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State Legislative Tracker: State senator among nine dead in South Carolina church shooting

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June 22, 2015

Edited by Jackie Beran

This week’s tracker includes a look at an investigation into a North Carolina state senator and the murder of a state senator at a South Carolina church.

Weekly highlight

Sen. Fletcher Hartsell (R)

NORTH CAROLINA: On June 17, 2015, members of the North Carolina Board of Elections voted 5-0 to refer their investigation against Sen. Fletcher Hartsell (R) to state and federal prosecutors.[1] The investigation into Hartsell began in early 2013 and found that he used $109,000 of his campaign's money from 2009 to 2012 on personal expenditures.[2] According to the investigation, Hartsell used his campaign funds to pay for shoe repairs, speeding tickets, haircuts, meals with his family and credit card debt.[3] Even though Hartsell has been in the state Senate since 1991, the first time his campaign account was audited was in 2013, after The News & Observer wrote an article about Hartsell's campaign spending.[2] Before October 2006, candidates in North Carolina were allowed to use their campaign money for personal expenses.[2] Many candidates, Hartsell included, took advantage of this loophole and bought cars, laptops and trips with campaign money.[2] Kim Westbrook Strach, the board's executive director, said that the day before the law changed, Hartsell’s campaign had more expenditures than the campaign of any other legislator who was reviewed.[2] The state Democratic party has called on the Republican leaders to seek Hartsell’s resignation.[2] Hartsell told The Independent Tribune that he will not resign and vowed to fight the allegations.[1]

Late SC State Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D)

SOUTH CAROLINA: The state Senate mourned one of its own late last week following the mass shooting at an African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston Wednesday night. Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D), a pastor at the Emanuel AME Church, was present during a bible study when the alleged shooter opened fire, killing the senator and eight others. The state Legislative Black Caucus issued a statement mourning the loss of "a mighty statesman and man of God who will long be remembered for [his] integrity and servant nature."[4] Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D), who sat next to Pinckney while in session, eulogized his colleague: "The most gentle of all 46 of us in the chamber — the best of all 46 of us in this chamber — is the one who lost his life." Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler (D) lauded Pinckney's "astronomically large heart... and the love that he had for his fellow man."[5] Pinckney also found praise from numerous Republican colleagues. State Rep. Shannon Erickson (R) called Pinckney "an incredibly kind, intuitive and very thoughtful person" with "a unique way of empathizing with people and making them feel very comfortable with him from the beginning of any conversation."[6] Appearing on MSNBC Thursday, Sen. Larry Grooms (R) said his "brother in Christ" was "more interested in effective policy than effective rhetoric."[7] After adjourning to attend a prayer service at noon, the Senate returned that afternoon and moved to display Pinckney's portrait in the chamber. Pinckney, one of a line of preachers with a history of civil rights activism, entered into both the ministry and politics at a young age, being ordained at 18 and elected at 23. At the time he joined the state House in 2000 following a stint as a page, Pinckney was the youngest black legislator in the state's history. Pinckney, who died aged 41, is survived by his wife and two children, and state Sen. Kent Williams (D) said Thursday that he was Pinckney's cousin.[5][8] He is thought to be the first state legislator to be murdered since Tennessee state Sen. Tommy Burks (D) was killed by his opponent, Byron Looper (R), late in the 1998 election season.[9]

Sessions

Current sessions capture for the week of June 22, 2015
See also: Dates of 2015 state legislative sessions
Click here to see a chart of each state's 2015 session information.

Regular sessions

Currently 11 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session. Three states are in recess, 33 states have adjourned their 2015 legislative sessions and three states are in special session.

The following states are in regular session:[10]

In recess

As of today, June 22, there are three state legislatures currently in recess.[11]

Adjourned

The following states have adjourned their 2015 regular sessions:[12]

Special sessions

As of today, June 22, there are three state legislatures currently in special session.

2015 Legislative Elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2015

A total of seven of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 3, 2015.

There are seven chambers in four states with elections in 2015:

The New Jersey Senate also typically holds elections in odd years, but all members were elected to four-year terms in 2013 and are not up for election again until 2017.

Of the 1,972 state senate seats in the country, 131 are up for up for election in November 2015, and 407 of the country's 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 538 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats are up for election on November 3, 2015.

Primary Information

The state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates are as follows:

Filing Deadlines

Primary Dates

Special Elections

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See also: State legislative special elections, 2015

There is one special election primary scheduled this week.

Wisconsin State Senate District 33

See also: Wisconsin state legislative special elections, 2015

Sherryll Shaddock was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Chris Kapenga defeated Brian Dorow and Mikael Langner in the Republican primary on June 23.[20][21] Kapenga defeated Shaddock in the special election on July 21.[22]

The seat was vacant following Paul Farrow's (R) resignation on July 17.[23]

A special election for the position of Wisconsin State Senate District 33 was called for July 21. A primary election took place on June 23. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 26.[24]

Wisconsin State Senate, District 33, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngChris Kapenga 71.9% 7,191
     Democratic Sherryll Shaddock 28% 2,798
     Other Scattering 0.2% 18
Total Votes 10,007
Democratic Party June 23 Democratic primary candidates:
Republican Party June 23 Republican primary candidates:

Recent election results

June 16, 2015

RunoffArrow.jpg Georgia House of Representatives District 55

See also: Georgia state legislative special elections, 2015

Alysia Brown (D), Marie Metze (D), Michael B. Fitzgerald (D), Raghu Raju (D), Shelitha Robertson (D) and John Franklin Guest Jr. (I) faced off in a special election on June 16.[25] Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Robertson and Metze, met in a runoff election on July 14, which Metze won.[26][27]

Tyrone Brooks Jr. (D) was initially removed from the ballot on June 8 after he failed to prove that he had lived in the district for at least a year.[28] However, he was temporarily placed back on the ballot by a Superior Court judge on June 11, 2015. A hearing was held on June 15 to determine Brooks' eligibility.[29] Ultimately, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly M. Esmond Adams sided with Secretary of State Brian Kemp's (R) original decision and ruled that Brooks was not eligible for the ballot.[30]

The seat was vacant following the resignation of Tyrone Brooks Sr. (D) on April 9, 2015.[31]

A special election for the position of Georgia House of Representatives District 55 was called for June 16. A runoff election took place on July 14. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 30.[31]

Georgia House of Representatives, District 55, Runoff election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarie Metze 58.2% 1,421
     Democratic Shelitha Robertson 41.8% 1,020
Total Votes 2,441
Georgia House of Representatives, District 55, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngShelitha Robertson (advanced to runoff) 30.7% 851
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarie Metze (advanced to runoff) 30.4% 842
     Democratic Michael B. Fitzgerald 22.4% 619
     Independent John Franklin Guest Jr. 8.2% 226
     Democratic Alysia Brown 6.5% 181
     Democratic Raghu Raju 1.8% 50
Total Votes 2,769
June 16 Special election candidates:
Democratic Party Alysia Brown
Democratic Party Marie Metze Approveda
Democratic Party Michael B. Fitzgerald
Democratic Party Raghu Raju
Democratic Party Shelitha Robertson Approveda
Grey.png John Franklin Guest, Jr.
July 14 Special election runoff candidates:
Democratic Party Marie Metze
Democratic Party Shelitha Robertson

RunoffArrow.jpg Georgia House of Representatives District 24

See also: Georgia state legislative special elections, 2015

Sheri Smallwood Gilligan (R), Will Kremer (R), Ethan Underwood (R) and David Van Sant (R) faced off in a special election on June 16.[32] Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Smallwood Gilligan and Van Sant, met in a runoff election on July 14, which Smallwood Gilligan won.[33][34]

The seat was vacant following Mark Hamilton's (R) resignation on May 11, 2015.[35]

A special election for the position of Georgia House of Representatives District 24 was called for June 16. A runoff election took place on July 14. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 20.[36]

Georgia House of Representatives, District 24, Runoff election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSheri Smallwood Gilligan 75.1% 2,858
     Republican David Van Sant 24.9% 947
Total Votes 3,805
Georgia House of Representatives, District 24, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSheri Smallwood Gilligan (advanced to runoff) 50% 1,785
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Van Sant (advanced to runoff) 24.6% 878
     Republican Ethan Underwood 20.7% 739
     Republican Will Kremer 4.8% 171
Total Votes 3,573
June 16 Special election candidates:
Republican Party Sheri Smallwood Gilligan Approveda
Republican Party Will Kremer
Republican Party Ethan Underwood
Republican Party David Van Sant Approveda
July 14 Special election runoff candidates:
Republican Party Sheri Smallwood Gilligan
Republican Party David Van Sant

Looking ahead

Upcoming special elections include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 independenttribune.com, "Hartsell vows to fight allegations, says he won't resign," accessed June 19, 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 newsobserver.com, "NC Sen. Hartsell’s campaign finance case referred to prosecutors," accessed June 19, 2015
  3. ↑ charlotteobserver.com, "NC Sen. Fletcher Hartsell defends campaign spending," accessed June 19, 2015
  4. ↑ The State, "Pinckney 'was the moral conscience of the General Assembly,'" June 18, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The State, "Senate grieves: 'The best of all 46 of us ... is the one who lost his life,'" June 18, 2015
  6. ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. state Sen. Clementa Pinckney mourned in hometown," June 18, 2015
  7. ↑ IJ Review, "GOP Lawmaker Went on Air to Talk About The Murder of Clementa Pinckney, His 'Brother in Christ,'" Kune 18, 2015
  8. ↑ WPDE, "Marion Senator Kent Williams was cousin to late senator killed in Charleston shooting," June 18, 2015
  9. ↑ The Political Graveyard, "Murdered and Assassinated Politicians," accessed June 18, 2015
  10. ↑ Stateside Associates, "Session Calendar 2015," accessed June 22, 2015
  11. ↑ StateNet, "Daily Session Summary," accessed June 22, 2015
  12. ↑ StateNet, "Daily Session Summary," accessed June 22, 2015
  13. ↑ Regular session adjourned on April 24
  14. ↑ Regular session adjourned on June 4
  15. ↑ Regular session began on December 1, 2014
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections," accessed January 2, 2015
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
  20. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," accessed May 27, 2015
  21. ↑ jsonline.com, "Chris Kapenga wins special Senate primary in Waukesha County," accessed June 24, 2015
  22. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2015 Special Election State Senate 33 - 7/21/2015," accessed August 6, 2015
  23. ↑ madison.com, "State Sen. Farrow announces July 17 resignation," accessed May 6, 2015
  24. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2015 Senate District 33 Special Election," accessed May 6, 2015
  25. ↑ neighbornewspapers.com, "Candidates throw hats in ring for House District 55 seat," accessed May 5, 2015
  26. ↑ Georgia Election Results, "Statewide results for Special Election Runoff," accessed June 17, 2015
  27. ↑ Georgia Election Results, "Statewide results for special election," accessed August 13, 2015
  28. ↑ politics.blog.ajc.com, "Brian Kemp orders Tyrone Brooks Jr. struck from June 16 contest to fill father’s seat," accessed June 10, 2015
  29. ↑ Jim Galloway, AJC, "Fulton County judge moves Tyrone Brooks Jr. eligibility hearing to Monday," June 12, 2015
  30. ↑ AJC.com, "It’s final: Tyrone Brooks Jr. removed from today’s House District 55 ballot," June 16, 2015
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Call for Special Election in State House of Representatives District 55," accessed April 22, 2015
  32. ↑ forsythnews.com, "Field set at four in race for Forsyth state House seat," accessed May 22, 2015
  33. ↑ Georgia Election Results, "Statewide results for special election," accessed June 17, 2015
  34. ↑ Georgia Election Results, "Statewide results for Special Election Runoff," accessed August 13, 2015
  35. ↑ Peach Pundit, "Mark Hamilton Resigns," May 11, 2015
  36. ↑ AJC.com, "What to watch at this weekend’s Georgia GOP convention," accessed May 18, 2015
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