Author: Mercedes Yanora
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer dies
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer (D) died on Sept. 30, 2022. Baer was elected to the state supreme court in 2003. He was retained with 71% of the vote on Nov. 5, 2013. Prior to joining the court, he was an administrative judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. He also…
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54.10% of state legislatures are Republican, 44.32% Democratic
At the end of September 2022, 54.10% of all state legislatures in the United States were Republicans, while 44.32% were Democrats. There are 7,383 state legislative seats in the country. Republicans controlled 62 chambers, while Democrats held 36. The Alaska House of Representatives is the only chamber organized under a multipartisan, power-sharing coalition. Democrats held…
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Nevada Supreme Court Justice Abbi Silver retires
Nevada Supreme Court Justice Abbi Silver retired on Sept. 29, 2022. Silver was the only judge in Nevada’s history to be elected to every court in the state’s court system. Silver was elected to the state supreme court in 2018, filling the seat vacated by Justice Michael Douglas. Prior to this election, Silver served on…
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Jonathan Skrmetti starts term as Tennessee attorney general
Jonathan Skrmetti’s (R) term as Tennessee attorney general began Sept. 1. The Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Skrmetti to the position on Aug. 10, 2022, to replace Herbert H. Slatery (R). Prior to this appointment, Skrmetti served as Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) chief legal counsel. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chief deputy to the…
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Incumbent Kim Schrier (D) and Matt Larkin (R) are running in the general election for Washington’s 8th Congressional District
Incumbent Kim Schrier (D) and Matt Larkin (R) are running in the general election for Washington’s 8th Congressional District on November 8, 2022. Schrier, a pediatrician, was first elected in 2018, winning the open seat by a margin of five percentage points. Before that election, Republicans had represented the 8th District since 1983. Schrier was…
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Sen. Kevin Priola joins Democratic Party
Colorado Sen. Kevin Priola announced that he was leaving the Republican Party and would register as a Democrat on Aug. 22. Priola belonged to the Republican Party since 1990. Priola was elected to District 25 on Nov. 8, 2016, as a Republican. He previously represented District 56 in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2009…
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Minnesota State Senator David Tomassoni dies
Minnesota State Senator David Tomassoni (I) died on Aug. 11, 2022, at Solvay Hospice. Tomassoni represented District 6 from 2001 to 2022. Prior to joining the state Senate, Tomassoni served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1991 to 2001. Tomassoni was elected to the state Senate in 2000. At the time of his death,…
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May 2022 breakdown of state legislative party membership: 54.33% Republicans, 44.39% Democrats
According to Ballotpedia’s May partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators across the United States, 54.33% of all state legislators are Republicans and 44.39% are Democrats. Ballotpedia tallies the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month. This refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in each chamber. Republicans…
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Karen Peterson resigns from Louisiana State Senate
Karen Peterson (D) resigned from the Louisiana State Senate on April 8 to focus on recovering from depression and a gambling addiction. She represented District 5 from 2010 to 2022. According to The New Orleans Advocate, a federal probe is being conducted into Peterson’s finances and gambling addiction. Prior to joining the state Senate in…
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Calvin Smyre, longest-serving member, resigns from Georgia state House
Calvin Smyre (D) announced on April 4, 2022, that he would resign from the Georgia House of Representatives, after being appointed ambassador to the Dominican Republic by President Joe Biden (D). Smyre has served since 1975, most recently in District 135. Smyre was elected to the state House in 1974. He is the longest-serving Georgia…