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Welcome to the Wednesday, February 26, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Bloomberg, Trump led presidential candidates in fundraising in January
- Voters to decide three statewide ballot measures on Super Tuesday
- Filing deadline roundup
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Bloomberg, Trump led presidential candidates in fundraising in January
Michael Bloomberg (D) led all presidential candidates in fundraising for January 2020, contributing $263.7 million to his campaign, according to financial reports filed Feb. 20 with the Federal Election Commission. The candidate with the second-most receipts to his campaign was Tom Steyer (D), who raised $65.3 million, of which $64.7 million was self-funded. Bernie Sanders (I) ($25.2 million) and Elizabeth Warren (D) ($11.0 million) were the only other presidential candidates to raise more than $10 million in January.
As of Jan. 31, President Donald Trump (R) had $92.6 million in cash on hand, more than any other presidential candidate. Bloomberg was second with $55.1 million, followed by Steyer with $17.9 million and Sanders with $16.8 million. No other presidential candidate had more than $10 million on hand.
Since the beginning of the presidential election cycle—Jan. 1, 2017—the top five Democratic fundraisers are Bloomberg ($464.1 million), Steyer ($271.6 million), Sanders ($134.3 million), Warren ($93.0 million), and Pete Buttigieg (D) ($83.0 million). Among Republicans, Trump has raised $217.7 million. The 11 noteworthy Democratic and Republican candidates have raised a combined $1.4 billion.
Both party’s national party committees also filed fundraising reports Feb. 20. The Republican National Committee (RNC) outraised its Democratic counterpart more than two-to-one for a ninth consecutive month in January. Republican House and Senate committees also outraised their Democratic counterparts.
- The Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $27.2 million and spent $23.2 million during the month while the Democratic National Committee (DNC) raised $10.8 million and spent $11.0 million. So far in the 2020 cycle—which began Jan. 1, 2019—the RNC has raised $268.3 million and the DNC $102.0 million.
- On the House side, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) raised $12.7 million and spent $7.5 million last month, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) raised $12.1 million and spent $7.0 million. This is the first time the NRCC has outraised the DCCC during the 2020 campaign cycle. Since Jan. 1, 2019, the DCCC has raised $137.0 million to $97.8 million by the NRCC.
- The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) raised $10.1 million and spent $4.8 million last month, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised $8.5 million and spent $7.5 million. The NRSC has raised $77.7 million to the DSCC’s $ $71.5 million.
So far this cycle, the RNC, NRSC, and NRCC have raised a combined $443.9 million. The DNC, DSCC, and DCCC have raised $310.5 million.
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Voters to decide three statewide ballot measures on Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday—March 3—won’t just feature 15 jurisdictions conducting presidential nominating contests. Five states are holding congressional, state executive, and state legislative primaries, too. Ballotpedia is also covering more than 300 ballot questions, including three statewide measures.
Californians will decide a $15-billion bond measure—Proposition 13—that would provide funds for school and college facilities. Proposition 13 would also change the formula used to distribute state bond funds to schools, the rules governing local bond measures, and school districts' abilities to assess developer fees.
Proposition 13 would authorize $15 billion in bonds, including $9 billion allocated for preschool and K-12 schools. The state would use the bond revenue to provide matching funds to school districts. Proposition 13 would require the state Department of General Services to consider several factors, such as districts’ finances, overcrowding, and earthquake risks, when determining which modernization and construction applications to prioritize.
The measure would also appropriate $6.0 billion to higher education: $2.0 billion to the California State University, $2.0 billion to the University of California and Hastings College of the Law, and $2.0 billion to community colleges. The state government would provide bond revenue for colleges' and universities' projects as part of the annual budget act. Proposition 13 would require the CSU Board of Trustees and the UC Regents to adopt five-year affordable student housing plans for campuses that seek bond funds.
The California State Legislature placed Proposition 13 on the ballot. In the state Senate, all Democrats and 6 of 11 Republicans voted for the proposal. In the state Assembly, every Democrat and 17 of 18 Republicans voted to refer the measure to the ballot. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the legislation for Proposition 13 on October 7, 2019.
While Proposition 13 is the only statewide measure before California voters on March 3, both citizen-initiated measures and legislative referrals can be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot until 131 days before the general election, which is June 26.
Voters in Maine will decide Question 1, a veto referendum that would repeal legislation related to vaccine requirements and have the effect of reinstating religious and philosophical exemptions from vaccination requirements. In 2019, the state legislature passed Legislative Document 798 (LD 798), which was designed to eliminate religious and philosophical exemptions for students to attend schools and colleges and for employees of healthcare facilities. LD 798 is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1, 2021, unless voters approve Question 1.
Besides Maine, four states—California, Mississippi, New York, and West Virginia—did not provide for non-medical exemptions from vaccination requirements for students to attend schools. West Virginia has never provided non-medical exemptions. The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that non-medical exemptions violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. California and New York repealed non-medical exemptions in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
Question 1 is the 31st veto referendum on the ballot in Maine’s history. The first veto referendum was decided in 1910. Out of the previous 30 veto referendums, voters approved 18—which repealed the targeted legislation. The last time that voters rejected a veto referendum, thus upholding the targeted legislation, was in 2005.
Voters in Alabama will decide the third statewide measure—Amendment 1—on March 3. It would rename the State Board of Education, change the board from being elected by voters to being appointed by the governor, and direct the governor to ensure that members of the commission "reflect the geographical, gender, and racial diversity of the students enrolled in public K-12 education in the state.”
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Filing deadline roundup
Thirteen statewide filing deadlines have passed so far in 2020. The most recent one was Feb. 18 in Pennsylvania and the next one is on March 2 in Nebraska.
Pennsylvania
Fifty-four candidates filed for Pennsylvania’s 18 U.S. House districts. That state's filing deadline was Feb. 18. The primary is scheduled for April 28.
All 18 incumbents filed for re-election, and three—Brian Fitzpatrick (R), Mary Gay Scanlon (D), and Michael Doyle (D)—face primary opposition. The other 15 incumbents are unopposed in their party's primary. There are 11 contested U.S. House primaries in Pennsylvania—six Democratic and five Republican.
At least one Democratic and one Republican candidate filed for each U.S. House district, meaning that no candidate is unopposed in the general election.
Nebraska
The candidate filing period for non-incumbents to run for office in Nebraska is on March 2. The filing deadline for incumbents was Feb. 18. The primary election is scheduled for May 12.
The offices up for election in Nebraska include the U.S. Senate seat held by Ben Sasse (R), all three U.S. House districts, one seat on the Nebraska Public Service Commission, four seats on the Nebraska State Board of Education, and 25 of 49 districts in the Nebraska State Senate. In addition, retention elections are being held for two Nebraska Supreme Court justices and two Nebraska Court of Appeals judges.
Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral state legislature, meaning that there is only one chamber. The Nebraska State Senate is also officially nonpartisan. However, almost all members of the legislature are affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican Party and both parties explicitly endorse candidates for legislative seats.
Click the link below to see the full list of candidate filing deadlines.
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The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns.
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