Daily Brew: 59 state legislative incumbents defeated this year (as of today)

June 7, 2018

Plus: Trump commutes sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, Michigan initiative to legalize recreational marijuana certified for November 2018 ballot   Just the stats, ma’am Six state legislative incumbents lost primaries on Tuesday, bringing this year’s running total to 59.   23 Democratic incumbents lost - which means 86.9 percent of all Democratic incumbents who participated in a primary won.   36 Republican incumbents lost - which means 85.8 percent of all GOP incumbents who participated in a primary won. The six incumbents who lost on Tuesday: Republican Alabama state representative, Dickie Drake Republican Alabama state senator, Paul Bussman Republican Montana state senator, Patrick Connell Democratic New Mexico state representative, Bealquin Bill Gomez Democratic New Mexico state representative, Carl Trujillo Democratic New Mexico state representative, Debbie Rodella In states that have held filing deadlines, 25.7 percent of Democratic incumbents and 20.8 percent of Republican incumbents are facing primary opposition. Seats can change hands if an incumbent retires, is defeated in the primary, or in the general election. Learn more         Trump commutes sentence of Alice Marie Johnson after reality star Kim Kardashian West advocates for her release from prison For the second time in his presidency, Donald Trump has exercised his powers of commutation. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson after reality star Kim Kardashian West met with Trump at the White House to discuss prison reform. Johnson was serving a life sentence on nonviolent drug and money laundering charges. According to a White House press release, “Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades. Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates. Her Warden, Case Manager, and Vocational Training Instructor have all written letters in support of her clemency.” Executive clemency gives the president the authority to pardon an individual, which overturns a federal conviction, and the power of commutation, which allows a president to shorten or reduce a federal prison sentence. It is the second time Trump has commuted a sentence since he took office. From 1902 to 2018, presidents have issued 6,549 commutations with an annual average of 56.5. During his first three years in office, President Barack Obama (D) did not issue any commutations. He issued 1,043 during his last year in office, and 1,715 total during his two terms in office. Learn more→ Michigan initiative to legalize recreational marijuana certified for November 2018 ballot Voters in Michigan will decide a ballot initiative to legalize the recreational use and possession of marijuana on November 6, 2018. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA) collected an estimated 277,370 valid signatures—24,847 more than was required—and spent about $3.10 to collect the valid signatures required. As an indirect ballot initiative, the Michigan State Legislature had 40 days to adopt, reject, or take no action on the proposal. As no actions were taken, the initiative was certified for the ballot when the legislature adjourned on June 5. Michigan could be the first state in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana. In 2015, voters in Ohio defeated Issue 3, which was designed to legalize the sale and use of marijuana and authorize 10 facilities with exclusive commercial rights to grow marijuana. As of June 2018, nine states had legalized the recreational use of marijuana, with eight enacting legalization through ballot initiatives. There are a total of 16 remaining states, including Ohio, where citizens could petition for initiatives to legalize marijuana. As of June 6, Michigan is the only state with a certified recreational marijuana ballot initiative. Oklahoma and Utah will vote on medical marijuana ballot initiatives in 2018, and signatures are being counted in Missouri for medical marijuana and recreational marijuana initiatives. Learn more→ Incumbent Schubert defeats Phillips for Sacramento district attorney by nearly 30 points You know about all of the big results from Tuesday night (and if you are looking for more on that, check out our special edition of Heart of the Primaries from yesterday). But what about the local, downballot races? At Ballotpedia we cover tens of thousands of them each year. Here’s one race decided Tuesday in California.   Incumbent Anne Marie Schubert defeated homicide prosecutor Noah Phillips in the nonpartisan primary for district attorney in Sacramento County, California, on Tuesday, winning 64 percent of the vote. Phillips received 36 percent.   In the wake of several law enforcement incidents, the election centered on accountability and how fatal law enforcement incidents in the county had been handled. Outside groups and activists became more involved in the race after Schubert received $13,000 from the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) and Sacramento County Alliance of Law Enforcement less than a week after Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, was killed by Sacramento police officers.   Phillips received more than $1 million in contributions, out-raising Schubert's $800,000. The arrest of a suspect in the East Area Rapist cold case and the release of an inappropriate work email from Phillips shifted the focus of the race in May, according to The Sacramento Bee.   Learn more→