Category: State
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Garcia (R) and Smith (D) advance in two primaries for California’s 25th Congressional District
Mike Garcia (R) and Christy Smith (D) advanced from a special top-two primary election and from a regularly scheduled top-two primary election in California’s 25th Congressional District. Third place finisher Steve Knight (R) conceded the race on March 8 and said he would support Garcia. As of Knight’s concession, Smith led in the special primary…
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2020 state legislative races less competitive than 2018 so far
Based on filing data in nine states, 2020’s state legislative elections are so far less competitive than 2018’s elections in three categories: open seats, incumbents with primary challengers, and total primaries. Those nine states are Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia. Across those states in 2020, there are 1,167…
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Montana Governor Steve Bullock appoints new commissioner of labor and industry
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock named Brenda Nordlund as the new acting commissioner of labor and industry on March 5. Nordlund replaced interim Commissioner Tom Lopach, who took over when Galen Hollenbaugh retired on December 31, 2019. Since Nordlund was an employee of the department and retained her status as a classified employee, she assumed the…
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Missouri Democrats select new state Senate Minority Leader
Missouri State Senator Gina Walsh (D) stepped down as State Senate Minority Leader after serving in the role since 2017 on March 3. Freshman Sen. John Rizzo (D) takes her place as the Democratic leader in the state Senate. Walsh, who represents District 13, cannot run for re-election to the state Senate this year due…
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Approval rates of local bond and tax measures in California’s March 3 election lowest in at least a decade
On March 3, California voters decided 292 local ballot measures. According to results available Monday evening, at least 111 were approved, at least 146 were defeated, and the remaining measures were too close to call because of the number of ballots left to be processed. Of the 292 total local measures, 236 (81%) were bond…
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Commission sends supreme court recommendations to Georgia Gov. Kemp
The Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) recommended the following four candidates to Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for consideration to succeed retired Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Behnam: Judge Carla W. McMillian of the Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Verda Colvin of Bibb County Superior Court Judge Sara Doyle of the Georgia Court of Appeals Judge…
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Georgia cancels state supreme court election after sitting justice announces retirement; Gov. Kemp will appoint replacement
On March 5, 2020, two aspiring candidates for Georgia Supreme Court filed suit against the state’s highest election official because the race in which they hoped to compete was taken off the ballot the day before the qualifying period began. On February 28, 2020, Justice Keith Blackwell announced that he will be retiring from the…
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South Dakota governor selects new chief of staff
On March 3, 2020, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) appointed Tony Venhuizen to serve as her chief of staff. Venhuizen is Gov. Noem’s third chief of staff in the past year. He succeeds former chief of staff Joshua Shields, who stepped down on January 1, 2020, and Herb Jones, who resigned on October 1,…
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Candidate filing period for state offices ends in six states
The major-party filing deadline to run for elected office in Montana passed on March 9. That deadline was followed up on March 10 by filing deadlines in New Mexico and Oregon. Candidates running in Idaho, Iowa, and Nevada have until March 13 to file. Prospective candidates could file for the following offices: U.S. Senate seats…
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Six Nebraska state senators term-limited in 2020
Twenty-five of Nebraska’s 49 state senate seats are up for election in 2020. Incumbents filed for re-election in 19 of those races. In the remaining six, incumbents are ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits. Nebraska is one of 15 states where state legislators are subject to term limits, a legal restriction on…