Category: State

On Wednesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) released an opinion stating that a distribution requirement and some other provisions restricting the state’s initiative process passed in 2018 were unconstitutional.   Nessel’s opinion is binding for state officials unless a court ruling overturns it. The opinion was requested by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson…

State Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) defeated state House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins (D), former state Auditor Adam Edelen (D), and retired engineer Geoff Young (D) in Kentucky’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. As of 9:00 p.m. ET, Beshear had received 37.9% of the vote to Adkins’ 32.4% with 95% of precincts reporting.     Beshear, the…

Incumbent Matt Bevin (R) defeated state Rep. Robert Goforth (R), developer Ike Lawrence (R), and bus driver and realtor William Woods (R) in Kentucky’s gubernatorial primary. As of 8:10 p.m. ET Tuesday, Bevin had received 51.5% of the vote to Goforth’s 39.1% with 68% of precincts reporting.     Bevin, who was first elected in…

Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada (R) announced Tuesday that he would resign his leadership role at a yet-to-be-determined date. On May 20, 2019, the House Republican Caucus approved a resolution of no confidence in Casada by a 45-24 vote. Casada said that he would not be resigning his seat in the house.   The announcement…

Alabama voters will decide the fate of a constitutional amendment about the state judiciary during the March 2020 presidential primary.   On May 14, 2019, the state House gave final approval to a constitutional amendment to revise the article concerning the state judiciary. The vote referred the amendment—Senate Bill 216—to the March 2020 ballot. The…

In Pennsylvania, special elections are being held for District 33 and District 41 of the state Senate and District 11 of the state House on May 21. All three seats were vacated by Republican incumbents. In Senate District 33, Sarah Hammond (D) and Doug Mastriano (R) are running in the general election. The seat became…

On May 13, the filing deadline passed to run for the vacant District 99 and District 158 seats in the Missouri House of Representatives. Trish Gunby (D) and Lee Ann Pitman (R) are running for the District 99 seat, and Lisa Kalp (D) and Scott Cupps (R) are campaigning in District 158. The special general…

On April 7, 2020, voters in Wisconsin will vote on Marsy’s Law—a type of constitutional amendment addressing the rights of crime victims. The Wisconsin State Legislature referred the constitutional amendment to the ballot on May 15, 2019. Voters in 12 other states have approved Marsy’s Law measures. Marsy’s Law has never been defeated at the…

Candidates running in the Democratic and Republican primaries for Mississippi governor submitted campaign finance reports for the first quarter of 2019 (Jan. 1 through April 30).   Lieutenant Gov. Tate Reeves $1 million, the most of the Republican candidates, and reported $6.7 million in cash on hand. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller…

The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state legislature’s December 2018 extraordinary session and resulting legislation, which would make changes to administrative processes in the state.   A group of individuals and organizations, led by the League of Women Voters, filed the lawsuit in January 2019…