Welcome to the Tuesday, May 26, Brew. We hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend. For information related to the coronavirus pandemic, we invite you to review our coverage at Ballotpedia.org or in our daily newsletters—the Coronavirus Daily Update and Documenting America's Path to Recovery. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Support Ballotpedia and double your monthly gift

2. Voters to decide Democratic nominee June 2 in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race

3. Senate confirms federal judges for first time since February

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Support Ballotpedia and double your monthly gift

Today, our semi-annual Ballotpedia Society membership drive kicks off with an important announcement; one of your fellow Ballotpedia supporters has provided us with a matching grant to double your monthly gift. 

If you are not already a member of the Ballotpedia Society, this is a great opportunity to join. Each dollar you give will work twice as hard to help us cover the ongoing coronavirus recovery efforts and our coverage of the 2020 elections—from the races at the state and local level to the congressional and presidential elections.

Let’s put our shared commitment to truth and facts to work in documenting this chapter in America’s history.

Voters to decide Democratic nominee June 2 in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race 

We’re looking forward to ‘Super Junesday’ on June 2 when 12 states and the District of Columbia will hold presidential or statewide primaries (or both!) for 1,011 offices, including 18 we've classified as battleground primaries. Battlegrounds are elections that Ballotpedia expects to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling. 

All this week we’re including previews in the Brew of some of these contests ahead of next week’s elections. Today, let’s look at the Democratic primary for the Senate seat from Iowa currently held by Sen. Joni Ernst (R).

Ernst was first elected in 2014 following the retirement of Sen. Tom Harkin (D). She defeated Bruce Braley (D) in the general election 52%-44%. The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball all characterize the general election as Leans Republican.

Four candidates—Michael Franken, Kimberly Graham, Theresa Greenfield, and Eddie Mauro—are running in the primary and two of them, Greenfield and Mauro, have led in fundraising. 

• Greenfield, a real estate developer, has raised over $7 million and had $4.7 million cash on hand as of May 13. She is backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, EMILY's List, and 21 unions including the Iowa AFL-CIO.

• Mauro owns an insurance company and has raised $4.3 million with $1 million cash on hand as of March 31. He cites his business background while campaigning and said he "built a progressive business that provides paid family leave, where 65% of leadership are women." 

• Franken is a retired vice admiral with the U.S. Navy and was endorsed by The Des Moines Register and U.S. Reps. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). 

• Graham is an advocate and attorney for children in juvenile court and has received endorsements from Brand New Congress and the Story County branch of Our Revolution.

A Public Policy poll conducted in early May showed 43% of respondents supported Greenfield, 12% backed Franken, and Graham and Mauro both received 4% each. Thirty-six percent of respondents were undecided.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Iowa opened early voting locations 40 days ahead of the primary—on April 23. In Iowa, the absentee voting period generally begins 29 days before an election. The state also sent absentee ballot applications to all active registered voters.

Senate confirms federal judges for first time since February

The U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships last week—the first such confirmations since February. The Senate has confirmed 196 of President Donald Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 51 appellate court judges, 141 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.

The Senate confirmed:

• Scott Rash to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona on a 74-20 vote.

• John Heil III to the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma on a 75-17 vote.

• Anna Manasco to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama by a vote of 71-21. 

Trump has nominated 258 individuals to federal judgeships. Of those:

• 18 are awaiting a vote in the full Senate following committee consideration; 
• two are awaiting a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee following their hearing; 
• and 41 are awaiting a Senate committee hearing.

As of May 1, Trump had appointed the second-most federal judges through May 1 of a president's fourth year since Jimmy Carter (D). The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through May 1 of their fourth year in office is 170.

Article III federal judges are appointed for life terms by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate per Article III of the United States Constitution. Article III judges include judges on the: Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. courts of appeal, U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade.

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