Category: State

State Rep. Robert Foster, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, and former state supreme court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. are running in the August 6 Republican primary for a chance to succeed Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R), who is prevented by term limits from seeking re-election. The candidates participated in the first and only scheduled televised…

A triplex occurs when a state’s governor, attorney general, and secretary of state all belong to the same political party, a situation which can reduce conflict between state executives. Currently, there are 18 Republican and 17 Democratic state triplexes.   Three states are holding elections in 2019 which could affect their triplex status: Kentucky, Louisiana,…

A primary is being held in District 84 of the South Carolina House of Representatives on July 30. Republicans Cody Anderson, Danny Feagin, Ralph Gunter, Melissa Oremus, Alvin Padgett, and Sean Pumphrey are running in the primary. No Democratic candidates filed to run. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a primary runoff…

Petitioners for the Arkansas Practice of Optometry Referendum reported submitting more than 84,000 signatures by the July 23 deadline to qualify a veto referendum on House Bill 1251 for a statewide vote in 2020. A total of 53,491 signatures need to be valid to qualify the measure for the ballot. The requirement is based on…

A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both state legislative chambers. While most states have seen at least one change in their trifecta status within the last 20 years, five states—Nebraska, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah—have not had a trifecta change since at least 1999.…

On July 12, Republican Governor Charlie Baker sent an omnibus public-sector labor bill back to the Democratic state legislature with recommendations for amendments.   What does the bill, as adopted, propose? The legislature’s version of H3854 would authorize employers to disclose personal employee information to unions. It would also permit unions to require non-members to…

Governor Matt Bevin (R) and Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) attended a gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by the Kentucky Farm Bureau on July 17. The two discussed agricultural issues, the state budget, public pensions, and taxes during the hour-long forum.   Bevin told the audience that the 2019 election has national implications, saying he…

A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 71 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives on September 3, 2019. The general runoff election is on October 1, if needed, and the filing deadline is on July 19.

House Bill 2270 would do the following if approved by voters in 2020: Increase cigarette tax from $1.33 per pack to $3.33 per pack; Impose a tax on inhalant delivery systems (such as e-cigarettes) at a rate of 65% of the wholesale price; and Increase the cap on cigar taxes from 50 cents to $1.00.…

A Delaware law increasing the tobacco age restriction from 18 to 21 took effect Tuesday, making Delaware the ninth state to raise the age restriction to 21 since 2015. Gov. John Carney (D) signed the increase into law on April 17 after it passed the state House by a 25-16 vote and the state Senate…