Category: State
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Davis Appointed to Louisiana State Board of Education
Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) appointed Louisiana State University professor Belinda Davis to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education effective January 13, 2020. Davis fills the at-large seat formerly held by Lurie Thomason, who resigned in December 2019 for health-related reasons. Davis ran unsuccessfully for the 70th District seat in the Louisiana House…
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Mississippi Executive Director of Environmental Quality Resigns
The former Executive Director of Mississippi’s Department of Environmental Quality, Gary Rikard, resigned from his position on January 13, 2020. Newly elected Gov. Tate Reeves (R) was sworn in the following day. Rikard served as director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality since 2014 after former Gov. Phil Bryant (R) appointed him to the…
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Former Rep. Michaux Appointed to North Carolina State Senate
On January 13, 2020, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed former state Rep. Henry “Mickey” Michaux, Jr. (D) to represent District 20 in the state Senate. Michaux had retired from the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2018. He was nominated by Durham County Democrats for the vacancy. Former Sen. Floyd McKissick, Jr. (D)…
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In the past decade, two lieutenant governors have challenged their state’s governor for re-election; two more could do so this year
Since 2010, two gubernatorial elections have featured an incumbent governor running against the state’s lieutenant governor. This year, gubernatorial elections in North Carolina and Vermont each have the potential to feature the incumbent and the state’s lieutenant governor. Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman (Vermont Progressive Party/Democratic) announced Monday that he would run for governor this…
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What are the responsibilities of state attorneys general?
The office of attorney general exists in all 50 states. The attorney general is directly elected in 43 states, appointed by the governor in five states, appointed by the legislature in Maine, and by the state supreme court in Tennessee. Forty-five state constitutions explicitly establish the office of attorney general, while Connecticut, Indiana, Oregon, Vermont,…
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Polis Appoints Perkins to Colorado Public Utilities Commission
On January 13, 2020, Gov. Jared Polis (D) appointed attorney Susan Perkins to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, succeeding Frances Koncilja. Polis had announced on Jan. 3 that he would not reappoint Koncilja when her term ended. The Pueblo Chieftain reported that according to Koncilja, Polis said that he was satisfied with her work but…
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January 14’s state legislative special elections are the first of 27 scheduled this year
Thirteen state legislative special elections are taking place this January, including races for six seats in five states on Tuesday, January 14. This is the most state legislative special elections in January since Ballotpedia began comprehensively covering them in 2011. In 2019, by comparison, seven special elections were held in January. Twenty-seven special elections have…
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Incoming New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance assumed office January 1st
Russell Toal, the newly appointed New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance, took office on January 1, 2020. Toal was appointed to fill the nonpartisan position following John Franchini’s retirement in December 2019. The insurance nominating committee appointed Toal unanimously from among eight candidates for the position. The committee chairwoman and former lieutenant governor of New Mexico,…
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Virginia becomes Democratic trifecta as legislators are sworn in
Legislators elected in Virginia’s 2019 elections were sworn into office on Wednesday, January 8. As a result, Democrats now have control of both chambers of the legislature and, alongside Gov. Ralph Northam (D), a Democratic state government trifecta. A state government trifecta is a term to describe when one political party controls both chambers of…
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What are the responsibilities of secretaries of state?
Secretary of state is an elected statewide executive office in 35 states, a governor-appointed position in nine states, and a legislature-appointed position in three states. Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah do not have secretaries of state. In 38 states, secretaries derive their power from original articles in their states’ constitutions. In 19 they derive their authority…