Daily Brew: May 7, 2019

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May 7, 2019

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Today's Brew highlights some interesting facts among candidates running for president + a graduated income tax initiative advances out of the Illinois state Senate  
The Daily Brew

Welcome to the Tuesday, May 7 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. 718 candidates are running for president
  2. Illinois Senate passes constitutional amendment to allow for graduated income tax
  3. Mayoral races in Denver and Lincoln among elections today

718 candidates are running for president

About two weeks ago, I shared a chart showing the total number of candidates who have filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for President of the United States. Since then, another 30 candidates have filed, such that the chart now looks like this:

In case you’re wondering, getting included here is as simple as completing FEC Form 2, “Statement of Candidacy.” On it, one declares the name and address of one’s principal campaign committee, which is who the FEC will contact to ensure you’re filing the proper financial reports if you raise or spend more than $5,000 on your campaign.

As of yesterday, 718 candidates have filed to run, and you can find the full list here. As of November 1, 2016, a total of 1,780 candidates filed a Statement of Candidacy to run for president for the 2016 cycle.

Of the 245 Democratic candidates who’ve filed to run, we consider 22 of them to be a notable elected official or public figure. You may have seen the reported number of notable candidates as 21 or 22, depending on the source. So what’s the difference?

We include former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel in our list of notable Democratic candidates since he is a former statewide elected official, having won U.S. Senate elections in 1968 and 1974.

Finally, here’s another interesting thing I learned about presidential candidates from the FEC’s website. There are conditions under which a candidate may receive a salary from his or her campaign committee. They include:

  • “The salary must not exceed the lesser of the minimum annual salary for the federal office sought or what the candidate received as earned income in the previous year.
  • Individuals who elect to receive a salary from their campaign committees must provide income tax records and additional proof of earnings from relevant years upon request from the Commission.
  • Payments of salary from the committee must be made on a pro-rata basis (a candidate may not receive a whole year's salary if he or she is not a candidate for an entire 12-month period).
  • Incumbent federal officeholders may not receive a salary payment from campaign funds.
  • The first payment of salary shall be made no sooner than the filing deadline for access to the primary election ballot in the state in which the candidate is running for office.”

Since the first filing deadline to get on a primary election ballot isn’t until later in 2019, no candidate should be receiving a salary from their 2020 presidential campaign committee until then.

For more information like this about the presidential election, subscribe to our Daily Presidential briefing.

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Illinois Senate passes constitutional amendment to allow for graduated income tax

In the Brew, I talk regularly about trifectas, and occasionally about supermajority status in state legislatures. Both factors can have an important effect on state-level policy, and here’s an example.

Last week, the Illinois State Senate approved a constitutional amendment that would repeal the state's existing constitutional requirement that the state personal income tax be a flat rate across income. The amendment would allow the state to enact legislation to implement a graduated income tax. If the amendment is approved by the state House, voters would decide the constitutional amendment in the 2020 general election.

In Illinois, a 60% vote is needed in each chamber of the Illinois General Assembly to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration. In the state Senate, the amendment passed along partisan lines—Democrats supported the amendment, and Republicans opposed it.

Heading into the 2018 election. Democrats already held a supermajority in the state Senate but not in the state House. They flipped partisan control of three Senate and seven House seats to give them a supermajority in both chambers. As a result, Democrats can pass amendments without support from Republicans. The Illinois legislature can only propose to amend up to three articles of the constitution in any one election. Five legislatively referred constitutional amendments appeared on the ballot in Illinois in the five even-numbered election years between 2010 and 2018.

In addition to the constitutional amendment, the state Senate approved a bill changing the state's income tax from a flat rate to graduated brackets beginning on January 1, 2021, if voters approve the constitutional amendment in 2020. In 2018, the personal income tax in Illinois was a flat rate of 4.95 percent. Under this bill, single taxpayers who earn $750,000 or less would pay marginal rates of between 4.75 and 7.85 percent. Single filers who earn more than $750,000 would pay a tax rate of 7.99% on their total net income.

Illinois also elected a Democratic governor in 2018, as J.B. Pritzker (D) defeated incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), giving Democrats a trifecta. Pritzker supports the constitutional amendment and campaigned on a graduated income tax during the election. While the governor’s signature is not required for constitutional amendments in Illinois, his or her approval would be needed for the legislation to implement such an amendment, such as what the state Senate just passed.

Mayoral races in Denver and Lincoln among elections today

It’s a Tuesday, and I’m tracking elections across eight states today. Here are some highlights:

Denver

Residents of Denver will vote for the city’s mayor. Incumbent Michael Hancock faces five challengers as he seeks a third term, having first been elected in 2011. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a June 4 runoff. Hancock has raised more than twice as much as all his challengers combined, according to campaign finance reports covering through April 14. The city is also holding elections for city clerk and recorder, city auditor, and all 13 seats on the city council.

Denver voters will also decide two ballot measures—one that would decriminalize the use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms and another which would allow individuals to engage in activities, such as resting and sheltering oneself in a non-obstructive manner, in outdoor public places.

Lincoln, Nebraska

Residents of Lincoln, Nebraska, will hold a general election for mayor, four members of the city council, and a seat on the Lincoln Airport Authority. In the mayoral race, city council members Leirion Gaylor Baird and Cyndi Lamm finished first and second, respectively, in a five-candidate field in the primary election on April 9. Although city elections are nonpartisan and political parties do not appear on the ballot, candidates had the option to file with political parties. Baird filed as a Democratic candidate and Lamm as a Republican. Incumbent Chris Beutler was first elected in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011 and 2015, but is unable to seek re-election in 2019 due to term limits. Beutler was affiliated with the Democratic Party in the 2015 election.

Indiana

Partisan primary elections will be held for mayor of Indianapolis and Fort Wayne in Indiana. In Indianapolis, Joe Hogsett (D) was first elected in 2015 and faces one opponent in the Democratic primary. Three candidates are running for the GOP nomination. In Fort Wayne, incumbent Tom Henry (D), who was also first elected in 2015, faces two challengers for the Democratic nomination. Four candidates are running for the Republican nomination in Fort Wayne.

California

Eleven local measures are on ballots in nine California counties. Voters in Calaveras, Lake, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara counties are deciding on measures to authorize or increase a parcel tax—which is a kind of property tax based on units of property rather than assessed value.

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See also

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