Daily Brew: October 29, 2018

October 29, 2018

What are pundits and forecasters saying about state legislative elections in 2018? Plus, Delaware & Kentucky state spotlights   Delaware: The First State Delaware is holding elections for one U.S. Senate seat, one U.S. House seat, three state executive offices, 10 out of 21 state Senate seats, and all 41 state House seats. What is the partisan balance in the state? Congress: Democrats hold both U.S. Senate seats and the at-large U.S. House seat. Governor: Democrat. Lt. Governor: Democrat. Attorney General: Democrat. State Senate: 11-10 Democratic majority. State House: 25-16 Democratic majority. Race to watch Delaware State Senate: Democrats have an 11-10 majority in the Delaware State Senate and 10 seats are up for election. Delaware has been under a Democratic trifecta since 2008 when Democrats took control of the Delaware House of Representatives and retained control of the governor's office and the state Senate. In District 10, incumbent Stephanie Hansen (D) was first elected in a 2017 special election and faces Christine Metzing (R). Democrat Robert Venables Sr. held the seat in District 21 for 26 years before Republican Bryant Richardson defeated him in 2014. Richardson faces Bob Wheatley (D) in November. What you need to know if you’re a Delaware voter Early voting dates: Delaware does not allow early voting. Polls open/close: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voter ID: All Delaware voters are required to provide identification at the polls. Valid identification includes a photo ID, a utility bill, a paycheck, or any government document featuring the voter's name and address. A photo is not required. Bookmark your sample ballot. Learn more         Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit Kentucky is holding elections for six U.S. House seats, 19 out of 38 state Senate seats, all 100 state House seats, one seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court, and two seats on the Kentucky Court of Appeals. One statewide measure is on the ballot, but on October 15, 2018, a circuit court judge blocked votes on the ballot measure from being certified. Votes could still end up being certified if the court's ruling is appealed and reversed. Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Lexington and Louisville as well as school board elections in two public school districts. What is the partisan balance in the state? Congress: Republicans hold both U.S. Senate seats and five U.S House seats. Democrats hold one U.S. House seat. Governor: Republican. Lt. Governor: Republican. Attorney General: Democrat. State Senate: 27-11 Republican majority. State House: 62-37 Republican majority with one vacancy. Race to watch Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District: Three-term incumbent Rep. Andy Barr (R), former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath (D), and three others are running. Although Barr won his re-election campaign in 2016 by more than 20 percentage points, this race was rated a toss-up by three race raters after McGrath won the Democratic primary. What you need to know if you’re a Kentucky voter Early voting dates: Kentucky does not permit early voting. Polls open/close: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voter ID: Voters in Kentucky are required to present identification before voting. Valid identification includes photo and non-photo identification. Election officers can also confirm the identity of a voter by personal acquaintance. Bookmark your sample ballot. Learn more→ What are pundits and forecasters saying about state legislative elections in 2018? The focus may be on Congress, but what happens at the state level shouldn’t be ignored this cycle. Partisan changes in state legislatures over the next two election cycles will be critical to redistricting after the 2020 Census, when state legislatures will redraw congressional district lines in 37 states. Republicans currently control 67 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers. Democrats control the remaining 32 chambers. We’ve aggregated state legislative election forecasts from four outlets -- The National Conference of State Legislatures, Governing Magazine, Daily Kos, and Klarner Politics.  All four generally agreed that the Alaska House and the Connecticut Senate are the most likely Democratic chambers to go Republican in 2018. They also saw the Connecticut House, Delaware Senate, and Maine House as potentially competitive but likely to stay under Democratic control. These forecasts project that Republicans have more at-risk chambers in 2018. The Colorado Senate, Maine Senate, New Hampshire House, New Hampshire Senate, and New York Senate are all Republican chambers rated as likely to go Democratic or as toss-ups. Other chambers marked as potentially competitive include the Arizona Senate, Iowa House, Michigan House, and Minnesota House. Visit our page on the 2018 state legislative elections to see the full list of ratings we collected. You can also view Ballotpedia’s list of 22 state legislative battleground chambers. Learn more→ It's clear, Americans are preparing to vote! We are honored that you have chosen Ballotpedia to be one of your trusted resources. You're in great company! This weekend, our sample ballot lookup tool was used 118,890 times. A total of 923,247 people visited Ballotpedia. Readers shared our encyclopedic pages 1,280 times. Averaged out over the last 30 days, Ballotpedia has had more traffic than Politico.