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Scott Wagner wins Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania
State Sen. Scott Wagner (R) won the Republican primary for governor of Pennsylvania, defeating businessman Paul Mango (R) and attorney Laura Ellsworth (R).
Over the course of the primary, Wagner emphasized his experience running a waste disposal business and argued that he was the most electable candidate, running ads targeting incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf (D). He has been endorsed by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania; his victory continues a 40-year streak of party endorsees winning the gubernatorial primary.
With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Wagner's preferred lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, Jeff Bartos (R), led the primary field with 43 percent of the vote. His closest opponent, Kathy Coder (R), had received 24.5 percent. Primary elections for governor and lieutenant governor are separate in Pennsylvania, with the winners running on a ticket in the general election.
Wagner will face sitting Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, in the November election. The seat is rated "Lean Democratic" by two ratings agencies and "Likely Democratic" by a third.
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Oklahoma Supreme Court upholds state's voter ID law
The Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld Oklahoma's voter identification law, finding that did not violate the state constitution, in Gentges v. Oklahoma State Election Board last week.
The court's per curiam opinion noted the following: "[The] Oklahoma Voter ID Act is based on the State's attempt to prevent voter fraud and the lack of evidence of in-person voter fraud in the state is not a barrier to reasonable preventative legislation. Requiring voters to show proof of identity serves to protect the integrity and reliability of the electoral process and prevent in-person voter fraud."
The case came to the state supreme court on appeal from the Oklahoma County District Court, which had similarly upheld the constitutionality of the state's voter ID law. The original suit was brought by Delilah Gentges, who alleged that the voter ID law was "unconstitutional as an interference with the free right to suffrage and equivalent to a poll tax."
At the time of this ruling, 34 states enforced (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 18 states required voters to present photo identification, while 16 accepted other forms of identification.
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Percentage of new state legislators to increase from recent midterm election years
Incumbents are retiring in 617 (18.6 percent) of the 3,316 state legislative seats up for election in states where filing deadlines have passed so far in 2018. This guarantees that newcomers will take a minimum of 617 state legislative seats in 2018, as there are no incumbents running to retain these seats. Of these 617 guaranteed newcomers, 196 will be elected from seats previously held by Democrats (31.7 percent of all guaranteed newcomers), 404 from seats previously held by Republicans (65.4 percent of the total), and 17 from seats held by neither Democrats nor Republicans (2.7 percent of the total).
In 2014, the previous midterm election year, 466 Democratic and 545 Republican state legislators retired, totaling 1,011 retirements, approximately 16.7 percent of all seats up for election that year. In 2010, the most recent midterm election year preceding 2014, 579 Democratic and 533 Republican state legislators retired, totaling 1,112 retirements, approximately 18.2 percent of all seats up for election that year.
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