By 270toWin Staff - November 13, 2021, 10:33 AM ET
Rescheduled from October 9 due to the aftereffects of Hurricane Ida, Louisiana holds its fall elections on Saturday. In terms of races we follow, this includes elections for three vacancies in the state legislature and for mayor of New Orleans.
Louisiana has a hybrid system, with no primaries prior to Election Day. All candidates from all parties compete on a single ballot. if one candidate gets a majority, they are elected. Otherwise, the top two finishers advance to a runoff. This year's runoffs will be on Saturday, December 11.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Friday that she will seek a 5th term in the Senate next year. Alaska's new election system may help her chances, despite the vocal opposition of former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed one of her challengers.
Murkowski, who called for Trump to resign shortly after the January 6 Capitol riot, was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict him at the subsequent impeachment trial. Trump has vowed to campaign against Murkowski, and in June he endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, a former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration.
Monday is exactly one year - 365 days - from the 2022 midterm elections.
Senate: The chamber is tied 50-50, giving Democrats control with VP Kamala Harris breaking any ties. 34 seats are up in 2022, of which 20 are held by Republicans. However, neither party has an edge when looking at the most competitive seats. Each party holds four of the eight seats currently seen as the most competitive. 2022 Senate Interactive Map >>
House: After last week's two Ohio special elections - split by the parties as expected - there is only one vacancy in the House. That is in FL-20, where a special election will be held in January. Democrats currently hold a narrow 221-213 edge. Current House Map >>
Redistricting is underway, and almost all of the 435 congressional districts will be contested with new boundaries next year. We are working on an interactive 2022 map that will launch with those states that have completed their redistricting, adding others as they become available.
Republicans have now won 50 seats in Virginia's House of Delegates. Three Democratic-held seats remain uncalled as of Wednesday afternoon, with Republicans ahead in two of them.
A GOP victory in any of these three will give it control for the next term.
Governor: Heading into Election Day, Phil Murphy seemed well-positioned to become the first Democrat reelected as governor here since 1977. That may still happen, but the race is much tighter than expected. As of this writing, Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are separated by fewer than 2,000 votes out of almost 2.4 million counted.
NJ State Legislature: A significant number of races remain uncalled. However, Democrats started the day with significant majorities in both branches and will likely remain in control as the remaining votes are counted. NJ Legislature Live Results >>
House of Delegates: Democrats took control of the lower house of the Virginia Legislature in 2019 winning 55 of the 100 seats that year. As of this morning, Republicans have held all 45 of the districts they won in 2019 and flipped four Democratic-held districts (12, 63, 75 and 83). Democrats have won 46 seats.
Five Democratic-held districts remain uncalled. Republicans must win two of them to win a majority. The table below shows the party leading as of about 8:30 AM ET Wednesday morning. See the live results below the table for the latest.
There are races for elected statewide offices and for the House of Delegates, the Virginia State House. By winning the governorship or taking control of the House of Delegates, Republicans can break the Democratic state government trifecta. The Virginia State Senate will next be contested in 2023.
Elections will be held for governor and both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats are likely to maintain their governing trifecta by again winning the governor's office and majorities in both the state senate and state house. Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.
Governor
While history says otherwise - no Democrat has been reelected as governor here since 1977 - Gov. Phil Murphy is favored to win a second term over the Republican nominee, Jack Ciattarelli. Recent polling has been pretty consistent, with Murphy holding an 8% lead in the Real Clear Politics average.
There are three open seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which Democrats currently control with a 220-212 edge over Republicans. Two of the vacancies will be filled Tuesday, and a primary will decide the nominees for the final one. Winners will serve through the remainder of the current Congress.
All 435 House seats will be up for a regular two-year term next November. As a result of redistricting, most of these 2022 races will be contested along different district lines.
There are 7,383 seats in state legislatures across the 50 states. With that large a number, there are almost always vacancies that arise due to resignation or death. Special elections are held through the year; the ones below are taking place on Election Day itself. That timing could increase turnout, especially in those places where there are other high profile races or proposals on the ballot.
Poll closings shown in Eastern Time (ET). Your individual polling place may have different hours - do not rely on these times to determine when to vote.
