Election News

Texas Rep. Van Taylor finished first, just shy of the 50% needed to avoid a May 24 runoff, in Tuesday's Republican Primary for the 3rd congressional district. Late Wednesday, he admitted to an affair and ended his reelection campaign. Former Collin County Judge Keith Self, who finished second with 27%, is likely be the next Representative for this district north of Dallas.  

Allegations of the affair were first reported by Breitbart News on Monday.

According to the Texas Tribune, "Taylor has until March 16 to remove his name from the runoff ballot, which he plans to do, according to a spokesperson. After he does that, Self is automatically the Republican nominee for the district. There is a Democratic nominee for the seat, Sandeep Srivastava, but they face long odds after the district was redrawn last year to favor Republicans."

Taylor is the 47th current House member to announce they are retiring or seeking another office this year.

For those interested, there are also special legislative elections Tuesday in Connecticut and Michigan. Overview and Live Results >>

Texas

All Texas Results>>

Texas holds the first statewide primary on the 2022 Election Calendar Tuesday. With North Carolina rescheduled from March 8 to May 17, the Lone Star State's nominating contests are a full two months earlier than any other state.

We're following statewide races including Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General. There are also U.S. House and State Legislative primaries that will be conducted using redistricted boundaries. 

While all eyes will be on Tuesday's Texas Primary, we're also following a few State House elections. Connecticut filled one of two vacancies last week; this week it will have another election to bring the chamber back to full strength. In Michigan, there are primary elections in four districts.

Connecticut State House District 5

Democrats hold a sizeable 96-53 majority over Republicans in the Connecticut State House. There are two vacancies, although one will soon be filled by Republican William Pizzuto who won last week's District 71 special election. Members serve two year terms; the next regularly scheduled elections are in November. These will be contested using redistricted boundaries.

District 5 extends northward from downtown Hartford. The previous incumbent, Democrat Brandon McGee, resigned in January to work on Gov. Ned Lamont's (D) reelection campaign. In both 2018 and 2020, McGee won by about 85% to 15% over Republican Charles Jackson. 

Jackson is back on the special election ballot, again facing an uphill battle. The Democratic nominee is Maryam Khan. Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Fred Keller is not running for a third term this year. The decision avoids an intraparty primary battle driven by congressional redistricting.

With control of Congress & the direction of our nation at stake, this election is bigger than any one person. Rather than pit Republicans against Republicans, which the congressional map chosen by the liberal PA Supreme Court does, I am committed to helping take back the House...

— Fred Keller (@VoteFredKeller) February 28, 2022

Although the state's approved plan took a 'least change' approach, the state is losing a seat and that had to come from somewhere. Keller's 12th district was effectively eliminated, with his current constituents split between the new District 15 (45%), District 9 (38%) and District 13 (17%). The new District 12 is essentially the old Pittsburgh-area District 18, and is safely Democratic.

Keller had previously said he would seek reelection in the safely Republican District 9, where current Rep. Dan Meuser is running.

46 current House members, including 31 Democrats and 15 Republicans, have announced they are retiring or seeking another office this year.

Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-22) announced Monday that he will not seek reelection in November. Deutch is expected to leave Congress in the fall as he takes on a new role as CEO of the American Jewish Committee. He is the 31st Democrat to retire or run for other office this year.

Please read my full statement here ????https://t.co/aZnZMV27oc pic.twitter.com/LTtY5SRInl

— Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) February 28, 2022

Deutch is in his 7th term and currently represents the 22nd district. In its current form, this coastal district runs from north of Boca Raton to south of Fort Lauderdale. Deutch was reelected by a 17% margin in 2020. 

With 28 congressional districts for the next decade, Florida is the largest of six states that has not yet completed redistricting. While Republicans control the entire process, there has been considerable disagreement both in the Legislature and between the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis about how aggressively the party should push its advantage. 

Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin said Saturday that he will run in the state's special U.S. Senate election this year. Mullin joins what is likely to be a crowded GOP primary field looking to succeed Sen. Jim Inhofe (R) who announced his retirement on Friday.

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Mullin is in his fifth term representing the Oklahoma's 2nd district, which runs the length of the eastern part of the state. This deep red - even by Oklahoma standards - district was little changed in redistricting; Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden by 54% in both configurations.

Jim Inhofe announced Friday that he will retire from the U.S. Senate at the end of the year. The Oklahoma Republican, now 87, was elected to his 6th term in 2020.

It is bittersweet, but with a clear heart, that Kay and I announce that at the end of the year, I will retire from the United States Senate.

My full statement below. pic.twitter.com/nEDbmJJjEQ

— Sen. Jim Inhofe (@JimInhofe) February 25, 2022

A special election to complete the remaining four years of Inhofe's term will take place concurrent with the November midterm elections. As Inhofe is remaining in the Senate until the end of this Congress, no interim appointment will be needed.

The move means both of the state's U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot this year. In the regularly-scheduled election, Republican Sen. James Langford will be seeking his 3rd term.

The primary is June 28, with a runoff August 23 for races where no candidate gets a majority of the vote. In a state as red as Oklahoma, the Republican nominee is all but certain to be the winner in November.

Congressional redistricting is now complete in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The 2022 House Interactive Map has been updated with shapes for the 31 total districts in these two states. 

Pennsylvania: The State Supreme Court took over the redistricting process after the Republican-controlled legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf couldn't agree on a plan. After considering over a dozen maps, it implemented one drawn by Jonathon Rodden, a Stanford professor and redistricting expert. Rodden went with a 'least change' approach, although some change was unavoidable given the state is losing a district. According to FiveThirtyEight, "The new map drops one Republican-leaning seat to leave eight Republican-leaning seats, six Democratic-leaning seats and three highly competitive seats."

This week we're following elections to fill State House vacancies in Connecticut and Kentucky. 

Connecticut State House District 71

Democrats hold a sizeable 96-53 majority over Republicans in the Connecticut State House. There are two vacancies. The vacancy in District 5 will be contested next Tuesday. Members serve two year terms; the next regularly scheduled elections are in November. These will be contested using redistricted boundaries.

District 71 is located in the west central part of the state, and includes Middlebury and parts of Waterbury. The previous incumbent, Republican Anthony D'Amelio, retired December 31 after 25 years in office. In 2018, the last contested election here, D'Amelio won by 59% to 37% over his Democratic challenger.

The party nominees are Republican William Pizzuto and Democrat John Egan. Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

On Friday, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed the congressional redistricting bill advanced to his desk by the Legislature. The map is little-changed from the one in place over the past decade.

Democrats, who completely controlled the redistricting process, did not take advantage of an opportunity to improve the partisan lean of District 2, where incumbent Jim Langevin (D) is retiring. Although it strongly favors Democrats, the district is somewhat more competitive than District 1. Republicans, who haven't won a U.S. House seat in the state since 1992, will attempt to contest it this year. Former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is the most well-known of several Republicans to jump into the race.

Rhode Island shapes have been added to the 2022 House Interactive Map.