What's on your ballot? - July 21, 2015
July 21, 2015
By Ballotpedia staff Follow @ballotpedia
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| Elections on July 21, 2015 |
| Virginia |
| Wisconsin |
Voters in two states, Virginia and Wisconsin, head to the polls today to fill two vacant state legislative seats. For Virginia's House of Delegates District 74, which has endured a turbulent year, this marks the second time in six months that a special election has been held to fill this seat.[1][2]
On June 30, 2014, a grand jury indicted Joseph Morrissey (D), who held the seat at that time, on felony charges of indecent liberties with a minor, possession of pornographic images of an underage female and solicitation to obtain the images. Morrissey was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl in his law office and then texting someone about it. He entered a plea and was ultimately convicted of a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, though he only served three while participating in a work release program. Morrissey resigned his seat in the wake of his conviction.[1][2][3]
In an unusual turn of events, Morrissey then ran as an independent to get back his seat, ultimately defeating Kevin J. Sullivan (D) and Matt D. Walton (R) in the special election on January 13, 2015. However, just two months after winning back his seat, Morrissey announced that he had once again resigned and would be running for State Senate. Today's special election features Lamont Bagby (D) and David Lambert (I, G) vying for Morrissey's former spot in the "heavily Democratic" district.[4][5][6][7][1]
The election in Wisconsin's State Senate District 33 comes under less dramatic circumstances. Sherryll Shaddock (D) and Chris Kapenga (R) face off to determine who will fill the seat formerly held by Paul Farrow (R). Farrow resigned after being elected as the Waukesha County executive in April. Shaddock ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Kapenga defeated challengers Brian Dorow (R) and Mikael Langner (R).[8][9][10][11]
Kapenga is currently a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 99. Shaddock previously ran to fill the District 33 seat in 2014, but was defeated by Farrow. The seat has been held by Republicans for the past several decades. Since 2010, Shaddock has been the only Democrat to challenge a Republican contender.[11][12][9][13]
Note: Click on the links below for more details about each race and election results.
Virginia
State legislatures
- Virginia House of Delegates - Virginia House of Delegates District 74 special election
Wisconsin
State legislatures
- Wisconsin State Senate - Wisconsin State Senate District 33 special election
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 NBC Washington, "Va. Lawmaker Joseph D. Morrissey Resigning After Teen Sex Case," December 18, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 WTVR.com, "Grand jury indicts Joe Morrissey over relationship with teen girl," June 30, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Del. Joseph Morrissey resigns in wake of conviction — and promises to run again," December 18, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Joe Morrissey announces Virginia state Senate campaign," March 25, 2015
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Bagby, Lambert to run in special election in 74th District," June 12, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 30, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Morrissey, in midst of six-month jail term, wins special election to Virginia House," January 13, 2015
- ↑ Fox 6 Now, "State Sen. Paul Farrow announces he’ll resign on July 17th," May 1, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," accessed May 27, 2015
- ↑ jsonline.com, "Chris Kapenga wins special Senate primary in Waukesha County," accessed June 24, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
- ↑ Fox 6 Now, "State Sen. Paul Farrow announces he’ll resign on July 17th," May 1, 2015
- ↑ jsonline.com, "Chris Kapenga wins special Senate primary in Waukesha County," accessed June 24, 2015
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