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Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2016
From Ballotpedia
| 2016 Election Analysis |
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| Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hubs |
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| Other 2016 election coverage |
| Election results Poll times Elections calendar Elections by state and year |
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Tens of thousands of different elections took place in 2016 across the United States. Within these thousands of elections, there were a variety of different trends and patterns that relayed a certain level of political significance. In 2016, we wanted to help our readers step back from the treeline and see the forest. We identified and followed a series of narratives—big picture stories—up-and-down the ballot and across the country throughout the year. We also identified the top 10 races to watch in 2016. The articles that follow were a culmination of research and curation over the course of 2016.
This page is a brief summary of Ballotpedia's election analysis for 2016.
For Ballotpedia's 2016 election results analysis, see below:
- Why did the "marriage gap" shrink in 2016?
- Election 2016: What happened in Congress
- Trump wins White House as “Blue Wall” crumbles
- Most-watched state supreme court election results
- Ballotpedia's review of the results for November's top municipal races
- Sixty-three candidates for seven seats: an overview of November's top school board elections
- Democrats and Republicans trade chambers in 2016 state legislative elections
- Incumbents overwhelmingly prevail in state courts in 2016 elections
- Incumbents see mixed success in November school district elections
- November city and county election data review: Fresh faces from mayoral races
- 2016 local judicial election review: Little turnover as incumbents dominate
Federal politics
| Here were our top 10 races to watch: |
| Top 10 congressional races, 2016 |
| In 2016, there were few competitive congressional battlegrounds: |
| U.S. House battlegrounds |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds |
| There were only a few states considered battlegrounds for the presidential election: Presidential battleground states |
| The Democrats had an opportunity to win back the Senate in 2016 from the Republicans: The 2016 Senate races |
| What could happen post-2016 elections?: The post-2016 federal government scenarios |
| U.S. Supreme Court nominations and the 2016 elections. There were four justices over the age of 75: Impact of the 2016 election on the United States Supreme Court |
| The policy issues the presidential candidates discussed: Policy positions of the 2016 candidates |
State politics
| Here were our top 10 races to watch: |
| Top 10 state-level races, 2016 |
| Party control at the state level: |
| •Gubernatorial elections, 2016 |
| •Gubernatorial and legislative party control of state government |
| • State government trifectas |
| State-level elections assessments for 2016: |
| •State executive official elections |
| • State legislative elections |
| Courts that could have been part of a governing partisan majority: State judicial elections |
| Partisan leanings for nonpartisan judges: State supreme court partisanship, 2016 |
| State-level judicial election and appointment processes changes: State supreme court changes, 2016 |
| Ballots simplification and dissemination: 2016 ballot measures |
| State-level battleground legislative chambers: State legislative battleground chambers, 2016 |
| Who was at greater relative risk? Republican or Democrat state executives?: State executive official elections |
Local politics
| Here were our top 10 races to watch: |
| Top 10 local-level races, 2016 |
| Local election partisanship in 2016: Partisanship in local elections |
| Big money in 2016 elections at the local level: Money in local elections |
| Partisanship in mayoral elections across the U.S.: Partisanship in United States mayoral elections |
| Race and law enforcement: Race, law enforcement, and the ballot box |
| Local and state education reform efforts: |
| •Education reform at the state and local levels |
| •Battles over school governance |
| •State funding battles and local responses |
| •The fight to shape public school curriculum |
Public Policy
| Education issues included Common Core and student debt at both the national level and, in some cases, state level; in some states, charter school policy and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) were prominent issues: Education policy disputes in the 2016 elections |
| Repealing Obamacare was an issue at the national level and, in some cases, state level; Medicaid expansion and CHIP were major issues in at least 22 states: Healthcare policy disputes in the 2016 elections |
| Environmental Protection Agency climate and water regulations, i.e. the Clean Power Plan, and Clean Water Rule, were major issues in many states: Environmental policy disputes in the 2016 elections |
| Voting rights and voter ID laws were an issue in at least 15 states: Election policy disputes in the 2016 elections |
| Fracking was an issue in at least 11 states: |
| • Energy policy disputes in the 2016 elections |
| Tax policy and budget issues, such as government debt, were national issues; in addition, tax and budget policy issues featured prominently in elections in at least 14 states: Budget policy disputes in the 2016 elections |
| Our state-specific policy pages identified the major policy issues that impacted elections in those states: Public policy in the 2016 elections |
