Daily Brew: January 8, 2019

January 8, 2019

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Today's Brew covers an upcoming special election + the control of the Alaska state house is still undecided   Welcome to the Tuesday, January 8 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Virginia state Senate special election offers a preview of the battle to make the state a Democratic trifecta Alaska Supreme Court rules in favor of LeBon (R) in District 1; control of chamber still in the balance Senate Judiciary Committee committee schedules hearings for Barr Virginia state Senate special election offers preview of battle to make state Democratic trifecta The start of 2019 brings special elections along with it. Here we go everyone! A handful of states hold special elections today. One in particular that caught our attention is in Virginia, where State Del. Jennifer Boysko (D) and former state Del. Joe T. May (R) are running in the special election for State Senate District 33. The district's former senator, Jennifer Wexton (D), was elected to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional District. Virginia currently has a divided government, with a Republican-controlled legislature and Democratic governor. Republicans hold a 21-19 majority in the state Senate. All 40 seats are up for election on November 5, 2019. If Democrats retain control of District 33, the partisan breakdown will remain the same until the 2019 elections. If Democrats flip the state Senate and the State House of Delegates, where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority, Virginia will become a Democratic state trifecta. Boysko outraised May through December 27, taking in $490,000 to May’s $107,000. The district has been represented by a Democrat since 2006. May previously ran for the seat in a 2014 special election as an independent, where he came in third with 9.8 percent of the vote. A win in the special election for Republicans would give them an easier path toward holding their majority in November. Sound familiar? This is a similar situation to what we described happening in Wisconsin, where conservatives have a 4-3 bloc on the state Supreme Court. So, while this April’s election cannot alter who controls the court, it can strengthen the Republican majority. In Virginia, Republicans will be looking to do the same, while Democrats have their eye on holding serve in this race, with their focus on trying to change partisan control at a future election date. Learn more Alaska Supreme Court rules in favor of LeBon (R) in District 1; control of chamber still unknown Last Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed a finding by special master Eric Aarseth that the State Division of Elections acted properly when it held a recount in the Alaska House District 1 race and found that Bart LeBon (R) defeated Kathryn Dodge (D) by one vote. Dodge had appealed the recount result, arguing that several ballots were improperly counted for LeBon. The conclusion of the legal battle in District 1 means that all 40 seats in the Alaska House have been decided—Republicans won 23, Democrats won 16, and a Democratic-aligned independent won District 36. However, control of the chamber is not yet decided because only 19 Republicans have committed to caucusing together. Here are the four Republicans who have not committed: Rep. David Eastman (R) said he would likely join with other Republicans, but he might want a more conservative speaker than David Talerico (R), the caucus’ original choice.   Rep. Gary Knopp (R) originally said he would caucus with the other Republicans, but he left the caucus in mid-December, saying that a one-member majority would be unstable. He announced his intention to form a 24-member bipartisan majority caucus with power sharing between the parties.   Reps. Louise Stutes (R) and Gabrielle LeDoux (R) caucused with Democrats from 2017 to 2018 and signed onto a letter in late December announcing their intention to join a bipartisan coalition again. If no majority has organized the chamber by January 15, Lieutenant Gov. Kevin Meyer (R) will preside over the chamber (or appoint a speaker pro tempore) until the House decides its organization. The chamber was controlled by a Democratic-led bipartisan majority caucus from 2017 to 2018 even though Republicans won 21 of 40 seats in the 2016 elections. Learn more→ Senate Judiciary Committee committee schedules hearings for Barr The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for William Barr's nomination to be United States attorney general on January 15 and 16. President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Barr to the position on December 7, 2018, and formally sent his nomination to the Senate on January 3. Barr will have to be confirmed by the Senate with a simple majority vote before taking office. Barr served as the 77th United States attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. He was confirmed by a unanimous voice vote in November 1991. The previous attorney general under Trump, Jeff Sessions, was confirmed 52-47 in November 2017. Learn more→