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The Federal Tap: Three Republican U.S. representatives announce retirement
From Ballotpedia
July 27, 2019Issue No. 169
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Sunday, July 21
Harris leads Democratic candidates in Ballotpedia pageviews for third consecutive week
- Each week, we report the number of pageviews received by the 2020 presidential campaigns on Ballotpedia. These numbers show which candidates are getting our readers’ attention.
- Sen. Kamala Harris’ campaign page on Ballotpedia received 3,772 pageviews for the week of July 13-20. Harris’ pageview figure represents 9% of the pageviews for all Democratic candidates during the week. Former Vice President Joe Biden had 8.8% of the candidate pageviews for the week, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren had 7.1%.
- Fifteen of the 26 Democratic candidates’ campaign pages saw increases in pageviews over the prior week. The Ballotpedia pages for Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders saw the largest increases of approximately 16%.
- The top three candidates in lifetime pageviews are South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 90,329, entrepreneur Andrew Yang with 75,963, and Harris with 75,621.
- On the GOP side, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld had 9,867 pageviews this week to President Donald Trump’s 1,459.
Wednesday, July 24
Former Special Counsel Mueller testifies before two House committees
- Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee. Mueller answered questions from House members about the report he wrote concerning Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. The former special counsel oversaw the federal investigation of potential election interference from May 2017 to May 2019.
- President Donald Trump (R) vetoed three congressional resolutions limiting the sale and export of Paveway laser-guided bombs.
- Senate Joint Resolutions 36, 37, and 38 were introduced by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) on June 5, 2019. The resolutions prohibited elements of a June 3 proposal involving the export of the Paveway II and Paveway IV laser-guided bomb system to six countries, including the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.
- All three resolutions passed the U.S. Senate on June 20 and the U.S. House on July 17. None received two-thirds support—which would be required for a veto override—in either chamber.
- In his veto messages, President Trump said that the three resolutions would limit U.S. security capabilities, prolong the war in Yemen, threaten the safety of U.S. citizens living in Saudi Arabia, and "damage the credibility of the United States as a reliable partner by signaling that we are willing to abandon our partners and allies at the very moment when threats to them are increasing."
- Since taking office, President Trump has issued five vetoes. During their two terms in office, Presidents Barack Obama (D) and George W. Bush (R) each issued 12 vetoes, while Bill Clinton (D) issued 37 vetoes.
Thursday, July 25
Satellite groups increase involvement in NC-09 special election
- The Club for Growth Action super PAC released a TV ad opposing Dan McCready (D) in the special election campaign for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. This follows a campaign against McCready that began Monday launched by the Congressional Leadership Fund—a Republican super PAC. The Club for Growth Action PAC reported spending $100,000 on its ad; a spending figure was not available for the Congressional Leadership Fund effort.
- Two groups affiliated with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)—EDF Action and EDF Action Votes—released a TV ad July 18 supporting McCready and opposing Republican candidate Dan Bishop. The groups committed $600,000 to the ad campaign.
- The special election takes place September 10. It was called after the North Carolina State Board of Elections did not certify the 2018 general election results following allegations of absentee ballot fraud. Those returns showed Republican candidate Mark Harris ahead of McCready—who was the 2018 Democratic nominee—by 905 votes.
Friday, July 26
Three Republican U.S. representatives announce retirement
- U.S. Reps. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.), Pete Olson (R-Texas), and Martha Roby (R-Ala.) announced this week that they would not seek re-election in 2020. So far, 11 members of the U.S. House—three Democrats and eight Republicans—have announced they are not seeking re-election in 2020. Eight are retiring from public office, two are seeking a U.S. Senate seat, and one is running for governor. In 2018, 52 members of the U.S. House—18 Democrats and 34 Republicans—did not run for re-election.
- Mitchell was first elected to represent Michigan's 10th Congressional District in 2016 and won re-election in 2018 by 25 percentage points. Michigan's 10th district intersects with one or more pivot counties, which are counties that voted for Donald Trump in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.
- Olson was first elected to represent Texas' 22nd Congressional District in 2008. He won re-election in 2018 by 5 percentage points after winning the previous four cycles by double digits. The upcoming election in Texas' 22nd district is one of Ballotpedia's 2020 battleground races.
- Roby was first elected to represent Alabama's 2nd Congressional District in 2010, defeating Democratic incumbent Bobby Bright. She won re-election in 2018 by a margin of 23 percentage points after defeating Bright, who had switched to the Republican Party, in the district's Republican primary.
- Elections for all 435 U.S. House seats will take place in 2020. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party holds a majority of 235 seats to Republicans' 197 seats.
Congress is in session
The Senate will be in session July 29-August 2 and the House will be out of session. Click here to see the full calendar for the first session of the 116th Congress.
SCOTUS is on summer recess
The Supreme Court is on summer recess. To learn more about the 2018-2019 term, read our review.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, July 30
Second Democratic presidential primary debate—night one
- The first night of the second presidential primary debate will be held in Detroit, Michigan. CNN’s Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper will moderate the event.
- The ten candidates on stage will be Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Marianne Williamson.
- Sanders and Warren will be in the center of the stage based on their polling performance.
- Bullock is the only candidate participating who did not appear in the June presidential primary debate.
Wednesday, July 31
Second Democratic presidential primary debate—night two
- The second night of the second presidential primary debate will be held in Detroit, Michigan. Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper will again moderate.
- The ten candidates on stage will be Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Bill de Blasio, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, and Andrew Yang.
- Biden and Harris will be in the center of the stage based on their polling performance.
Where was the president last week?
- On Monday, Trump paid respects to former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and met with the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- On Tuesday, Trump met with the secretary of state and Senate Republicans.
- On Wednesday, Trump spoke at a fundraising committee reception in West Virginia.
- On Thursday, Trump participated in a welcome ceremony for the secretary of defense.
- On Friday, Trump met with the Secretary of State and the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security
Federal Judiciary
- 128 federal judicial vacancies
- 56 pending nominations
- 11 future federal judicial vacancies
About
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
