Daily Brew: December 1, 2020
December 1, 2020
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Updates from the past few days on key congressional races + a preview of Louisiana’s Dec. 5 elections   Welcome to the Tuesday, Dec. 1, Brew.Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
Tracking developments in congressional racesAs we enter December, let’s catch up on where things stand with the remaining undecided elections from last month. Two of this year’s 35 U.S. Senate races and nine of the 435 U.S. House races remain uncalled. In the Senate, Republicans have secured 50 seats and Democrats have secured 48 seats (including two seats held by independents who caucus with Democrats). In the House, Democrats have won 222 seats to Republicans' 204. Now, let’s jump into updates from some of those races. California’s 21st Congressional District: On Nov. 27, the Associated Press projected that David Valadao (R) defeated incumbent TJ Cox (D). Unofficial results showed Valadao ahead by 1,754 votes. Valadao declared victory in the race on Nov. 25, while Cox had not conceded as of Nov. 30. The legal deadline for results certification in the district is Dec. 3. Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District: On Nov. 28, officials completed a recount in the race between Rita Hart (D) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R). The recount found Miller-Meeks leading by six votes out of more than 394,400 cast. This made the race the closest U.S. House race since 1984, when Democratic candidate Frank McCloskey defeated Republican state Rep. Rick McIntyre by four votes in Indiana’s 8th Congressional District. A state canvassing board met on Nov. 30 to certify the results. Hart has two days from the certification date to contest the outcome. Hart initially requested a full recount on Nov. 13, when results showed Miller-Meeks leading by 47 votes—a margin of 0.02 percentage points. New York’s 22nd Congressional District: A Nov. 30 filing from Anthony Brindisi's (D) legal team said Claudia Tenney (R) was ahead in the race by 12 votes. This was following Nov. 27 reports from The Cook Political Report and WBNG television of Binghamton that a recount found Brindisi ahead by 13 votes. These were the first unofficial election results reported to show Brindisi in the lead. U.S. Senate special election in Arizona: Mark Kelly’s (D) win in the special U.S. Senate election against Sen. Martha McSally (R) was certified on Nov. 30. Kelly defeated McSally 51% to 49%, according to unofficial election night numbers from the secretary of state’s website. Since it was a special election, the winner could be sworn in once election results were certified. Kelly’s campaign announced on Nov. 30 that his swearing-in would take place at noon on Dec. 2. Louisiana voters to decide general elections on SaturdayAlthough Nov. 3 is now a few weeks behind us, don’t forget there are still several states holding elections before the end of the year. One of those is Louisiana, which will hold its second round of elections this Saturday, Dec. 5. Louisiana has a majority-vote system, meaning that all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in November (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office, he or she wins the election outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers advance to a second election in December. In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. Here’s a quick summary of some of the elections that will be on the ballot:
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