Tag: weekly brew

Trump makes his first judicial nomination of his second term On May 1, President Donald Trump (R) announced that he would nominate Whitney Hermandorfer to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, marking his first judicial nomination since he assumed office. Trump’s first federal judicial nomination came later in his second term than…

A look at mayoral partisanship in 2025 In Tuesday’s Brew, we examined partisanship in this year’s mayoral elections in the 100 most populous U.S. cities and all 50 state capitals.  Twenty-eight of the 100 largest cities are holding mayoral elections in 2025. Heading into the year, 21 of these cities had a Democratic mayor, and…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot signs state DOGE and judicial nondeference bill On April 23, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) signed Senate Bill 14 (SB14) into law. SB14 seeks to create a new department that promotes efficiency in the state’s government and prohibits judicial deference to state agencies.  The bill will establish a Texas Regulatory Efficiency…

New Jersey has the most contested primaries, fewest open seats since 2011 All 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly are up for election this year, and there are 29 contested primaries on June 10, eight more than the last regular elections in 2023. This is the most contested primaries since at least 2011,…

Kansas voters will decide citizenship voting requirement amendment in 2026—voters in eight states approved similar measures in 2024 On Nov. 3, 2026, Kansas voters will decide on a constitutional amendment allowing only U.S. citizens to vote. Voters in eight states approved similar measures in 2024, and South Dakota voters will also be deciding on such…

President Donald Trump issues most executive orders in the first 100 days since 1933 Through March 25, President Donald Trump (R) issued 103 executive orders in his second presidential term. This is the most executive orders a president has issued during the first 100 days of an administration since at least 1933. Franklin Delano Roosevelt…

Idaho voters to decide on an amendment prohibiting marijuana citizen initiatives in 2026 On Nov. 3, 2026, Idaho voters will decide on a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment to prohibit citizen initiatives that would legalize marijuana. The proposed amendment says that only the Legislature can legalize or regulate marijuana, narcotics, and other psychoactive substances. The amendment, House…

Wyoming becomes the 10th state to ban foreign nationals from contributing to ballot measure campaigns On March 6, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed House Bill 0337 (HB 337) into law, banning foreign nationals from donating directly or indirectly to ballot measure committees. As a result, Wyoming became the 10th state to enact restrictions on foreign…

30 states have adopted English as an official language—11 through ballot measures—since 1920 On March 1, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order “[designating] English as the official language of the United States.” While the federal government had never established an official national language before, 30 states have designated English as their official language.…

Total partisan composition of state legislatures changed by less than one percentage point in 2024 As lawmakers around the country meet in the 2025 legislative sessions, we’re continuing our analysis of the elections that brought them there. In Monday’s Brew, we looked at the seats that changed party hands. In the Nov. 5 elections:  That…