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Daily Brew: March 26, 2019

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March 26, 2019

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Today's Brew highlights the last week before a battleground election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court + two Democratic incumbents who won’t run for re-election in 2020  
The Daily Brew

Welcome to the Tuesday, March 26 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Wisconsin Supreme Court race enters final week; candidates submit pre-election financial reports
  2. Senator Tom Udall (D), Rep. José Serrano (D) will not run for re-election
  3. Our newest Learning Journey—Chevron deference

Wisconsin Supreme Court race enters final week; candidates submit pre-election financial reports

One week from today, Wisconsin voters will elect a successor to retiring state supreme court justice Shirley Abrahamson, who was initially appointed to the court in 1976. The two candidates vying for the seat, appellate court judges Brian Hagedorn and Lisa Neubauer, filed pre-election campaign finance reports yesterday.

The total amount raised by both candidates for this election is $2.9 million, with Neubauer’s share of that total being $1.6 million and Hagedorn’s share $1.3 million. Both candidates raised more than half of their respective totals since February 5. As of March 18, Neubauer had $615,000 in cash on hand, while Hagedorn had $376,000.

Hagedorn has served on the District II state court of appeals since 2015 and previously served as assistant state attorney general and chief legal counsel to Gov. Scott Walker (R). His endorsers include the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the National Rifle Association.

Neubauer has served on the same state court of appeals, in District II, since 2007 and as that court's chief judge since 2015. Her endorsers include the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.

Hagedorn and Neubauer are running in a proxy partisan battle. Although state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin are officially nonpartisan, liberal and conservative groups typically coalesce around specific candidates.

Conservatives, who back Hagedorn, hold a 4-3 majority on the court heading into the election. Like Abrahamson, Neubauer has been supported by liberals.

Although the election will not change the majority on the court, the outcome will determine the context of future elections. If conservatives win this seat, it will expand their majority on the court to 5-2. If liberals retain the seat, it will set up a battle for control of the court in 2020, when 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.

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Senator Tom Udall (D), Rep. José Serrano (D) not running for re-election

Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) announced yesterday that they would not seek re-election in 2020, becoming the fifth and sixth members of the 116th Congress—and the first two Democrats—to do so.

Udall won re-election in 2014 to his second term when he defeated businessman Allen Weh (R) by a margin of 11 percentage points. Udall was first elected as New Mexico’s state attorney general in 1990. After serving two terms, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998 and served five terms until he was elected to the Senate in 2008.

As of yesterday afternoon, no candidates had formally announced that they would run to succeed Udall. Potential Republican contenders include former Gov. Susana Martinez, former Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, and businessman Mick Rich, while potential Democratic candidates include Rep. Debra Haaland and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, according to Roll Call.

Serrano, whose congressional district in the Bronx was ranked the most Democratic in the nation by the Cook Political Report, was last re-elected by a margin of 92 percentage points in 2018 over Jason Gonzalez. Serrano was first elected to the U.S. House in 1990 and won re-election 14 times. Prior to that, he served 15 years in the New York State Assembly and five years on the New York City Board of Education.

According to Roll Call, potential Democratic candidates to succeed Serrano include New York City Councillor Ritchie Torres, state Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, and state Sen. Jose M. Serrano, who is Rep. Serrano's son.

Last election cycle, three members of the U.S. Senate and 52 members of the U.S. House did not seek re-election to their seats in 2018, including 18 Democrats and 37 Republicans.

Our newest Learning Journey - Chevron deference

Have you taken one of Ballotpedia’s Learning Journeys yet? It’s a new way to dive deeper into complicated topics through your inbox, one day at a time.

We’re happy to announce our newest Learning Journey on Chevron deference. Chevron deference is an administrative law principle that compels federal courts to defer to a federal agency's interpretation of an ambiguous or unclear statute that Congress delegated to the agency to administer.

Just like our first journey on the nondelegation doctrine, subscribers will receive an email each day, leading the way through the nuts and bolts of Chevron deference, including its history, application, evolution, leading arguments for and against, and its uncertain future. This journey will take six days to complete.

I took the journey out for a test-drive last week—it was a fascinating ride!


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