Election News

Don Young (R) had been Alaska's lone U.S. House representative for over 49 years when he died on March 18. There is clearly a lot of pent-up demand, as 51 candidates have filed to take his place. A nonpartisan primary will take place entirely by mail. Ballots will be sent out in May and must be postmarked by June 11. 

The top four finishers in the primary will advance to the August 16 special general election, which will use ranked choice voting to determine a winner. Both the all-mail primary and the structure of the election are firsts for Alaska. August 16 is the same date as the statewide primary, where voters will separately choose four nominees for the full two-year term to be contested in November's general election.

The party distribution of the 51 candidates: 17 Republican (R), 13 nonpartisan (N), 10 undeclared (U), 6 Democratic (D), 3 Libertarian (L), 1 Alaska Independence (AK), 1 American Independent (AI).

Louisiana: Barring any changes from expected litigation, congressional redistricting in Louisiana is complete. On March 30, the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode the veto of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. The new district shapes have been added to the 2022 House Interactive Map.

The new map largely maintained the status quo of the last decade, which translates to five seats for Republicans and one for Democrats. None of these are competitive from a party control perspective. Democrats, led by Edwards, had wanted the new map to include a second majority-minority district given that Blacks now comprise about 33% of the state's population. 

South Carolina State Senate District 31

Republicans hold a 29-16 edge over Democrats in the 46-member South Carolina State Senate. Terms are for four years; the next regular elections are in 2024. These will be contested using redistricted boundaries.

District 31 is located in and around Florence, close to the coast in the northeastern part of the state. Republican Hugh Leatherman, who had been in the State Senate since 1981, died last November 12. Leatherman was unopposed in the three elections (2012, 2016, 2020) since the last redistricting.

There are two candidates on the ballot. Republican Mike Reichenbach narrowly won his party's January 25 primary. The Democratic nominee is Suzanne La Rochelle; she faced no primary opposition.

There are currently 222 Democrats and 210 Republicans in the U.S. House, with three vacancies in previously GOP-held seats. To view, select 'Current House' above the 2022 House Interactive Map.

The number of vacancies will increase to five in the near future, as one member from each party has announced his resignation. 

An update on each of these districts follows. Special elections will take place using the existing district boundaries; some of them coincide with a regular statewide primary. The 2022 midterm elections (starting with the primaries), will take place using redistricted boundaries. 

As Maryland returns to the list after a court ruling, five states have yet to complete congressional redistricting. The Legislature in Florida, Louisiana, and New Hampshire have each passed redistricting bills. However, they have each run into a roadblock from the governor's office.

Louisiana State House District 101

Republicans hold a large majority in the 105 seat Louisiana State House. There are 68 Republicans, 33 Democrats and three independents. 

Members serve four-year terms. The next regularly scheduled elections will be in November, 2023. These will be contested using redistricted boundaries.

District 101 is located in East Baton Rouge Parish. Democrat Ted James resigned in January after being appointed regional administrator at The Small Business Administration.

A judge in the Maryland Court of Appeals has invalidated the state's recently-enacted congressional map, labeling it a Democratic gerrymander in violation of the state's Constitution. The court gave the General Assembly until March 30 to draw a new map and scheduled a hearing for April 1.

The state may appeal the ruling.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan welcomed the ruling. In December, Hogan vetoed the map sent to him by the Assembly. His veto was overridden and litigation ensued.

This week we're following one special general election to fill a vacancy in the New York State Assembly. There is also a GOP primary for a State House vacancy in South Carolina.

New York State Assembly District 43

Democrats hold a large majority in the New York State Assembly. The party controls 105 seats. There are 42 Republicans, one Independence Party member and two vacancies. The District 20 vacancy will be filled by special election on April 7.

Members serve two-year terms. The next regularly scheduled elections will be in November. These will be contested using redistricted boundaries.

District 43 is located in Brooklyn. Democrat Diana Richardson resigned in early February after being appointed deputy borough president. This is a deep blue district; Richardson was reelected by an 89% to 11% margin in 2020. 

The New Hampshire state Senate has approved - with no changes - a redistricting plan previously approved by the state House. The plan makes each of the state's two districts more partisan. District 1 becomes more favorable for a GOP pickup; the party has not won a U.S. House seat here since 2014.

Although both legislative chambers are Republican-controlled, fellow GOP Gov. Chris Sununu says he will veto the plan. He had previously asked the Senate to modify the House map to make both districts more competitive.

The Remaining States

Including New Hampshire, four states, with 44 total districts, have not completed redistricting.  Florida's 28 districts account for almost 2/3 of the total.

It is possible that Ohio, with 15 districts, will be added back to this list in the days ahead. After the originally-enacted plan was thrown out by the State Supreme Court in January, the Redistricting Commission approved a new map on March 2. 

According to FiveThirtyEight, the new plan "is barely fairer than the map that was struck down." On March 16, the Court invalidated new redistricting plans for the state House and Senate, perhaps foreshadowing an upcoming ruling on the congressional plan.