Ballotpedia News – Page 110 – Breaking news from the encyclopedia of American politics

August 8, 2019 at 5:14 PM

Ballotpedia has compiled the number of days each Democratic presidential candidate has spent in the four early primary states—Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada—between January 1, 2019, and July 29, 2019.

Former Rep. John Delaney was the most frequent campaigner in Iowa, while author Marianne Williamson spent the most days in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.

Where a candidate focuses his or her campaign can hint at primary strategy and where candidates are trying to fortify coalitions. Here are the top-visited states for the candidates who have qualified for the September primary debate:

Former Vice President Joe Biden: Iowa
Sen. Cory Booker: Iowa and South Carolina
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg: Iowa
Sen. Kamala Harris: South Carolina
Sen. Amy Klobuchar: Iowa
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke: Iowa
Sen. Bernie Sanders: Iowa
Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Iowa

With at least 20 candidates expected to speak this week at the Iowa State Fair, the state’s largest annual event, Iowa will likely remain the most popular state for campaign visits.

Information about the candidates’ schedules was collected from The Des Moines Register, NBC Boston/NECN, The Post & Courier, and The Nevada Independent.

2020 Democrats travel to Iowa for state fair

By Emily Aubert

In Newsletters

August 8, 2019 at 11:19 AM

Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

August 8, 2019: The 2020 Democrats converge upon Iowa as the state fair begins Thursday. Kamala Harris made a six-figure ad buy in Iowa.

Notable Quote of the Day

“When we talk about how gender and sexism affect elections, usually what we’re really talking about is how women fare. But gender has always been an important factor on the campaign trail, even when both major-party candidates are the same sex. ‘When two men are running against each other, we end up with a contest between two different versions of masculinity,’ said Jackson Katz, an educator and the author of Man Enough?: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity. …

Take the 2004 campaign, for instance. George W. Bush and John Kerry both leaned hard into photo ops that would emphasize their machismo — taking excursions to shooting ranges, posing with veterans and troops, even riding motorcycles. But Republicans, in particular, sought to portray Kerry as effeminate and unpatriotic, like when he was mocked for ‘looking French.’ Meanwhile, Kerry’s running mate, John Edwards (who was later criticized for his expensive haircuts) was infamously dubbed ‘the Breck Girl of politics’ by Republican strategists because of his attention to his coiffure.

So any candidate who runs against Trump will have to grapple with this dynamic — even if the Democrats ultimately nominate a man.”

– Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, FiveThirtyEight senior writer

Democrats

The Iowa State Fair begins today and most of the Democratic field is scheduled to speak at the Soapbox over the next few days. Julián Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang will speak Friday.
Michael Bennet appeared on The Daily Show Wednesday night, discussing his legislative record and policy proposals.
Joe Biden opened several campaign offices in Iowa Wednesday and appeared at the launch of the Iowa City office.
Cory Booker held his first campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wednesday night.
Steve Bullock spoke at the National Press Club about gun violence, racism, and electability.
Pete Buttigieg campaigned in Orlando, Florida, attending a private event with members of the Puerto Rican community and a grassroots rally.
Buttigieg hired Mike Baccio as his in-house chief information security officer, which Politico called a first for a major 2020 presidential candidate. He also expanded his campaign in New Hampshire, bringing the total number of staffers to 40.
Mike Gravel, who suspended his presidential campaign Tuesday, clarified that he was endorsing both Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard.
Kamala Harris made her first 2020 ad buy, spending $145,000 on an ad introducing herself to voters that will air in Iowa for a week beginning Thursday.
John Hickenlooper wrote an op-ed in The Des Moines Register criticizing the Trump administration’s tariffs.
Amy Klobuchar kicked off her Heartland Tour Wednesday. She will campaign across Iowa for four days.
The Jamaican Information Service interviewed Wayne Messam about his heritage and U.S. relations with Jamaica.
Seth Moulton denied a Washington Post report that said he planned to lay off at least half of his staff, saying his campaign had recently undergone a restructuring that included new hires.
Beto O’Rourke will not make a scheduled stop at the Iowa State Fair this weekend, remaining in El Paso to support the community following a mass shooting.
Tim Ryan said he would lead a caravan, in coordination with Moms Demand Action, from his congressional district to Kentucky, Mitch McConnell’s home state, to call on Congress to pass gun legislation.
In an interview on PBS NewsHour, Tom Steyer spoke about climate change, gun violence, and corporate influence in politics.
Elizabeth Warren proposed creating an Office of Broadband Access that would administer an $85 billion grant program to guarantee high-speed internet access across the country.

Republicans

Real estate developer Stephen Ross is hosting Donald Trump at a fundraiser Friday. Tickets for a private roundtable discussion with Trump are $250,000.

What We’re Reading

FiveThirtyEight: Gender Will Be An Issue For Men As Well As Women In 2020
Fortune: Here’s How the Economy Has Performed in Every Swing State Since Trump Was Elected
The Guardian: No more tiptoeing: 2020 Democrats put gun control at center of debate

Flashback: August 8, 2015

Bernie Sanders ended a Seattle campaign event early after two Black Lives Matter activists took control of the podium.

Ballotpedia’s Daily Brew: Delaney and Williamson most active presidential campaigners in early primary states

By Dave Beaudoin

In Newsletters

August 8, 2019 at 8:44 AM

Today’s Brew looks at the most active presidential campaigners in the four early primary states + highlights the Seattle, Washington election results

Welcome to the Thursday, August 8 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

Delaney and Williamson most active campaigners in early states
Seattle’s election results
Six weeks after election day this race is over – what took so long?

Delaney and Williamson most active campaigners in early states

Ballotpedia has compiled the number of days each Democratic presidential candidate spent in the four early primary states—Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada—between January 1 and July 29 this year.

Former Rep. John Delaney was the most active campaigner in Iowa, while author Marianne Williamson spent the most days in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. Where candidates focus their campaigns can hint at primary strategy and where they are trying to fortify coalitions.

Here are the top states for the candidates who have qualified for the September debate:

Former Vice President Joe Biden	Iowa
Sen. Cory Booker	Iowa and South Carolina
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg	Iowa
Sen. Kamala Harris	South Carolina
Sen. Amy Klobuchar	Iowa
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke	Iowa
Sen. Bernie Sanders	Iowa
Sen. Elizabeth Warren	Iowa

We will update this data with more analysis next week and will continue to update it as the primary season progresses. See the full details and our methodology at the link below.

Learn more

Seattle’s election results

Preliminary results for Tuesday’s primary for seven seats on the Seattle City Council showed the three incumbents seeking re-election in the lead. Seattle uses a vote-by-mail process and King County Elections will count ballots each day until the primary results are certified on August 20. To advance to the November 5 general election, candidates must win a plurality of the vote. The results below are current as of Wednesday morning.

For the races where incumbents filed for re-election:

District 1: Incumbent Lisa Herbold led her two opponents with 48 percent of the vote. Phil Tavel was second with 34 percent.
District 3: Incumbent Kshama Sawant led with 33 percent of the vote, and Egan Orion had 24 percent; the nearest challenger of the four others was Pat Murakami with 14 percent.
District 5: Incumbent Debora Juarez led with 43 percent and Ann Davison Sattler had 28 percent. In third was John Lombard with 14 percent. Six candidates appeared on the ballot.

For the open races:

District 2: Tammy Morales led with 44 percent and Mark Solomon was second with 24 percent in the seven-candidate field.
District 4: Alex Pedersen led with 46 percent, and Shaun Scott was second with 20 percent. Ten candidates are running in District 4.
District 6: Dan Strauss and Heidi Wills led with 31 percent and 23 percent, respectively, in the 14-candidate field.
District 7: Andrew Lewis led with 29 percent and Jim Pugel was second with 27 percent. Ten candidates are running.

Voters also approved two local ballot measures Tuesday.

Proposition 1 in Seattle authorized the city to levy for seven years a property tax of $0.122 per $1,000 in assessed property value with annual increases of up to 1% to fund library operations, materials, and maintenance and capital improvements.
Proposition 1 in King County authorized the county to levy for six years a property tax of $0.1832 per $1,000 in assessed property value to replace an expiring tax, with annual increases and with revenue for parks, recreation, open space, public pools, zoo operations, and aquarium capital improvements.

Learn more→

Six weeks after election day this race is over – what took so long?

On Tuesday, public defender Tiffany Caban conceded the Democratic primary for Queens, New York district attorney to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (D), ending a six-week-long dispute over the election’s outcome.

The primary to succeed Richard Brown, who died in May 2019 after 28 years in office, drew national attention after presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsed Caban. Political observers compared the race to last year’s Democratic primary for a Queens-based Congressional seat in which Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) unseated fourth-ranked House Democrat Joseph Crowley (D). Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Caban while Crowley fundraised for Katz.

On June 25, Caban appeared to be the winner with a lead of 1,100 votes over Katz. But after absentee and provisional ballots were certified July 3, Katz took a lead of 20 votes. The city’s elections board completed a full manual recount on July 29 which found Katz ahead by 60 votes. Caban challenged the recount results before the Kings County Supreme Court, saying that the board had invalidated a number of ballots which she argued should have been counted. In his ruling Tuesday, Judge John G. Ingram found that most of the ballots named in Caban’s challenge were not valid, meaning there were not enough ballots remaining in question to change the election’s result.

89,858 votes were cast in the 2019 Democratic primary, while 3,777 votes were cast for the office at the last election in 2015. Katz will face attorney Daniel Kogan (R) in the November 5 general election.

Learn more→

Tiffany Caban concedes Democratic primary for Queens district attorney

By David Luchs

In Local

August 7, 2019 at 11:39 PM

Public defender Tiffany Caban conceded the Democratic primary for Queens, New York, district attorney to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (D) Tuesday, ending a six-week-long dispute over the election’s outcome.

The primary to succeed Richard Brown, who died in May 2019 after 28 years in office, drew national attention when presidential candidates Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed Caban. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Ny.) also endorsed Caban, while former Rep. Joseph Crowley, whom Ocasio-Cortez defeated in a primary election last year, fundraised for Katz.

Caban appeared to win on election night with a lead of 1,100 votes over Katz. Katz, however, had a 20-vote lead after absentee and provisional ballots were certified on July 3. The city’s Board of Elections completed a full manual recount on July 29 which found Katz ahead by 60 votes.

Caban challenged the results of the recount before the Kings County Supreme Court, saying that the Board had invalidated a number of ballots which should have been counted. In his ruling Tuesday, Judge John G. Ingram found that most of the ballots named in Caban’s challenge were not valid, meaning that there were not enough ballots remaining in question to change the election’s result.

Katz will face attorney Daniel Kogan (R) in the November 5 general election.

Additional reading:

https://ballotpedia.org/Melinda_Katz

https://ballotpedia.org/Tiffany_Caban

https://ballotpedia.org/John_G._Ingram

Two Republicans competing in South Carolina special primary runoff

By Jaclyn Beran

In State

August 7, 2019 at 11:34 PM

A special primary runoff for District 84 of the South Carolina House of Representatives is scheduled for August 13. Melissa Oremus and Alvin Padgett are running in the Republican primary runoff; they advanced to the runoff after defeating Cody Anderson, Danny Feagin, Ralph Gunter, and Sean Pumphrey in the July 30 primary. The winner of the primary runoff will be unopposed in the October 1 special election since no Democratic candidates filed for the seat.

The seat became vacant after Ronnie Young (R) passed away on May 19, 2019. Young had served in the state House since he won a special election in 2017. He won re-election in 2018 with 65% of the vote in the general election.

Heading into the special election, Republicans control the state House with a 78-44 majority with two vacancies. The other vacancy will be filled in a special election on August 20. Republicans also control the state Senate by a 27-19 margin. South Carolina has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.

As of August, 70 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2018, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Additional reading:

https://ballotpedia.org/South_Carolina_House_of_Representatives_District_84

https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_special_elections,_2019

Seattle City Council primary election preliminary results

By Amee LaTour

In Local

August 7, 2019 at 11:34 PM

Seattle held a primary election for the seven district seats on its nine-member city council Tuesday. Seattle uses a vote-by-mail process; due to the delay between ballots being mailed by voters and received by election officials, races have not yet been called. King County Elections is scheduled to count ballots each day until the primary results are certified on August 20, 2019.

Once results are finalized, the top two finishers in each race will head to a November 5 general election. Four of the races are open, while three incumbents are seeking re-election.

The following were preliminary results as of 6am PDT Wednesday for races with incumbents:

In District 1, incumbent Lisa Herbold led her two opponents with 48 percent of the vote. Phil Tavel was second with 34 percent.
In District 3, incumbent Kshama Sawant led with 33 percent of the vote, and Egan Orion had 24 percent; the nearest challenger of the four others was Pat Murakami with 14 percent.
In District 5, incumbent Debora Juarez led with 43 percent and Ann Davison Sattler had 28 percent. In third was John Lombard with 14 percent. A total of six candidates are running.

Preliminary results for the four open races were as follows:

In District 2, Tammy Morales led with 44 percent and Mark Solomon was second with 24 percent in the seven-candidate field.
In District 4, Alex Pedersen led with 46 percent, and Shaun Scott was second with 20 percent. Ten candidates are running in District 4.
In District 6, Dan Strauss and Heidi Wills led with 31 percent and 23 percent, respectively, in the 14-candidate field.
In District 7, Andrew Lewis led with 29 percent and Jim Pugel was second with 27 percent. Ten candidates are running.

On Tuesday, King County Elections reported having received 138,171 ballots from Seattle voters, accounting for 29 percent of active registered voters in the city. Results as shown above are based on 106,668 counted ballots.

Ballotpedia will update our Seattle City Council election coverage as more results become available.

Voters in Seattle and King County, Washington, approved property tax measures

By Jackie Mitchell

In Local

August 7, 2019 at 11:29 PM

A parks and recreation property tax measure was on the ballot for voters in King County, Washington, and a library property tax measure was on the ballot for voters in Seattle. The measures were approved by 67% and 73% of voters, respectively, according to the unofficial election night report. After the election night report, 40% of ballots were left to be counted.

Proposition 1 in Seattle authorized the city to levy for seven years a property tax of $0.122 per $1,000 in assessed property value with annual increases of up to 1% to fund library operations, materials, and maintenance and capital improvements. City staff estimated that Proposition 1 would generate $213.3 million over seven years or $30.47 million per year. Yes Seattle Libraries led the campaign in support of Proposition 1. The measure’s property tax rate represents about $83 on the property tax bill for a house assessed at $681,000, which is the median assessed property value in Seattle in 2019. A library property tax approved by Seattle voters in 2012 was set to expire in 2019.

Proposition 1 in King County authorized the county to levy for six years a property tax of $0.1832 per $1,000 in assessed property value to replace an expiring tax. The proposition included annual increases and dedicated revenue to parks, recreation, open space, public pools, zoo operations, and aquarium capital improvements. Yes on KC Prop 1 led the campaign in support of Proposition 1. The measure’s property tax rate represents about $90 per year on the property tax bill for a house assessed at $492,000, which is the median assessed property value in unincorporated King County in 2019.

Reeves, Waller advance to runoff in Republican primary for governor of Mississippi

By David Luchs

In State

August 7, 2019 at 12:54 PM

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. advanced to an August 27 runoff in the Republican primary for governor of Mississippi.

With 97% of precincts reporting, Reeves received 48.9% of the vote (short of the 50% needed to win outright) and Waller received 33.4%. State Rep. Robert Foster finished third with 17.8 percent of the vote.

The winner will face Attorney General Jim Hood (D) in the November 5 general election to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Bryant (R).

To win election as governor of Mississippi, a candidate must win both a majority of the statewide vote and a majority of state House districts. If no candidate meets both requirements, the state House decides the winner.

Elections for all 52 seats in the state Senate and all 122 seats in the state House of Representatives will also take place on November 5.

Mississippi is one of 22 Republican state government trifectas, a term that describes when one party controls the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. It has been a Republican trifecta since 2012.

Policy updates: the 2020 presidential election edition

By Jerrick Adams

In Newsletters

August 7, 2019 at 12:49 PM

2020 presidential election: policy update

Many of the laws governing presidential elections, including primary/caucus rules and ballot access procedures, are established and enforced at the state level. With the 2020 presidential campaign season well underway, let’s take a look at some noteworthy developments dealing with election law for presidential candidates.

California enacts law requiring presidential, gubernatorial candidates to disclose tax returns

On July 30, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 27 into law, requiring presidential and gubernatorial candidates to file copies of their last five federal income tax returns with the California secretary of state in order to qualify for the primary election ballot. The law took immediate effect.

In a statement, Newsom said, “The disclosure required by this bill will shed light on conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic and foreign business interests. The United States Constitution grants states the authority to determine how their electors are chosen, and California is well within its constitutional right to include this requirement.”
Also on July 30, Republican presidential candidate Roque De La Fuente sued Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) in U.S. District Court, alleging that SB 27 violated Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution, as well as the First and Fourteenth Amendments. On August 1, Judicial Watch, on behalf of four California voters, filed a separate federal suit challenging the law. On August 6, President Donald Trump and his campaign committee filed another separate suit challenging the law, as did the Republican National Committee and the California Republican Party.
Legal professionals have differed in their initial assessments of SB 27. Adam Winkler, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said, “This new law raises some very interesting and novel constitutional issues. Because it is novel, it is hard to know how the courts would go, but there is plenty of reason to think courts will be hostile to California’s requirements.” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, said, “Although most cases dealing with ballot access have involved state and local elections, the constitutional principles are the same: State governments may set conditions for being listed on the ballot so long as they serve important interests and do not discriminate based on wealth or ideology.” Gene Schaerr, a constitutional lawyer who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, said, “I see it as a serious problem on both constitutional grounds and especially on policy. You can imagine a host of other disclosures that states might want to adopt. If California could do this, some people would undoubtedly want to know whether candidates have ever been treated for a mental illness or denied insurance.”

2020 presidential primary, caucus, and nominating convention schedule

The 2020 presidential primary, caucus, and nominating convention schedule is nearly complete. Listed below are noteworthy instances of states that changed either the dates or formats of their nominating contest in 2020.

California: Primary moved to March 3, 2020. In 2016, it was on June 7.
Colorado: Primary established to be conducted March 3, 2020. Colorado’s Democratic and Republican parties held caucuses in 2016.
Maine: Primary established to be conducted March 3, 2020. Maine’s Democratic and Republican parties held caucuses in 2016.
Minnesota: Primary established to be conducted March 3, 2020. Minnesota’s Democratic and Republican parties held caucuses in 2016.
Utah: Primary established to be conducted March 3, 2020. Utah’s Democratic and Republican parties held caucuses in 2016.

For a complete list of important dates in the 2020 presidential election cycle, see this article.

Legislation update: Redistricting, electoral systems, and primary systems bills

The maps below show which states are considering redistricting, electoral systems, and primary systems legislation. A darker shade of red indicates a greater number of relevant bills.

Redistricting legislation as of August 7, 2019

Map Redistricting legislation at the state and city levels in the United States

Electoral systems legislation as of August 7, 2019

Primary systems legislation as of August 7, 2019

Buttigieg and Inslee unveil plans to address domestic terrorism

By Emily Aubert

In Newsletters

August 7, 2019 at 10:54 AM

August 7, 2019: Pete Buttigieg and Jay Inslee released plans to address domestic terrorism. Mike Gravel suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Bernie Sanders.

Notable Quotes of the Day

“Elizabeth Warren just has a gigantic campaign [in Nevada]. There are counties all over rural areas where some campaigns are just doing tours, but she has staff there. And that was a strategy President Obama had in 2008 when he won Nevada.”

– Laura Martin, executive director of Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada

“One of [Kamala] Harris’ biggest assets is geography. Not only is California next door, Democrats and union members from the state are frequently imported into Nevada to help political campaigns there. Harris’ campaign, an adviser acknowledged, wants to run a ‘two-state strategy’ that takes advantage of the kinship between the two states and the fact that absentee voting in California’s March 3 primary will be going on during Nevada’s caucus, which ends Feb. 22.”

– Marc Caputo, Politico reporter