Election News

Election Day 2021

The 2021 off-year elections are being held on Tuesday, November 2. New Jersey and Virginia have elections for statewide offices, including governor. There are also legislative elections in both states, although the State Senate in Virginia will not be contested until 2023.

There will also be two special elections in Ohio to fill congressional vacancies, along with primaries in FL-20 as the process begins to fill the only other currently open seat in the U.S. House.

Approximately a dozen state legislative special elections will also be contested that day. Finally, voters in 17 of the nation's 100 largest cities will make their choice for mayor.

This week we're following two primaries, one for a State Senate special election in Rhode Island along with a mayoral primary in Durham, NC. There are four weeks until Election Day, 2021.  

Rhode Island

State Senate District 3 Primary

There are 38 State Senate districts in Rhode Island. The chamber is overwhelmingly Democratic; the party has 32 seats, the GOP holds just five.  Senators serve two-year terms; the next regularly scheduled election is in 2022.

The Providence area District 3 vacancy was created by the resignation of Democrat Gayle Goldin on August 17. She took a position in the U.S. Department of Labor. Goldin was first elected in 2012. She has faced only write-in opposition in this deep blue district.

Politico has reimagined the classic 1976 Schoolhouse Rock! segment "I'm Just a Bill".  The new version details a much more arduous process that proposed legislation often has to get through in today's gridlocked political environment. 

It's worth a watch: 

Special elections are being held Tuesday for two vacancies in the Texas State House. The 150-member body is controlled by Republicans, who have an 82-66 edge over Democrats. 

Under Texas special election law, all candidates appear on a single ballot. If someone gets a majority of the vote, they are the winner. Otherwise, the top two finishers advance to a runoff.

District 118

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.