Election News

Democratic Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37) launched her campaign for mayor of Los Angeles Monday. Bass, in her 6th term, is the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and was vetted as a possible running mate for Joe Biden in 2020. 

With my whole heart, I'm ready. Let's do this -- together.

I'm running for mayor.https://t.co/CLkJfFddHT

— Karen Bass (@KarenBassLA) September 27, 2021

Bass joins a crowded field vying to become mayor of the nation's second largest city. Other notable candidates include City Attorney Mike Feuer and councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Kevin de Leon.

Democratic mayor Eric Garcetti is ineligible to run in the November, 2022 election due to term limits. He is likely to leave office before his term ends, having been nominated by Biden to serve as ambassador to India. He is awaiting Senate confirmation. If Garcetti leaves, the acting mayor will be City Council President Nury Martinez.

The Council then has the option to appoint an interim mayor or hold a special election to complete the term, but neither is likely with the 2022 primary coming up next June. Martinez has said that she will not run for a full term.

Chuck Grassley, the most senior Republican in the U.S. Senate, tweeted early Friday that he would seek reelection in 2022. 

It’s 4 a.m. in Iowa so I’m running. I do that 6 days a week. Before I start the day I want you to know what Barbara and I have decided.

I’m running for re-election—a lot more to do, for Iowa. We ask and will work for your support. Will you join us? #GrassleyRuns #GrassleyWorks pic.twitter.com/cwv8yu9wkx

— Grassley Works (@GrassleyWorks) September 24, 2021

According to the Des Moines Register, "His decision is a victory for national Republicans who have made it clear they wanted Grassley — who has repeatedly been reelected by double-digit margins — to run for an eighth term. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released this week showed him leading Democratic challenger Abby Finkenauer by 18 percentage points, 55% to 37%, in an early test of the race."

Grassley won by nearly 25% over Democrat Patty Judge in 2016. 

2022 Senate Elections

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio said Thursday that he would not seek a third term in Congress next year. He was one of ten House Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump after the January 6 riot at the Capitol.  

See my full statement below regarding my decision not to seek re-election. pic.twitter.com/vsggxjD1FI

— Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (@RepAGonzalez) September 17, 2021

Had he remained in the race, Gonzalez was facing a 2022 primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed opponent, Max Miller. While acknowledging that challenge, he emphasized family and quality-of-life considerations as the main reasons for his departure.

Gonzalez represents Ohio's 16th congressional district, a strongly Republican area largely south and west of Cleveland and Akron. Gonzalez was reelected by 26% last November, running ahead of Trump's 14% margin in the district. 

Early voting begins today in Virginia, one of two states holding a gubernatorial election this year.  Politico reports that it is "the most competitive statewide election since Joe Biden became president." 

Former governor Terry McAuliffe (D) holds a five point lead over businessman Glenn Youngkin (R) in the RealClearPolitics polling average. The consensus analyst rating is Leans Democratic. 

Headlining Tuesday's election calendar is the California gubernatorial recall election. Details are on this page. There are also two state house special elections in Iowa and Tennessee as well as mayoral primaries in Boston, Cleveland, and Toledo. Use the links below to see other results.

California Gubernatorial Recall Election

Voters in California will decide whether Gov. Gavin Newsom should be recalled. Here's a 270toWin article from a few weeks back with some background on the election. For more, see these articles from CNN, The New York Times, and FiveThirtyEight. Here's some recall history from the Secretary of State's office.

A vote-by-mail ballot was sent to registered voters (over 22 million) in August. As of Monday, over 8 million of those had been returned (about 37%).  Political Data Intelligence has a nice tracker providing demographic and party breakdown of these ballots. On Election Day, polling locations are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific Time.

Live results will appear below after 11:00 PM Eastern Time.

Headlining Tuesday's election calendar is the California gubernatorial recall election. There are also state house special elections in Iowa and Tennessee as well as mayoral primaries in Boston, Cleveland and Toledo. On this page are the state house special elections; use the links below to see other results.

State House Special Elections

Iowa District 37

There are 100 State House districts in Iowa. Republicans hold a 58-40 edge over Democrats. One of the two vacancies will be filled in Tuesday's election.

The District 37 vacancy was created when Republican John Landon died on July 29. Landon was first elected in 2012, and was reelected four times.

Headlining Tuesday's election calendar is the California gubernatorial recall election. There are also state house special elections in Iowa and Tennessee as well as mayoral primaries in Boston, Cleveland and Toledo. On this page are the mayoral primaries; use the links below to see other results.

Mayoral Primary Elections

All three of these elections are nonpartisan (NPA in the results tables). In each, the top two finishers will advance to the November 2 general election.

City rankings are based on July 1, 2020 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area.

Boston, Massachusetts

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be gaining momentum heading into Tuesday's recall election. In a UC Berkeley poll released Friday, likely voters oppose recall by 60% to 38.5%. Newsom has been steadily gaining support since mid-August, when the keep/recall vote was nearly tied. Keep has led remove by double-digits in every poll released this month; the fivethirtyeight average is 56% to 41%.

In addition to the recall question, the ballot includes 46 candidates to take Newsom's spot should he be recalled. The UC Berkeley poll found conservative radio host Larry Elder well ahead of the field, with 38% support. However, the actual result for of this vote is moot should Newsom not be recalled.

Voting has been underway for several weeks, as all registered voters in the state were sent a ballot by mail. In-person early voting began September 4. On Election Day, polls close at 8:00 PM Pacific Time (11:00 PM Eastern). Visit 270toWin Tuesday night for live results.

There are two state house special elections and one special primary Tuesday.

Alabama

State House District 78

There are 105 State House districts in Alabama. The chamber is dominated by Republicans, who hold a 76-26 advantage. There are three vacancies. The state is one of a handful where Representatives are elected for four-year terms; the next regularly scheduled election is in 2022.

The District 78 vacancy was created by the resignation of Democrat Kirk Hatcher after he won a March 2 special election for an open State Senate seat. 

We've added a 2022 election calendar to the site. 

Texas kicks off the primary season on Tuesday, March 1, with North Carolina up the following week. There's a lull after that until May, when 11 states hold their primaries. June and August are the busiest months.

The calendar includes each state's primary date, as well as the date for runoff elections, for those states that require them when certain thresholds are not met.