Category: State
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Eleven applicants for Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice position
Chief Justice Scott Bales of the Arizona Supreme Court will retire on July 31, 2019. Eleven applicants have applied for the position and will be interviewed by a 14-member selection commission. The commission will then submit a list of names to Gov. Doug Ducey (R), from which he will appoint a new chief justice. …
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Texas governor to extend plumbing oversight through executive authority
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced via Twitter on Tuesday that the governor’s office had the authority to continue the existence of the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners for two years without the need for a special legislative session. Some groups of Texas plumbers asked Abbott to call a special legislative session to address…
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Judge and state senator file to run in Kentucky Supreme Court special election
Two candidates filed to run in the November 5 nonpartisan special election for one of the seven seats on the Kentucky Supreme Court. Christopher Nickell, a judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and Whitney Westerfield, a Republican member of the Kentucky State Senate, are competing in the general election. The filing deadline was June…
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Democrats and Republicans split pair of California State Senate special elections
The partisan control of two seats in the California State Senate did not change following special elections on June 4. District 1 and District 33 were on the ballot for a special general election. Brian Dahle (R) defeated Kevin Kiley (R) for the District 1 seat in a race where no Democratic candidates…
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Two California Senate special elections on the ballot June 4
Special elections for two California State Senate seats are on the June 4 ballot: In District 1, Republicans Brian Dahle and Kevin Kiley are facing off in the general election. Dahle and Kiley earned 29.4% and 28.4% of the vote, respectively, in the March 26 primary ahead of four other candidates. The seat became vacant…
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What is the minimum age to use tobacco in your state?
On May 20, 2019, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a bill which would increase the minimum age to purchase or use tobacco from 18 to 21 at the federal level. Less than four years have passed since Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) signed a similar law in Hawaii, making it the first state in the…
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May 2019 state legislative seat breakdown: 52.3% Republican, 46.9% Democratic
May’s partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators across the United States shows 52.3% of all state legislators are Republicans and 46.9% are Democrats. Ballotpedia completes a count of the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month. The partisan composition of state legislatures refers to which political party holds the…
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Special primary for New Jersey state legislative seat on Tuesday
A special primary for the District 1 seat of the New Jersey State Senate is scheduled for June 4. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 1, and the general election is on November 5, 2019. The seat became vacant after Jeff Van Drew (D) won election to…
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Acting Texas Secretary of State David Whitley (R) resigns
Acting Texas Secretary of State David Whitley (R) resigned May 27 just before the end of the Texas legislative session. Whitley was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on December 17, 2018, but needed to receive confirmation from two-thirds of the state Senate—21 out of 31 senators—to continue serving in a permanent capacity through 2021.…
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Republicans keep seats in Pennsylvania specials
On Tuesday, three state legislative special elections were held in Pennsylvania. The seats for Senate District 33, Senate District 41, and House District 11 were on the ballot. Candidates running for special elections in Pennsylvania are selected directly by political parties, rather than through a primary election process. Doug Mastriano (R) defeated Sarah Hammond…