aldermen on March 7, 2023. All 14 seats on the board and the seat of the president of the board were up for election. The top two candidates in each primary advanced to an April 4 general election.

The 2023 primary was the first to take place under a new ward system that reduced the number of seats on the board from 28 to 14. The reduction in board size was part of Proposition R, a charter amendment passed by voters in 2012 that took effect on Jan. 1, 2022. In accordance with Proposition R, the board passed new ward maps in 2021.

Eighteen incumbents, including the board president, filed to run for re-election in the downsized board. Fourteen advanced to the general election. Four were defeated in the primary and did not advance to the general election. 

Ten incumbents did not seek re-election in 2023.  

As a result of the reduction in the size of the board, four wards—the 4th, 9th, 13th, and 14th—had multiple incumbents running against each other in the primary. 

Two wards—Ward 6 and Ward 7—were open, meaning no incumbents filed to run in those primaries. 

Two primaries were uncontested. Shane Cohn (the incumbent in Ward 25) ran for re-election unopposed in Ward 3. President of the Board Megan Ellyia Green also ran unopposed for re-election. 

The closest primary took place in the 9th Ward. Two incumbents—Tina Pihl (Ward 17) and Michael Gras (Ward 28)—were tied in second place with 868 votes each on Election Day. Pihl received eight additional votes after provisional ballots were counted, and advanced to the general election. Michael Browning, a Washington University School of Medicine staffer, finished in first place and also advanced.

Another initiative affecting the 2023 primary, Proposition D, was approved by voters in 2020. The measure made elections open and nonpartisan for the offices of mayor, comptroller, president of the Board of Aldermen, and the Board of Aldermen. The measure also changed the primary election system from plurality voting to approval voting, a voting system in which voters may vote for any number of candidates they choose. In St. Louis, the top two candidates in the primary advance to the general election.

Candidates elected in odd-numbered wards in 2023 will serve an initial two-year term and be eligible to run for four-year terms after that. Candidates elected in even-numbered wards will serve four-year terms. The president of the Board of Aldermen, a separate position elected at large, will also serve a four-year term.

The Board of Aldermen is St. Louis’ equivalent of a city council. It’s the city’s primary legislative body, responsible for adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances. The President of the Board is responsible for presiding over board meetings.

The filing deadline for this election was January 6, 2023. The general election is scheduled for April 4, 2023.



Oklahoma voters to decide 137 school board elections on April 4

Welcome to the Thursday, March 16, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Oklahoma voters will decide 137 school board elections on April 4
  2. A look at where things stand in the 2024 presidential race vs 2020 and 2016
  3. Listen to our interview with Kyle Kondik for On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

Oklahoma will decide 137 school board elections on April 4

Yesterday, we told you all about the landscape of this year’s school board elections. Approximately 24,100 school board seats in 35 states are up for election, and we’re expanding our coverage this year to cover roughly 8,750 school board seats in 3,211 school districts across 28 states.

Let’s dig into one of those states—Oklahoma, where voters will decide 137 school board elections on April 4.

These 137 general elections represent 24% of the 579 school board seats up for election this year in Oklahoma. For the remaining 442 seats (76%), the general election was canceled:

  • In 405 races, it was because only one candidate ran, meaning both the primary and general elections were canceled, and they won outright;
  • In 13 races, a candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the primary, eliminating the need for the general election; and,
  • No candidates ran in 24 races, creating vacancies that the school board must fill through an appointment or a special election.

Oklahoma held primaries on Feb. 14 for the 23 seats where more than two candidates ran.

While knowing who is on your ballot (and whether there’s even an election!) is an important first step, we want to provide you, our readers, with more information so you can better understand what these candidates will do in office.

To do this, we’re gathering and publishing endorsement information for any and all candidates running for these offices.

These endorsements can tell voters what a candidate stands for and help them decide before they go to the polls.

Here’s a sample of some of the Oklahoma endorsements we have identified so far:

  • Tulsa Public Schools: Tulsa County Moms for Liberty and the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association endorsed Jared Buswell, who is challenging Board President Stacey Wooley.

Many of these endorsements appear only in local papers and campaign materials. So, throughout this year, we are asking for your help!

Because we aren’t just covering every school board election in Oklahoma. We’re doing the same thing in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

If you know of any individuals or organizations who might endorse school board candidates in these 10 states, drop us a line. We will monitor whatever you send our way throughout the entire election cycle.

And if you know of any school board endorsements made in Oklahoma already, use the link below to share that information with us directly.

Candidate endorsement submission form (jotform.com)

Keep reading 


A look at where things stand in the 2024 presidential race vs 2020 and 2016

Now let’s take a look at where things stand in the 2024 presidential election and how it compares to where things stood four and eight years ago, when the 2020 and 2016 presidential races were also well underway.

Our tally of noteworthy 2024 presidential candidates currently stands at four Republicans and one Democrat, for a total of five. 

Here’s what each candidate has been up to this past week:

  • Author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D) held campaign events across New Hampshire from March 8 to March 13. She also endorsed Cairnie Pokorney for Derry School Board in New Hampshire on March 12.
  • Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R) campaigned in Iowa from March 8 to March 10 and held a rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on March 13. During a town hall in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on March 8, Haley said she favored raising the retirement age for younger Americans.
  • Entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy (R) campaigned in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 11. He also published several op-eds. On March 8, he wrote an op-ed for the Daily Mail, and on March 12, he wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal titled “SVB Doesn’t Deserve a Taxpayer Bailout.”
  • Former President Donald Trump (R) campaigned in Davenport, Iowa, on March 13, marking his first official campaign visit to the state. Trump said he supported universal school choice, electing school principals, and eliminating the Department of Education. 
  • Former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton (R) announced he would campaign in New Hampshire on March 15.

At this point in the 2020 cycle, 17 candidates had announced presidential campaigns. Sixteen had declared for the Democratic nomination, and one (Trump) had declared for the Republican nomination. 

Notable stories at the time included Beto O’Rourke’s (D) campaign announcement, Andrew Yang (D) reaching the donor threshold to participate in the Democratic primary debates, and the Democratic National Committee’s selection of Milwaukee to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The 2024 Republican National Convention will also be held in Milwaukee, along with the first Republican presidential primary debate.

In the 2016 election cycle, no noteworthy candidates had launched their campaigns as of March 16, 2015. The first announcement came on March 23 from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 

At this point in the 2016 cycle, candidates who would eventually declare were still getting headlines. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) hired new staff in preparation for a run, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) discussed fundraising with The Washington Post. Discussion of Hillary Clinton’s (D) private email server was also in the news.

As we’ve mentioned in previous editions, if history is any guide, we can expect most 2024 presidential candidate announcements to occur in the next few months. In the 2020 cycle, 87% (27) of the noteworthy candidates announced their campaigns by June 2019. And in the 2016 cycle, 77% (17) had by that time in 2015.

Keep reading 


Listen to our interview with Kyle Kondik for On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

On the Ballot, our weekly podcast, takes a closer look at the week’s top political stories.

In this week’s episode, host Victoria Rose interviews Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. In their conversation, Kondik and Victoria cover the state of the 2024 presidential election, where things stand in the race for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, and what to expect in the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election on April 4—the most expensive state judicial election in U.S. history!. 

Remember, episodes of On the Ballot come out Thursday afternoons, so if you’re reading this on the morning of March 16, you’ve still got time to subscribe on your favorite podcast app before this week’s episode comes out! 

Click below to listen to older episodes and find links to where you can subscribe.

Keep reading



Day 4 of our Top 15 stories to watch in 2023 – local elections

Welcome to the Thursday, March 9, Brew. 

All week, we will be celebrating Ballotpedia’s 15th Anniversary by bringing you the top 15 political stories to keep an eye on this year.

Today, we tackle some of the most interesting local elections in 2023.


Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. San Antonio voters to decide on a measure regarding abortion, marijuana, and police actions
  2. Ballotpedia is covering more than 8,700 school board seats up for election across 28 states
  3. One school board recall effort connected to COVID-19 so far in 2023
  4. Twelve candidates are running (so far) for mayor in Memphis, Tennessee

San Antonio voters to decide on a measure regarding abortion, marijuana, and police actions

Let’s start in San Antonio, where voters will decide on a charter amendment regarding abortion, marijuana, and police actions on May 6, 2023.

If approved by voters, the charter amendment would:

  • end enforcement of low-level marijuana possession (Class A or B misdemeanor offenses)
  • prohibit San Antonio police officers from investigating or making arrests for abortions, as well as prohibit them from enforcing any state law that criminalizes abortion
  • ban no-knock warrants
  • ban law enforcement use of chokeholds
  • use citations instead of arrests for low-level, nonviolent crimes

The measure would also allow the City Council to appoint a Justice Director. The role of the Justice Director would include reducing incarceration and mitigating law enforcement practices. The position would report directly to the City Council.

The San Antonio City Council voted on Feb. 16 to place the charter amendment on the ballot after certifying that organizers submitted 20,973 valid signatures – above the 20,000 signature requirement to certify the initiative for the ballot.

ACT 4 SA, a nonprofit organization, worked to place the initiative on the ballot along with other advocacy groups, like Ground Game Texas. Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT 4 SA, said: “We will be saving money, keeping families together, stopping the unnecessary overcrowding of jails — but most of all, we will be saving lives through these policies.”

The San Antonio Police Officers Association opposes the amendment. Danny Diaz, president of the union, said no-knock warrants and chokeholds are already prohibited unless a life is at serious risk. Diaz also said the proposed charter amendment is in direct conflict with state law regarding abortion and marijuana cases.

“The decriminalization of marijuana and abortion are handled at the state and federal level of government,” Diaz said in a statement, “This is not a decision that can be implemented at a local level.”

The Texas Alliance for Life, a nonprofit organization that describes itself as pro-life, sued the San Antonio City Clerk and the San Antonio City Council on Feb. 9, alleging the proposed charter amendment violates the Texas Local Government Code, which prohibits multiple-subject charter amendments. The single-subject rule requires ballot initiatives to address a single subject, topic, or issue. Of the 26 states that provide for citizen-initiated ballot measures, 17 of those states have single-subject rules. While Texas does not provide for statewide citizen initiatives, Texas law requires local charter amendments to include only one subject.

The Texas Alliance for Life said: “[Our] emergency petition for writ of mandamus shows that the proposed charter amendment, which contains six distinct amendments shoe-horned into one proposition, violates state law and must be blocked and separated into distinct proposals.”

Mike Siegel, the political director and co-founder of Ground Game Texas, told the San Antonio Report: “Every day, police departments decide what they’re going to enforce and what they’re not going to enforce, and this represents the people of San Antonio saying: these are not our priorities for our scarce public dollars.” Siegel added, “The roots of the Texas Constitution are in local self-control [and] self-determination. So that’s why we have charter cities that have this authority to adopt their own charters and decide their own laws.”

Keep reading


Ballotpedia is covering more than 8,700 school board seats up for election across 28 states 

This might be an off-cycle election year for Congress and most state legislatures, but school board elections don’t stop. With about 83,000 board members in over 13,000 districts, school boards are some of the most influential elected bodies in the country—but also some of the most overlooked. 

In 2023, Ballotpedia is covering elections for approximately 8,750 school board seats in 3,211 school districts across 28 states. Traditionally, we’ve covered all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment.

We’re covering all school board elections in the following 10 states this year:

  • Colorado
  • Kansas
  • Minnesota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Dakota
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • Wisconsin

Elections will happen throughout the year. The first set of statewide primaries happened in Oklahoma on Feb. 14, followed by Wisconsin on Feb. 21. Those states will hold general elections on April 4.

Here’s a snapshot of where we’ll be covering school board elections a little later in the year:

  • Texas will hold general elections on May 6. 
  • Oregon will hold general elections on May 16.
  • Kansas will hold primary elections on Aug. 1. 
  • Sixteen states will hold general elections on Nov. 7. 

A diverse assortment of concerns has always motivated people to run for seats on their local school board. However, over the last few years, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, school board elections have increasingly mirrored concerns found in partisan state and national politics. In 2021 and 2022, we tracked 1,998 districts in 49 states where school board candidates took a position on one or more of the following topics—race in education/critical race theory, responses to the coronavirus pandemic, and sex and gender in schools. 

Although most school board elections are officially nonpartisan, political parties, national political organizations, and incumbent state officeholders have endorsed candidates in some races. To take two recent examples from February: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) released a list of incumbents he is targeting for defeat in 2024, and the Democratic Party of Illinois said it plans to release a list of over 100 candidates it opposes in the state’s April 4 elections.  

From 2018 to 2022, we covered elections for 3,319 school board seats in 1,141 school districts. We found that:

  • Between 24% and 40% of elections were unopposed each year
  • Incumbents won between 51% and 61% of seats each year
  • Between 79% and 89% of incumbents who sought reelection won each year.

If you’d like to learn more, subscribe to Hall Pass, our weekly education newsletter, to stay up to date on school board elections and education policy. New editions reach your inbox on Wednesday afternoons.

Keep reading 


One school board recall effort connected to COVID-19 so far in 2023

Let’s now turn to school board recall efforts. So far in 2023, one school board recall effort has been related to COVID-19, and it started in the spring of 2022. 

Three school board members in the Richland School District in Washington were named in recall petitions that said the members violated the state’s Open Public Meetings Act; violated district policies, procedures, and code of ethics; and voted to make masks optional while a statewide mask requirement was in place. All three board members denied any wrongdoing. The recall petitions went through multiple court hearings before the Washington Supreme Court approved them for circulation on Feb. 9, 2023.

Ballotpedia tracked 131 recall efforts related to COVID-19 or government responses to the pandemic in 2021 and 34 in 2022. School board recall efforts accounted for 54 of those efforts in 2021 (41%) and 22 in 2022 (65%). Ballotpedia tracked 92 total school board recalls in 2021, more than in any year over the previous decade, with the increase driven largely by COVID-related recall activity.

Twenty-three states allow for the recall of school board members.

One recall election against one school board member has been held so far this year. Voters approved it, which removed the member from office. Another member resigned after a recall effort was started against her, and efforts against six members ended before going to a vote. 

Ballotpedia has tracked 10 school board recall efforts against 18 board members so far in 2023. In 2022, we tracked 52 efforts against 120 school board members. In 2021, we tracked 92 efforts against 237 school board members.  

One of the efforts underway is happening in the Sandusky Community School District in Michigan. A group called Save the Redskins Logo is circulating recall petitions against three of the seven members of the school board. The group said the three members failed “to represent and listen to the voice of the public to retain the Redskin logo and voted to change the logo to the wolves on Nov. 28, 2022.” Jason Trepkowski, one of the members named in the recall petitions, said there were no lies or deceit involved with the name change. “We had eight meetings before we changed this name, and it was all out in the open,” Trepkowski said.

We’ve tracked an average of 28 recall efforts against an average of 66 school board members each year between 2009 and 2022.

Keep reading 


Twelve candidates are running (so far) for mayor in Memphis, Tennessee

Finally, let’s turn to Memphis, Tennessee, where voters will elect a new mayor on Oct. 5, 2023. Incumbent Jim Strickland (D), in office since 2016, is term-limited.  

The filing deadline for the election is July 20, 2023. Twelve candidates had declared their candidacy as of March 8, 2023, including six Democrats, three Republicans, and two independents. In 2019, twelve candidates ran. 

While the election is officially nonpartisan, many candidates (and officeholders) are affiliated with a political party. 

The candidates who have received the most media attention are: 

  • Floyd Bonner (D), Shelby County sheriff; 
  • Joe Brown (I), former Shelby County Criminal Court judge and host of the reality court show ‘’Judge Joe Brown’’; 
  • Karen Camper (D), Tennessee House Minority Leader; 
  • Frank Colvett (R); Memphis City council member and former council chairman; 
  • J.W. Gibson (D), former Shelby County commissioner and businessman; 
  • Willie Wilbert Herenton (D), former Memphis mayor (1992-2009);  
  • Michelle McKissack (D); member of the Shelby County Board of Education and a former broadcast journalist;
  • Van Turner (D), former Shelby County commissioner and president of the NAACP Memphis branch, and;
  • Paul Young, CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission. 

According to University of Memphis professor Otis Sanford, the issues of crime and police conduct will have an outsized effect in the October election. “[…] The race for mayor will come down [to] who has the clearer and most convincing message — not just about fighting crime, but changing the culture in the police department in light of the police killing of Tyre Nichols,” Sanford said.

Memphis, the 27th largest city in the U.S., has had a Democratic mayor since 1992. That year, Willie Herenton (also a candidate for mayor this year) defeated then-incumbent Richard Hackett by 146 votes. Herenton was elected to five consecutive terms before he resigned in 2009.

As of March 2023, the partisan breakdown of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities was 62 Democrats, 26 Republicans, three independents, and seven nonpartisans. Two mayors’ partisan affiliations were unknown. 

Based on 2020 population estimates, 76.1% of the population of the top 100 cities lived in cities with Democratic mayors, and 16.2% lived in cities with Republican mayors at the start of 2022.

The Memphis mayoral election is one of 40 mayoral elections Ballotpedia is covering in 2023. These include all mayoral elections in the 100 largest U.S. cities and all mayoral elections in state capitals. 

Memphis is also holding elections for county clerk and all 13 seats on the city council in 2023. 

Keep reading



Nine fewer noteworthy presidential candidates have declared (so far) in 2024 compared to the 2020 cycle

Welcome to the Thursday, March 2, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Five noteworthy presidential candidates have declared for 2024, nine fewer than this point in the 2020 cycle
  2. What’s next in the Chicago mayoral election
  3. Listen to this week’s episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

Five noteworthy presidential candidates have declared for 2024, nine fewer than this point in the 2020 cycle

Last week, we added two noteworthy 2024 presidential candidates to our list: entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy (R), and author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D). Our total tally currently stands at five noteworthy 2024 presidential candidates.

Ramaswamy joins former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R), former President Donald Trump (R), and former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton (R) in the Republican primary. 

Williamson is the first Democratic candidate to have declared a campaign for the nomination. President Joe Biden (D) has yet to officially announce whether he intends to run for a second term.

At this point in the 2020 cycle, a 14 noteworthy candidates had announced their campaigns:

  1. Jan. 20, 2017: Donald Trump (R)
  2. Aug. 10, 2017: John Delaney (D)
  3. Nov. 6, 2017: Andrew Yang (D)
  4. Jan. 1, 2019: Tulsi Gabbard (D)
  5. Jan. 12, 2019: Julián Castro (D)
  6. Jan. 15, 2019: Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
  7. Jan. 21, 2019: Kamala Harris (D)
  8. Jan. 23, 2019: Pete Buttigieg (D)
  9. Jan. 28, 2019: Marianne Williamson (D)
  10. Feb. 1, 2019: Cory Booker (D)
  11. Feb. 9, 2019: Elizabeth Warren (D)
  12. Feb. 12, 2019: Amy Klobuchar (D)
  13. Feb. 19, 2019: Bernie Sanders (I)
  14. March 1, 2019: Jay Inslee (D)

Biden, the eventual Democratic nominee and winner of the 2020 presidential election, announced on April 25, 2019.

In the 2016 election cycle, no noteworthy candidates had launched their campaigns as of March 1, 2015. The first announcement came on March 23 from Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Hillary Clinton (D), the eventual Democratic nominee, announced her campaign on April 12, 2015. Trump, the eventual Republican nominee, announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015.

What else was happening around this time in the 2020 presidential cycle? Here’s a selection of items that were featured in our presidential news briefing newsletter on March 1, 2019:

  • Washington Gov. Jay Inslee became the 13th Democratic contender to enter the 2020 presidential race. In a statement, Inslee said, “I’m running for president because I am the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation’s number one priority.”
  • Sabato’s Crystal Ball released their initial 2020 Electoral College ratings with 248 votes at least leaning Republican and 244 at least leaning Democratic. Notably absent from the toss-up column were Florida and Michigan, which were labeled as leaning Republican and leaning Democratic, respectively.
  • Elizabeth Warren (D) made her second visit to Iowa as a presidential candidate.
  • Flashback from March 1, 2015: The Los Angeles Times discussed a possible presidential run from Jerry Brown, the governor of California. Brown, who had run against Bill Clinton in the Democratic primary in 1992, did not enter the race.

Keep reading


What’s next in the Chicago mayoral election 

Let’s travel back in time two days, instead of four years, and look back at Chicago’s general election. 

Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas advanced from Tuesday’s election and will face each other in a runoff on April 4. Incumbent Lori Lightfoot finished in third place and did not advance to the runoff. She is the first Chicago mayor in 34 years not to win re-election. 

Nine candidates ran in Tuesday’s general election. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, the top-two vote-getters advanced to the runoff.

With 99% of the votes in, Vallas and Johnson received 33.8% and 20.3% of the votes, respectively.

Lightfoot received 17.1% of the vote, and U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D) received 13.7%. No other candidate received more than 10% of the vote. 

Vallas is the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014. Ahead of the Feb. 28 election, Vallas highlighted public safety, decreased public school enrollment, and the city budget as key campaign issues. Vallas ran in the 2019 mayoral general election and finished ninth with 5.4% of the vote.

In his speech Tuesday night, Vallas said, “Public safety is the fundamental right of every American: It is a civil right and it is the principal responsibility of government. […] And we will have a safe Chicago. We will make Chicago the safest city in America.”

Johnson, a teacher with Chicago Public Schools and an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners as a Democrat in 2018. Ahead of Tuesday’s election, he indicated his campaign priorities included “fully funded public schools, affordable housing, green jobs and access to mental health care.” 

“Tonight is about building a Chicago that truly invests in its people,” Johnson said on Tuesday night. “[…] The finances of this city belong to the people of the city. So, we’re gonna invest in the people of the city,” he said. 

Among the elected officials and groups who endorsed Vallas ahead of Tuesday’s election were four city aldermen, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police.

Two U.S. Representatives, nine city aldermen, seven state legislators, five county commissioners, and the local, state, and national chapters of the American Federation of Teachers were among the officials and groups who endorsed Johnson. 

Looking ahead at the April 4 runoff, the Associated Press’ Claire Savage and Teresa Crawford said there were “clear contrasts between Vallas and Johnson.” 

“[Vallas] has called for adding hundreds of police officers to patrol the city, saying crime is out of control and morale among officers sunk to a new low during Lightfoot’s tenure,” Savage and Crawford said. 

“Johnson has positioned himself to the political left of the incumbent mayor, advocating for reduced fares on public transit, canceling the city’s contract with ShotSpotter and a real estate transfer tax on the sale of multi-million dollar homes,” NBC5’s Peter Marzano said.

According to CNN’s Eric Bradner, “The big question over the next five weeks is whether Vallas’ more conservative message will attract enough support to win in a city where nearly 83% of votes in the 2020 presidential race went to the Democratic ticket.”

Although municipal elections in Chicago are officially nonpartisan, candidates are typically affiliated with one of the major political parties. Vallas, Johnson, and six of the other candidates who ran on Feb. 28 are Democrats, while one is an independent. The last Republican mayor of Chicago, William Thompson, left office in 1931.

This year’s contest is the third consecutive mayoral election to go to a runoff since Chicago mayoral elections became nonpartisan in 1999.

The 2019 contest, the city’s second open mayoral election since 1947, also had a nine-candidate field. That year, Lightfoot advanced to the runoff with 18% of the vote, followed by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle with 16%. Lightfoot defeated Preckwinkle in the runoff, 74% to 26%.

In the 2019 runoff, Lightfoot raised $7.1M in funds and Preckwinkle raised $5.4M, for a combined total of $12.5M. Lightfoot’s largest contributor was Liuna Chicago Laborers’ District Council PAC ($0.5M), and Preckwinkle’s largest contributor was the SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund ($2M). 

All 50 seats on the city council were also up for election on Tuesday. As of Wednesday evening, 14 city council elections could be headed to a runoff. This year’s election was the first to use new ward maps drawn in 2022. 

Chicago also held general elections for city clerk, city treasurer, and police district councils.

Keep reading 


Listen to the latest episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

On the Ballot, our weekly podcast, takes a closer look at the week’s top political stories.

In this week’s episode, host Victoria Rose and Ballotpedia’s Marquee Staff Writer Ellen Morrissey update our listeners on where things stand in the 2024 presidential race. Victoria and Ellen discuss presidential election deadlines, noteworthy candidates, early primary states, and more!

Episodes of On the Ballot come out Thursdays.

Click below to listen to older episodes and find links to subscribe.

Listen here



A look at Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court primary results

Welcome to the Thursday, February 23, Brew. 

By: Juan Garcia de Paredes

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. A look at Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court primary results
  2. Update on this year’s and next year’s ballot measure certifications
  3. Learn everything you need to know about the school board primaries in Oklahoma (and more!) with On the Ballot, our weekly podcast.

A look at Wisconsin’s Supreme Court primary results

The field is set for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court general election. 

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly advanced from Tuesday’s primary, defeating Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow and Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell. With 99% of votes counted, Protasiewicz had received 446k votes, or 46.4% of the total votes cast, and Kelly had received 233k votes, or 24.2% of the total. Dorow received 210k votes (21.9%) and Mitchell received 72k votes (7.5%). 

Compared to previous primaries, Protasiewicz received more votes than any other primary candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 2016. Before Tuesday, the primary candidate with the most votes since 2016 was Kelly, who received 353k votes in the 2020 primary. Kelly would go on to lose against Jill Karofsky in the general election that year. 

The Apr. 4 general election will determine who will succeed Justice Patience Roggensack, whose term will expire in July 2023, and who did not run for re-election. The winner will serve on the court for a term of 10 years. 

While Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan, Protasiewicz and Mitchell ran as liberal candidates in the primary, while Kelly and Dorow ran as conservatives. The current court is considered to have a 4-3 conservative majority. With Roggensack—a member of the court’s conservative majority—retiring, the general election will determine the ideological control of the court.

According to Wisconsin Public Radio’s Shawn Johnson, “A Kelly victory would preserve the court’s 4-3 conservative edge, while a Protasiewicz win would give liberals a majority for the first time since 2008.”

“Should Protasiewicz win the general election on Apr. 4, the court could revisit its 2022 redistricting decision that helped Republicans grow their already lopsided majorities in the Wisconsin Legislature. Justices could also overturn Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War abortion ban,” Johnson said. 

The court had a 4-3 liberal majority from 2005 to 2008. In 2008, conservative candidate Michael Gableman defeated incumbent liberal Justice Louis Butler, giving conservatives a 4-3 majority on the court. The conservative-leaning judges expanded their majority to 5-2 in 2016. That majority was reduced back to 4-3 in 2018 and increased again to 5-2 in 2019. In 2020, liberal candidate Jill Karofsky defeated then-incumbent Daniel Kelly 55.2% to 44.7%, reducing the conservative majority on the court to the current 4-3 split.

The turnout rate in Tuesday’s state Supreme Court primary was around 20.5%. That’s an increase from 2020, when the turnout in the primary for the state Supreme Court seat up for election that year was 15.5%..

Following the primary results, Protasiewicz said, “We’re saving our democracy in the state of Wisconsin. […] That’s what I’m explaining to people. I’m talking about the ability to vote, to have a vote that counts about women’s rights, reproductive freedoms, the fact that the 2024 presidential election results could likely come into our Supreme Court chamber, just everything people care about.”

Kelly said voters “don’t want to gamble on who the next Supreme Court justice is. They want to have someone who has a proven public record of being faithful to the constitution and to the people of Wisconsin. And I see my record as doing that. And I think that’s what makes the difference.”

The open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat is one of two state supreme court seats on the ballot in 2023. The other one—a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court—will be up for election on Nov. 7. The primary for that seat will take place on May 16. 

Additionally, two intermediate appellate court seats in Wisconsin are up for election on Apr. 4. A primary for those seats was scheduled for Feb. 21, but it was canceled after fewer than three candidates filed for each election.  

Keep reading 

Update on this year’s and next year’s ballot measure certifications

As of Feb. 21, 2023, five statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in three states for elections in 2023. That’s the same as the average number certified at this point in other odd-numbered years from 2011 to 2021. 

For 2024, 11 statewide measures have been certified in five states. That’s the same as the average number certified at this point from 2010 to 2022.

Here’s an update on the latest ballot measure activity.

One new measure was certified for the ballot last week:

  1. Utah Elections of County Sheriffs Amendment

Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for two initiatives in Maine and Michigan:

  1. Maine “Right to Repair Law” Vehicle Data Access Requirement Initiative (2023)
  2. Michigan $15 Minimum Wage Initiative (2024)

Signatures were verified for four indirect initiatives in Maine and Ohio, and the initiatives are now before legislators:

  1. Maine Creation of Pine Tree Power Company Initiative (2023)
  2. Maine Prohibit Foreign Spending in Elections Initiative (2023)
  3. Maine Voter Approval of Borrowing Above $1 Billion by State Entities and Electric Cooperatives Initiative (2023)
  4. Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2023)

From 2011 to 2021, the average number of statewide ballot measures certified in an odd-numbered year was 33. By this time during odd-numbered years from 2011 through 2021, an average of five statewide measures had been certified for the ballot. 

Keep reading 

Learn everything you need to know about the school board primaries in Oklahoma (and more!) with On the Ballot, our weekly podcast.

On the Ballot, our weekly podcast, takes a closer look at the week’s top political stories.

In this week’s episode, host Victoria Rose and Ballotpedia’s Marquee Staff Writer Doug Kronaizl talk about the school board primaries that just took place in Oklahoma, as well as results in the Wisconsin Supreme Court primary that took place on February 21st. 

Episodes of On the Ballot come out Thursdays.

Click below to listen to older episodes and find links to subscribe.

Keep reading



The educational background of the top-4 state executives in each state

Welcome to the Wednesday, February 22, Brew. 

By: Juan Garcia de Paredes

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. A look at the higher education background of top state executives
  2. Campaigns surrounding California’s 2022 ballot measures received the highest average amount in contributions per measure since 2016
  3. An abortion-related constitutional ballot measure may appear on the Ohio ballot in 2023

Fifty-eight state executives have master’s degrees; 93 have law degrees

Let’s start the day by looking at the higher education background of the top state executives around the country. 

Of the 192 officeholders currently occupying the top four executive positions in each state—governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state—184 have a bachelor’s degree, 58 have a master’s degree, and 93 have a law degree. Nine such officeholders have a Ph.D., and one has a medical degree. Eight state executives do not list holding a higher education degree in their official biography.

The number of degrees held by officeholders is higher than the number of executives in office because some officeholders hold multiple degrees. Nevada’s Attorney General Aaron Ford (D), for example, holds five degrees, the most of any current officeholder. Following Ford are Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), with four degrees each. 

Broken down by party, 97 Republican officeholders have a bachelor’s degree, 25 have a master’s degree, and 44 have a law degree. Three Republican officeholders have a Ph.D., and eight do not list holding a higher education degree in their official biography.

On the Democratic side, 87 officeholders have a bachelor’s degree, 33 have a master’s degree, and 49 have a law degree. Six Democratic officeholders have a Ph.D., and one has an M.D.

Among all the top four state executive positions, the most popular school for a bachelor’s degree is Harvard University (6). The second most popular school is Yale University, where five officeholders received their bachelor’s degrees. Three schools—Brigham Young University, the University of Vermont, and the University of Washington—have four alumni each.

Broken down by party, the most popular school among Republican officeholders for a bachelor’s degree is Brigham Young University (4), followed by Auburn University (3) and the University of Georgia (3). On the Democratic side, the most popular school to get a bachelor’s degree is Harvard University (5), followed by Yale University (4). 

The most popular schools for a master’s degree among all top four state executives are the University of Oxford (4), Harvard University (3), and Columbia University (3).

For Republican officeholders, the most popular school to get a master’s degree is the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with two alumni. On the Democratic side, the most popular schools are the University of Oxford and Columbia University, with three alumni each. 

Seven of the current top state executives received their Juris Doctorate (J.D.), or law degree, from Harvard University. Four schools—Stanford University, the University of Chicago, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Virginia—have three law school alumni each among these officeholders.

Harvard University was among the most popular universities to get a J.D. for officeholders of both parties. On the Republican side, three officeholders received their law degrees from Harvard, and three received their law degrees from the University of Mississippi. On the Democratic side, four officeholders received their degrees from Harvard, while three received theirs from Stanford University. 

Ballotpedia reviewed the biographies of the top four officeholders in each state as of February 2023, including profiles on official state directories, campaign websites, and media reports. All 50 states have the office of governor and attorney general. Forty-five states have a lieutenant governor, and 47 have a secretary of state. Click the link below to read more! 

Keep reading

Campaigns surrounding California’s 2022 ballot measures received the highest average amount in contributions per measure since 2016

The final 2022 ballot measure finance data is in from California. Campaigns supporting and opposing the seven ballot measures that appeared on the California general election ballot in 2022 received $724.8 million in contributions. This is an average of $103.5 million per measure, the highest average for California ballot measures between 2016 and 2022.

Proposition 26 and Proposition 27—both related to sports betting legalization—were the most expensive ballot measures in California last year and the most expensive from 1999 to the present. Supporters and opponents of the measures, which were both defeated in November, received a combined $463.4 million in contributions. 

Before Propositions 26 and 27, the most expensive ballot measure in California was Proposition 22, a 2020 measure related to app-based drivers and labor regulations. Campaigns supporting and opposing that measure raised a combined total of $224.2 million.

Campaigns behind the seven ballot measures that have qualified for the 2024 ballot in California have raised $101.3 million as of the latest campaign finance filings, which covered through December 31, 2022.

Keep reading 

Abortion may appear on the Ohio ballot in 2023; other states expecting abortion-related constitutional ballot measures

Two campaigns in Ohio announced that they are joining efforts to put a statewide abortion-related initiative on the ballot in 2023.

On February 16, Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Protect Choice Ohio said that they would file an initiative that would be similar to a measure that voters approved in Michigan in November 2022. That measure provided a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, which was defined to include abortion, contraceptives, and pregnancy-related matters.

Kellie Copeland, the executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio and a member of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, said, “This grassroots initiative – by and for the people of Ohio – is foundational to ensuring access to abortion and the right to bodily autonomy, not only for ourselves, but for generations to come.”

For a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to qualify for the November 2023 general election ballot, the campaigns would have to collect a minimum of 413,488 valid signatures by the July 5, 2023, deadline. This signature requirement number equals 10 percent of the votes cast for governor from the most recent election.

Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, there were five statewide abortion-related constitutional amendments that were decided on by voters. In 2022, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont were the first to approve ballot measures to establish state constitutional rights to abortion. Voters in Kentucky and Kansas rejected measures to provide that the state constitution could not be interpreted to establish a constitutional right to abortion.

Currently, there is one certified statewide constitutional amendment related to abortion on the ballot in 2024, the New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment. Additionally, there are four proposed constitutional amendments—in Pennsylvania, Iowa, South Dakota, and Florida—that may appear on the ballot in either 2023 or 2024. 

Historically, from 1970 to November 2022, there were 53 abortion-related ballot measures. Forty-three (81%) of these had the support of organizations that described themselves as pro-life. Voters approved 11 (26%) and rejected 32 (74%) of these 43 ballot measures. The other ten abortion-related ballot measures had the support of organizations that described themselves as pro-choice or pro-reproductive rights. Voters approved seven (70%) and rejected three (30%).

Keep reading



More U.S. House members and state legislators sought other offices in 2022 than in 2020

Welcome to the Thursday, February 16, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. More U.S. House members and state legislators sought other offices in 2022 than in 2020
  2. A look at how the 2024 presidential election timeline compares to 2020 and 2016
  3. Hear from Denver City Auditor candidates in their own words

More U.S. House members and state legislators sought other offices in 2022 than in 2020 

In 2022, 17 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 534 state legislators ran for a different office than the one to which they were elected. That’s an increase from 2020, when Ballotpedia tracked 14 U.S. House members and 322 state legislators who ran for a different office than the one they held.

No members of the U.S. Senate sought other offices in 2022. That’s a decrease from 2020, when eight Senators sought to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States.

U.S. House members

At the congressional level, nine Democratic members of the U.S. House and eight Republican members sought election to other offices in 2022. Both numbers are up from 2020, when seven Democrats and seven Republicans sought other offices. In 2018, ten Democrats and 11 Republicans did.

Democratic members who sought other offices in 2022 had a higher success rate than their Republican counterparts. Thirty-three percent of the Democratic members who sought other offices (three out of nine) won election to the offices they sought, while 67% lost either in the general election or in the primary. On the Republican side, 25% of the members who ran for other offices (two out of eight) won their elections, while 75% did not. 

The figures above contrast with 2020, when Republican members who sought other offices were more successful than their Democratic counterparts. That year, three (43%) of the seven Republican members who ran for other offices won, while two (29%) of the Democratic members who ran won. 

Overall, five (29%) U.S. House members who sought other offices won the election to the position they sought, eight (47%) were defeated in their party’s primary, and four (24%) advanced from their primaries and lost in the general election. 

State legislators

At the state legislative level, 534 state legislators—304 Democrats and 230 Republicans—ran for other elected positions in 2022. That’s up from 2020, when 322 state legislators—including 158 Democrats and 162 Republicans—ran for other offices. In 2018, 185 Democrats and 274 Republicans did. 

Democratic state legislators who ran for other offices in 2022 were more successful than their Republican counterparts. Fifty-six percent (128 out of 230) of Democratic state legislators who ran for another office this year won. In contrast, 48% (145 out of 304) of Republican state legislators who ran for another office were successful. 

In 2020, Republican candidates were more successful than Democratic ones. Fifty-seven percent (92 out of 162) of Republican state legislators who ran for another office won election to a new position. In contrast, 42% (66 out of 158) of Democratic state legislators who ran for another office were successful.

Overall, 51% of all state legislators who sought other offices in 2022 won election to those positions. That’s up from 2020, when 49%of candidates won election to the positions they sought.

Keep reading 


A look at how the 2024 presidential election timeline compares to 2020 and 2016

On Feb. 15, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley became the third noteworthy Republican candidate to officially announce their 2024 presidential campaign. Haley joined former President Donald Trump (R), who announced his candidacy on Nov. 15, 2022, and former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton (R), who announced on Nov. 11.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden (D) has not yet formally announced whether he intends to run for re-election.

As we mentioned in our Feb. 3 edition, the bulk of 2024 presidential candidate announcements will likely occur in the next few months. In the 2020 cycle, 87% (27) of the noteworthy candidates announced their campaigns by June 2019. And in the 2016 cycle, 77% (17) had by that time in 2015.

As the 2024 presidential candidate field continues to grow, let’s compare where we are now to where we were at this point four (and eight) years ago.

By Feb. 15, 2019, 12 noteworthy candidates had announced their presidential campaigns:

  • Jan. 20, 2017: Donald Trump (R)
  • Aug. 10, 2017: John Delaney (D)
  • November 6, 2017: Andrew Yang (D)
  • Jan. 1, 2019: Tulsi Gabbard (D)
  • January 12, 2019: Julián Castro (D)
  • Jan. 15, 2019: Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
  • Jan. 21, 2019: Kamala Harris (D)
  • Jan. 23, 2019: Pete Buttigieg (D)
  • Jan. 28, 2019: Marianne Williamson (D)
  • Feb. 1, 2019: Cory Booker (D)
  • Feb. 9, 2019: Elizabeth Warren (D)
  • Feb. 12, 2019: Amy Klobuchar (D)

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D) joined the field on Feb. 19, 2019. Joe Biden (D) would not announce until Apr. 25. 

In the 2016 election cycle, no noteworthy candidates had announced their campaigns by Feb. 15, 2015. Unlike the 2020 and 2024 cycles, the incumbent president in 2016, Barack Obama (D), was term-limited and could not run for re-election.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) was the first noteworthy candidate to announce his campaign in the 2016 cycle, doing so on Mar. 23, 2015. Hillary Clinton (D), the eventual Democratic nominee, announced her campaign on Apr. 12, 2015. Trump, the eventual Republican nominee, announced his on Jun. 16, 2015. 

While the presidential candidate field was still in flux at this point four and eight years ago, the campaign season itself was in full swing. Here’s a selection of items that were featured in our presidential news briefing newsletter on Feb. 15, 2019:

  • Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld launched a presidential exploratory committee to challenge President Donald Trump. In prepared remarks for the “Politics & Eggs” breakfast in New Hampshire, Weld criticized President Donald Trump and said he “cannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer.”
  • Sen. Kamala Harris was endorsed by Rep. Barbara Lee (D), a former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. 
  • The Democratic National Committee announced new polling and fundraising criteria for participation in debates beginning in June. To qualify to participate in the Democratic primary debates, a candidate must have either reached 1 percent support in three separate polls or met a grassroots fundraising threshold. For the first debate, the threshold was donations from 65,000 people in at least 20 states.
  • Flashback from Feb. 15, 2015: Marist released a poll of early voting states Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, that showed seven of 11 potential Republican presidential candidates had received double-digit support in at least one state. No candidate received more than 20 percent in any state. 

Keep reading 


Hear from Denver city auditor candidates in their own words

If you’re a regular reader of the Daily Brew, then you’ve seen previous stories about our Candidate Connection survey. We created it to help voters better understand what motivates their candidates and what their priorities are. We believe this information helps voters make informed decisions.

In races where all candidates complete the survey, voters get a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the candidates’ backgrounds, positions, and objectives. So, in today’s edition, we’re glad to feature survey responses from our first race in 2022 to get a 100% completion rate—the April 4 election for Denver’s City Auditor

Incumbent Tim O’Brien and Erik Clarke are running in the officially non-partisan election. Below are excerpts from O’Brien’s and Clarke’s answers to the following question: Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

O’Brien: 

  • I AM QUALIFIED • Certified Public Accountant • Designation of Chartered Financial Analyst • Designation of Chartered Global Management Accountant
  • I AM EXPERIENCED • Denver Auditor for7+ years; Colorado State Auditor for 11+ years • Over 40 years of auditing and accounting • Produced over 1,100 audits where my name is at the top of the letterhead and my signature at the end of the report
  • I AM INDEPENDENT • Free from any conflicts of interest • Has intellectual honesty • Always maintains an attitude of impartiality

Clarke: 

  • Erik has a record of success on issues that matter to Denver residents, like combatting homelessness, opportunity for all, public safety, healthcare, and construction oversight.
  • Erik has a plan to modernize the Denver Auditor’s Office and focus on driving results.
  • Erik is an experienced professional in the field who will bring new leadership and fresh ideas to this office.

In the 2019 general election for city auditor, O’Brien ran unopposed.

In 2022, Ballotpedia covered 527 elections in which all of the candidates participated in our survey. That was up from 2020, when 356 elections had all candidates participating, and 2018, when 39 elections saw full candidate participation. 

Keep reading 



More members of Congress and state legislators sought other offices in 2022 than in 2020

In 2022, 551 officials in Congress and state legislatures ran for a different office than the one to which they were elected. That’s a 61% increase from 2020, when Ballotpedia tracked 344 officials in Congress and state legislatures who ran for a different office. 

At the Congressional level, 17 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sought election to other offices. Five (29%) of them won election to the position they sought, eight (48%) were defeated in their party’s primary, and four (24%) advanced from their primaries and lost in the general election. 

Of the five who won election to the positions they were seeking:

  • Three won election to the U.S. Senate
  • One was elected Attorney General of Maryland
  • One was elected Mayor of Los Angeles

Of the four who lost in the general election:

  • Two lost a general election for the U.S. Senate
  • Two lost a general election for the governorship of their state

Of the eight who were defeated in their party’s primary:

  • Four lost their party’s primary for a U.S. Senate seat
  • Two lost their party’s primary for the governorship of their state
  • One lost his party’s primary for Attorney General of Texas
  • One lost his party’s primary for Georgia Secretary of State

Nine of the House members who sought other offices were Democrats. Of those, three (33.3%) won their elections, three (33.3%) lost in the general election, and three (33.3%) lost in the primary. Among the eight Republican House members who sought other offices, two (25%) won, one (12.5%) lost in the general election, and five (62.5%) lost in the primaries.

More members of the U.S. House sought a different office in 2022 than in 2020. That year, Ballotpedia tracked 14 members of the U.S. House who sought election to statewide offices—seven Democrats and seven Republicans. Five (36%) won the general election, one (7%) lost in the general election, three (21%) were defeated in their party’s primary for statewide office, and one (7%) withdrew before the primary ocurred. Additionally, four (29%) members of the U.S. House ran for President of the United States and lost in the Democratic Party primary to Joe Biden (D).

No members of the U.S. Senate sought other offices in 2022. That’s a decrease from 2020, when eight Senators sought to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States.

At the state legislative level, 534 state legislators ran for other elected positions in 2022, and 273 of them, or 51%, successfully won election to those positions. Ninety-four of these state legislators (18%) lost in the general election, while 169 (31%) were defeated in their party’s primary.

The success rate for state senators seeking other offices was less than that for state representatives in 2022. Fifty of the 121 state senators (41%) who ran for another office were successful, while 27 (22%) lost in the general election, and 44 (44%) were defeated in the primary. Among state representatives, 223 (54%) of those who ran for another office were successful. Sixty-seven (16%) of them lost in the general election and 123 (30%) were defeated in the primary.

Of the 534 state legislators who sought other offices: 

  • 12 ran for the U.S. Senate (none won)
  • 94 ran for the U.S. House (28 won)
  • 22 ran for governor (one won)
  • 90 ran for executive offices other than governor (28 won)
  • 248 ran for state senate (169 won)
  • 23 ran for state house (22 won)
  • 11 ran for judicial offices (six won)
  • 25 ran for county positions (13 won)
  • 9 ran for municipal or school board offices (six won)

Compared to 2020, 212 more state legislators ran for another office in 2022. In 2020, 157 (49%) won election to a new position. Fifty-seven of these state legislators (18%) lost in the general election, while 108 (34%) were defeated in their party’s primary.

Among the two major parties, Democratic state legislators who ran for other offices were more successful than Republicans in 2022. Fifty-six (128 out of 230) of Democratic state legislators who ran for another office this year won, while 48% (145 out of 304) of Republican state legislators who ran for another office were successful. 

In 2020, Republicans state legislators who ran for other offices were more successful than Democrats. Fifty-seven percent (92 out of 162) of Republican state legislators who ran for another office that year won, while 41% (66 out of 158) of Democratic state legislators who ran for another office were successful.



A two-decade low for non-major party candidates vote share

Welcome to the Monday, February 13, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Third-party and independent candidates received the lowest share of the national U.S. House vote in two decades
  2. San Antonio charter amendment regarding abortion, marijuana, and police actions certified for the May 6 ballot
  3. Looking back at this day in the 2020 presidential election

Third-party and independent candidates received the lowest share of the national U.S. House vote in two decades

In recent years, the national vote share that independent and third-party candidates have received in U.S. House elections has progressively declined, and this trend continued in 2022. Independent and third-party candidates received 2% of the national vote share in U.S. House elections last year, down from 2.5% in 2020, and their lowest share of the U.S. House vote since 2000.

The national vote share for the U.S. House refers to the percentage of total votes received by a political party (or independent candidates) in national elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. It represents the party’s share of the total number of votes cast in elections for the U.S. House across the country. The two major parties in the United States—the Democratic and Republican parties—have received more than 95% of the national vote share for the U.S. House in every election since 2004. 

The last election cycle independent and third-party candidates received more than 5% of the national vote share for the U.S. House was the 2002 midterm election. That year, independent and third-party candidates received 5.3% of the national vote share. 

After declining to 4.2% in 2004, the national vote share received by independent and third-party candidates remained relatively stable for the next 12 years, ranging from 3.8% in 2010 to 4.7% in 2008. After this period of relative stability, the independent and third-party vote share declined steeply in 2018, falling to 2.8% from 4.4.% in 2016. It declined further to 2.5% in 2020, and to 2% in 2022.

The share of the vote won by independent and third-party candidates has rarely resulted in U.S. House seats in recent decades. Since 2000, the national vote share that third-party candidates (not including independents) received in U.S. House elections has ranged from 1.6% in 2022 to 4.8% in 2002. In that period, candidates representing third parties—including write-in candidates—have not won election in any U.S. House district. 

Independent candidates (those not running under the banner of any party) have fared slightly better in that same period. Since 2000, the national vote share that independent candidates received in U.S. House elections has ranged from 0.3% in 2020 to 0.8% in 2014. Independent candidates won four U.S. House elections since 2000—Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2000, 2002, and 2004 and Virgil Goode (I-Va.) in 2000.

Although there are dozens of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. To qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition to qualify for ballot placement, while in others, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

The number of ballot-qualified political parties fluctuates as parties gain or lose qualified status. In addition, some states distinguish between major parties and minor parties. Specific differences between major and minor parties differ from state to state. For example, in all states, major parties are granted access to primary elections. Some states, however, do not permit minor parties to participate in primary elections. Consequently, minor party candidates in these states can run only in general elections.

Have we piqued your interest in third-party ballot access in the U.S.? If so, click here to listen to our interview with Richard Winger for On the Ballot, Ballotpedia’s weekly podcast. In the episode, Winger, the founder of Ballot Access News and a lifelong advocate for third-party ballot access, tells host Victoria Rose why he believes increasing ballot access for third-party candidates will help increase free competition between political parties. 

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San Antonio charter amendment regarding abortion, marijuana, and police actions certified for the May 6 ballot

On May 6, 2023, a first-of-its-kind local ballot measure will appear before voters in San Antonio: a charter amendment to ban law enforcement from enforcing any state law that criminalizes abortion. The measure—which would also restrict enforcement of low-level marijuana possession and certain police actions—gathered enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, city officials announced on Feb. 8. 

Last month, organizers for the amendment, including ACT4SA and Ground Game Texas, submitted more than 37,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. They needed at least 20,000 valid signatures from city voters for the measure to be placed on the ballot. City officials were able to verify 20,973 signatures on Feb. 8, and the city council is expected to officially order the election on Feb. 16. 

“We will be saving money, keeping families together, stopping the unnecessary overcrowding of jails — but most of all, we will be saving lives through these policies,” said Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT4SA.

If approved by voters, the charter amendment would:

  • End enforcement of low-level marijuana possession (Class A or B misdemeanor offenses);
  • Prohibit San Antonio police officers from investigating or making arrests for abortions, as well as prohibit them from enforcing any state law that criminalizes abortion;
  • Ban no-knock warrants by law enforcement;
  • Ban chokeholds by law enforcement, and;
  • Use citations instead of arrests for low-level nonviolent crimes.

The measure would also provide for the City Council to appoint a Justice Director. The roles of the Justice Director would include reducing incarceration and mitigating law enforcement practices. The Justice Director cannot have worked in law enforcement or have significant financial investments in the law enforcement industry, and would report directly to the City Council.

Act4SA, the organization working alongside Ground Game Texas in support of the amendment, said that the proposed charter amendment would make the city safer. “[The amendment] reduces burden on officers, prevents unnecessary arrests for nonviolent low level crimes, reduces re-offender rate, pushes police accountability and transparency, fights mass incarceration and deportation,” the organization said on its webpage.

The San Antonio Police Officers Association opposes the amendment. Danny Diaz, president of the union, said in a statement that no-knock warrants and chokeholds are already prohibited unless a life is at serious risk, and the proposed charter amendment is in direct conflict with state law regarding abortion and marijuana cases.

“The decriminalization of marijuana and abortion are handled at the state and federal level of government,” he said in a statement, “This is not a decision that can be implemented at a local level.”

Article 11, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution has a provision that says: “The adoption or amendment of charters is subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by the Legislature, and no charter or any ordinance passed under said charter shall contain any provision inconsistent with the Constitution of the State, or of the general laws enacted by the Legislature of this State.”

Mike Siegel, the political director and co-founder of Ground Game Texas, told the San Antonio Report that the amendment is legal. “Every day, police departments decide what they’re going to enforce and what they’re not going to enforce, and this represents the people of San Antonio saying: these are not our priorities for our scarce public dollars,” he said, “The roots of the Texas Constitution are in local self control [and] self determination. So that’s why we have charter cities that have this authority to adopt their own charters and decide their own laws.”

San Antonio voters will make the decision regarding the charter amendment on May 6, 2023.

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Looking back at this day in the 2020 presidential election

With the November midterms in the rearview mirror and the 2024 presidential campaign season just around the corner, let’s take a look back at this time four (and eight) years ago, when the 2020 presidential race was already in full swing. 

By Feb. 10, 2019, 175 Democrats and 70 Republicans had filed to run for president, including 11 noteworthy Democratic candidates and Republican incumbent President Donald Trump. Nineteen Libertarian candidates and 13 Green candidates had also filed. As of Feb. 10, 2023 (exactly four years later), 89 Democrats and 180 Republicans have filed to run for president in 2024. Seventeen Libertarian candidates and seven Green candidates have also filed. 

Here’s a selection of items that were featured in our presidential news briefing newsletter on Feb. 13, 2019.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who officially launched her presidential campaign on Feb. 10, said she had raised $1 million in the first 48 hours after announcing her candidacy.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren attended the National Indian Women Honor Luncheon in Washington, D.C., where she introduced Wampanoag Tribe chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais. Warren had officially launched her campaign five days earlier, on Feb. 9. 

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had not yet officially announced his presidential campaign, was planning to spend $500 million in 2020 on one of two plans: (1) running for president as a Democrat or (2) boosting the Democratic nominee with voter and polling data, according to campaign operatives. Bloomberg went on to run for president as a Democrat and was defeated in his party’s primaries.

Flashback from February 13, 2015: The Boston Globe reported that Jeb Bush was working to secure support from Mitt Romney’s donors after the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said he would not run in 2016. “Of Romney’s top five lobbyist bundlers in 2012—who each raised at least $1 million—four are supporting or likely to support Bush. The fifth is on the fence,” the Globe reported.

As we get ready for the 2024 cycle, our team of writers and editors has been browsing Ballotpedia’s 2020 Daily Presidential News Briefing, which provided a curated account of the most important news in the election. The encyclopedic content makes it easy to reminisce on this day in history. We hope you enjoy our little trips back in time!

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