Election News

There are two weeks until Election Day. See our First Look for a brief overview of the races we'll be following that day.

This Tuesday, there is one state house special election primary.

New Hampshire Rockingham District 6

Two longtime Democratic members of the U.S. House announced Monday they will not see reelection in 2022. 

Mike Doyle, now in his 14th term, is the dean of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation. He currently represents the 18th district, which includes all of Pittsburgh and some suburbs, largely to the south and east. He won his final election last November by a margin of nearly 40%. 

Earlier today, I announced that I will #retire at the end of my current term representing #Pittsburgh in #Congress.
Read my full statement here:https://t.co/OKsRMrgXax

— Mike Doyle (@USRepMikeDoyle) October 18, 2021

Doyle is the 2nd member of the House from Pennsylvania to announce their departure. Democrat Conor Lamb, from the neighboring 17th district, is seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Republican Pat Toomey.

Pennsylvania is losing a seat in the upcoming redistricting. As a result, the 18th district will no longer exist in the next Congress.  Proposed new maps will be drawn and passed by the GOP-controlled state legislature, but can be vetoed by the Democratic governor.

Elected in 1996, David Price is serving his 13th consecutive term representing North Carolina's 4th district. He also represented the district from 1987-1995, losing the 1994 election. Like Doyle, he is the most senior member of his state's delegation.

Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth announced Tuesday that he will not see reelection in 2022. Now serving his eighth term, Yarmuth chairs the powerful House Budget Committee.

There are three weeks until Election Day. See our First Look for a brief overview of the races we'll be following that day.

This Tuesday, there is one state house special election. 

Iowa District 29

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