There are two state house special elections Tuesday.
State Assembly District 18
There are 80 seats in the California State Assembly. The body is dominated by Democrats, who control 60 seats. This includes the vacancy that will be filled in Tuesday's special election.
The open District 18 seat is in the Oakland area, entirely within Alameda County. The vacancy was created in April when Democrat Rob Bonta resigned after being confirmed as California Attorney General.
St. Petersburg, Florida is the 85th largest city in the United States,1 1City rankings are based on July 1, 2020 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area. with a population of just under 260,000. Tuesday's all-party mayoral primary will select the two candidates that will meet in the November 2 general election, unless one candidate receives a majority of the vote. In that case, that person is elected mayor.
The current mayor is Democrat Rick Kriseman, who is completing his second four year term. He is unable to run due to term limits. There are eight candidates on the ballot. While officially nonpartisan (NPA label in the results table below), five of the candidates are Democrats, two Republican and one is an independent.
St. Pete Polls has conducted a number of polls on the race for FloridaPolitics.com; the most recent of which was released on August 21. Two months ago, four candidates seemed viable. However, subsequent surveys have seen support gravitate toward two of them.
Democrat Kathy Hochul was sworn in as New York's 57th governor shortly after midnight Tuesday. While continuing a legacy dating back to George Clinton in 1777, she has made history by becoming the state's first female governor.
Hochul succeeds Andrew Cuomo who resigned after nearly 11 years in the position. Cuomo had announced his departure two weeks ago, after a report detailing his sexual harassment of multiple women was released by the state attorney general's office.
California has published a voter's guide for the September 14 gubernatorial recall election. It includes arguments from the recall proponents as well as one from Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. There are also statements from many of the 46 candidates hoping to replace Newsom if he is recalled.
A vote-by-mail ballot will be sent to all active registered voters in California. There will also be in-person early voting. Polls are open on Election Day from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific Time.
There is one 'yes or no' question on the ballot: "Shall GAVIN NEWSOM be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?"
Below that question is a list of the candidates to replace Newsom if he is recalled. Voters can select one of those names or write in someone else. Voters can select 'no' on the recall question and still choose a replacement.
We're following one election this week.
Special General Election
There are 36 seats in the Connecticut Senate. At present, there are 23 Democrats and 12 Republicans. Connecticut is one of 12 states where Senators serve two-year terms; the next regularly scheduled elections are in 2022.
District 36 is located in the southwestern corner of the state. It is a highly affluent area, with median household income of twice the state average. The State Senate seat was vacated on June 22, when Democrat Alex Kasser resigned for personal reasons.
Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, the senior member of the Wisconsin congressional delegation, won't seek reelection next year. Kind narrowly won a 13th term in 2020, beating Republican Derrick Van Orden by less than 3%. This represented quite a shift: Kind had won by 20% in 2018, and actually ran unopposed in 2016.
The Wisconsin 3rd district was one of just seven nationally that voted for Donald Trump in 2020, while electing a Democratic representative. Trump won here by about 5%.
Absent the incumbent and with Van Orden running again, the district becomes an even stronger pick-up opportunity for the GOP next year.
Days after a report detailing his sexual harassment of eleven women was released, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation as governor of New York Wednesday. The resignation will be effective in 14 days.
Cuomo's discussion about his pending departure begins at about 12:00 in the video from an address he made late Wednesday morning.
As expected, Rep. Conor Lamb (PA-17) is launching his 2022 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate campaign Friday.
Lamb rose to prominence by narrowing winning a special election to flip a long-held Republican congressional seat in 2018. He joins a field of prominent Democrats hoping to win the nomination. This includes the state's Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and County Commissioner Val Arkoosh.
A new survey from Public Policy Polling gives Sen. Raphael Warnock a very small lead over his two most well-known prospective opponents. Warnock leads by 47% to 44% over former Sen. Kelly Loeffler. His lead is two over former professional football player Herschel Walker. Warnock's lead expands to eight - outside the 3.9% margin of error - over the only notable Republican to have actually joined the race, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black.
The poll gave Walker, who is well-known in the state from his days as a star running back at the University of Georgia, a +13 favorability rating, while Loeffler was -19. Perhaps highlighting the ongoing political polarization, that 32-point gap in favorability made little difference in the 'who would you vote for' questions. Black's favorability was even, but 70% said they were unsure, indicating he remains largely unknown.
Rep. Billy Long (MO-7) entered the 2022 Missouri U.S. Senate race earlier this week. He joins a crowded primary field, including his colleague Vicky Hartzler (MO-4), seeking the GOP nomination. The current incumbent, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt is not seeking a third term.
14 current U.S. House members have announced they are not seeking reelection in 2022.
