Oregon state Rep. Gary Leif (R) died on July 22, creating a vacancy in the state legislature. County commissioners from Douglas, Jackson, and Josephine counties had originally appointed Leif to the legislature on April 30, 2018, replacing former Rep. Dallas Heard (R) upon Heard’s appointment to the Oregon Senate. Leif defeated Charles Lee (D) to win…
The special primary elections for Michigan State Senate District 8 and 28 are on Aug. 3. The major party candidate filing deadline passed on April 20, and the filing deadline for minor party and independent candidates is Aug. 4. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 2. District 8 In the Democratic primary, John Bill…
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) appointed state Sen. Chris Brown (R) to a position in the Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Local Government Services on July 19. The position required Brown to leave the state Senate. Brown started his new job on July 20. Brown first won election to the Senate to represent…
Kentucky state Rep. John “Bam” Carney (R) died while in office on July 17, 2021, due to long-term health issues. Carney was first elected to represent House District 51 in 2008. He most recently won re-election in 2020, defeating Richard Steele (D) 78.6% to 21.4%. He was elected as state House majority leader in 2018…
The Michigan State Legislature approved the indirect initiative that repealed the Emergency Powers of Governor Act. On July 15, 2021, the Michigan State Senate voted 20-15 to approve the initiated measure. Senate Republicans voted to pass the initiated measure, and Senate Democrats voted against the proposal. On July 21, 2021, the Michigan House of Representatives voted 60-48 to approve…
William Penterman (R) was elected to District 37 of the Wisconsin State Assembly in a special election held on July 13. Penterman earned 54.1% of the vote, defeating Democrat Pete Adams and independent candidate Stephen Ratzlaff Jr. Once the results are certified, Penterman will be sworn in for a term that ends in January 2023.…
Leesa Hagan (R) won the special general runoff election for Georgia House of Representatives District 156 on July 13. She defeated Wally Sapp (R), earning 51.7% of the vote to Sapp’s 48.3%. Hagan and Sapp advanced from the general election held on June 15, where they defeated Democratic candidate Wright Gres. A runoff became necessary…
Candidates interested in running in the special elections to fill two vacant seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives had until July 9 to file. The special elections are being held in the Hillsborough 7 District and Cheshire 9 District. The winners of the special elections will serve until December 2022. In the Hillsborough…
On July 12, 2021, at least 51 of the 67 Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives (the number needed to break quorum) left the state for Washington D.C. ahead of expected votes on House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1. The bills being considered are voting-related legislation including provisions related to early voting, elections…
Justin Fecteau (R) resigned from the Maine House of Representatives on July 4 to accept a teaching job outside his legislative district. He represented District 86 from 2018 to 2021. Fecteau was first elected to the state House in 2018. He defeated Adam Turner (D) to win re-election in 2020, 57% to 43%. When there…