Category: State
-
Oklahoma judge pauses enforcement of anti-ESG law, state officials and groups respond
An Oklahoma judge on May 7 paused enforcement of a 2022 state law prohibiting the state from contracting with businesses the treasurer identifies as boycotting oil and gas companies. Following the enforcement pause, Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) fired the legal team responsible for defending the law and blamed the team’s ineffectiveness on Treasurer Todd…
-
2.7% of state legislative incumbents who filed for re-election have lost in primaries
Thirty state legislative incumbents—seven Democrats and 23 Republicans—have lost to primary challengers so far this year. Across the 10 states that have held primaries, 2.7% of incumbents running for re-election have lost, a decline from the 2022 election cycle that aligns more closely with 2020. These totals include data from the Nebraska State Senate and both legislative chambers…
-
Mississippi bill to expand Medicaid with work requirements dies in negotiations (2024)
A Medicaid expansion bill in Mississippi died in negotiations between the Mississippi House and Senate, primarily over the inclusion of work requirements in the final version, resulting in its failure to pass before the session deadline on May 2, 2024. The Mississippi House of Representatives passed House Bill 1725 on February 28, 2024, with a…
-
Dave Boliek (R) defeated Jack Clark (R) in the Republican primary runoff for North Carolina State Auditor
Dave Boliek (R) won the Republican primary runoff for North Carolina State Auditor on May 14, 2024. Boliek defeated Jack Clark (R) 53.1% to 46.9%. Clark and Boliek were the top two finishers in the March 5 Republican primary with 23.2% and 22.1% of the vote, respectively. State law permitted Boliek to request a runoff…
-
John B. McCuskey (R) defeated Mike Stuart (R) in the Republican primary for Attorney General of West Virginia
John B. McCuskey (R) won the Republican primary for West Virginia Attorney General on May 14, 2024. McCuskey defeated Mike Stuart (R) 60.2% to 39.8%. Incumbent Patrick Morrisey (R) ran for governor, leaving the office open. Both McCuskey and Stuart ran on their record in elected office. Both candidates said they would prioritize suing the…
-
Oklahoma adopts legislation restoring voting rights to felons after a pardon or commutation of a sentence
On May 13, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed HB 1629, a bill that restores voting rights to people convicted of a felony after receiving a pardon or commutation of their sentence. The legislation had bipartisan sponsorship and the final version of the bill passed the Oklahoma State Senate 41-0 on April 16. It then…
-
South Dakota voters will decide on initiative to ban sales tax on groceries
In South Dakota, an initiative to prohibit sales and use taxes on groceries was certified for the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot. On May 13, the secretary of state’s office verified that the campaign behind the initiative, TakeItBack, submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. On April 24, the campaign submitted about 25,000 signatures,…
-
Second-lowest number of incumbents defeated in Pennsylvania House primaries
Two challengers defeated incumbents in the April 23 primaries for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. This is the second-lowest number of incumbents defeated since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2010. The defeated incumbents are: The only other year with fewer incumbent defeats was 2010 when one Republican was defeated. Conversely, a decade-high of 10 incumbent…
-
Alabama is third state to ban RCV this year
On May 10, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed SB 186 into law, banning the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the state. The new law makes Alabama the eighth state to ban RCV and the third state to do so this year after Kentucky and Oklahoma. Every state that has passed a law banning RCV has done so with a Republican-controlled legislature,…
-
Colorado becomes third state set to vote on removing same-sex marriage bans in November
Colorado will join two other states voting on removing same-sex marriage bans from their state constitutions in November. Colorado voters will decide whether or not to remove the provision of the state constitution that says that “only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this…