Daily Brew: April 2, 2019

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

April 2, 2019

Get your daily cup of news




%%subject%%

Today's Brew highlights today’s Chicago runoff elections and the battle for a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court + our analysis of third-party candidates in 2018’s elections  
The Daily Brew

Welcome to the Tuesday, April 2 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Battleground elections today in Chicago and Wisconsin
  2. 143 third party or independent candidates received more votes than the margin separating the top two finishers in 2018
  3. Take another journey: learn about the separation of powers

Battleground elections today in Chicago and Wisconsin

A pair of prominent elections in the Midwest that Sarah and I have been writing about here in the Brew and Ballotpedia has been following each week in The Deep Dish occur Tuesday.

Chicago

Chicago voters will elect a new mayor, 15 city council members, and a new city treasurer.

The second mayoral runoff election in the city's history features former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle. The two emerged from a 14-candidate field in the February 28 general election, in which Lightfoot finished first and Preckwinkle finished second. The winner will be Chicago’s first African-American female mayor.

Four of the 15 city council runoffs are open-seat races and 11 feature incumbents seeking re-election. In 2015, seven of the 44 incumbents seeking re-election were defeated. This year, 45 incumbents ran for re-election, and three lost outright in the general election.

State Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin and 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar face one another in the runoff for treasurer. The city treasurer manages Chicago’s investments, the four public employee pension funds, and the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund.

Subscribe to The Deep Dish today to receive this week’s post-election edition in your email tomorrow.

Wisconsin

Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn and Appeals Chief Judge Lisa Neubauer are facing off in the election for an open seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. Although these elections are officially nonpartisan, the race has become a partisan proxy battle with roughly $3 million in satellite spending.

Liberal and conservative groups typically coalesce around specific candidates. Conservatives, who back Hagedorn, currently have a 4-3 majority on the court while liberals, who supported retiring Justice Shirley Abrahamson, back Neubauer.

If conservatives win today, it will expand their majority on the court to 5-2. If liberals win, it will set up a battle for control of the court in 2020, when Justice Dan Kelly, who was appointed to the court in 2016 by Gov. Scott Walker (R), will stand for election for the first time.

After that, the next state supreme court election in Wisconsin isn’t scheduled until 2023.

Learn more

blank

143 third party or independent candidates received more votes than the margin separating the top two finishers in 2018

While third party and independent candidates win fewer elections than members of the two major parties, they can often affect an election, especially if their supporters would have voted for a different candidate had they not been in the race.

In 2018, 143 third party or independent candidates received more votes than the margin between the top two major-party candidates. We’ll refer to them as noteworthy third-party candidates.

This figure includes five candidates for U.S. Congress, 16 candidates for statewide office, 115 candidates for state offices elected by districts (such as the state legislature), and seven candidates in local elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

These 143 candidates included 54 Libertarians, 41 independent or unaffiliated candidates, and 19 members of the Green Party. Republicans won 27 of the 51 races with at least one noteworthy Libertarian candidate while Democrats won the remaining 24. Of the 15 races with a noteworthy Green Party candidate, Democrats won 11 while Republicans won four.

There were two noteworthy third-party U.S. Senate candidates, both in races Democrats won. In Arizona's open-seat race, Angela Green (G) received more votes than the margin between Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Martha McSally (R). In West Virginia, Rusty Hollen (L) exceeded the margin between incumbent Joe Manchin (D) and challenger Patrick Morrisey (R). The three noteworthy House candidates, including two Libertarians and one member of the Reform Party, all ran in seats Republicans won.

Three 2018 gubernatorial contests, all for open seats, involved noteworthy third-party candidates. Independent candidates Oz Griebel (Conn.) and Greg Orman (Kan.) contested races Democrats won, while the Republican candidate won the Florida gubernatorial election with noteworthy Reform Party candidate Darcy Richardson.

Five states with 10 or more noteworthy third-party candidates accounted for more than half (83) of all such candidates in 2018. These states were:

  • Vermont: 32 noteworthy candidates including 17 independents, eight members of the Vermont Progressive Party, and four Libertarians
  • New Hampshire: 17 noteworthy candidates including 15 Libertarians and two independents
  • Maryland: 13 noteworthy candidates including 10 Green Party members, two Libertarians, and one independent
  • West Virginia: 11 noteworthy candidates including six independents, four Libertarians, and one member of the state Green Party affiliate
  • Michigan: 10 noteworthy candidates including six Libertarians, two members of the Working Class Party, and two members of the state Constitution Party affiliate

Take another journey: learn about the separation of powers

You may have heard of the separation of powers, but there is a lot to know about this principle. Let Ballotpedia guide you through the relevant constitutional text, the philosophical origins, and its current challenges.

Though they aren’t prerequisites, you may have already learned about the nondelegation doctrine and Chevron deference through our first two journeys. A journey through the separation of powers is a perfect next step.

Sign up, and start your journey→


See also

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Daily_Brew:_April_2,_2019&oldid=8439497"