Welcome to the Thursday, June 4, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. More Super ‘Junesday’ results, previewing the June 9 races
2. Local roundup
3. Nationwide partisan breakdown of state legislators shows 46.9% Democrats and 52.2% Republicans

More Super ‘Junesday’ results, previewing the June 9 races

We’re continuing our coverage of ‘Junesday’ with election results from two more battleground primaries.

Montana governor (D)

Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney (D) defeated businesswoman Whitney Williams (D) to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Montana. As of 10 a.m. Mountain Time Wednesday, Cooney had received 55.7% of the vote to Williams' 44.3%. Cooney campaigned as a continuation of Gov. Steve Bullock's (D) two-term administration. As lieutenant governor, Cooney ran with Bullock on a joint ticket in 2016. Bullock faced Greg Gianforte (R) in the general election and won with 50.3% of the vote to Gianforte's 46.4%. The 2020 general election will feature Cooney versus U.S. Rep. Gianforte, who won the GOP nomination for the second cycle in a row.

Major race forecasters have rated the general election as a toss-up. The 2012 and 2016 gubernatorial elections were decided by margins of 1.6 and 3.9 percentage points, respectively.

New Mexico’s 3rd District (D)

Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez (D) defeated C.I.A. officer Valerie Plame (D), state Rep. Joseph Sanchez (D-40), and four other candidates to win the Democratic nomination for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District. As of 10 a.m. Mountain Time Wednesday, Fernandez had received 41.8% of the vote to Plame's 22.9% and Sanchez's 13.7% with 70% of precincts reporting. No other candidate received over 10% of the vote.

Fernandez received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and groups like the Working Families Party and EMILY's List. She will face the winner of the Republican primary in the general election. Race forecasters rate the open 3rd District as safe/solid Democratic. Outgoing Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-03) was first elected in 2008 and never received less than 55% of the vote in any of his re-elections.

Be sure to join staff writer David Luchs and me today—June 4—at 11 a.m. Central as we walk through the notable results and trends following the June 2 elections. We’ll give you a high-level overview and touch on the impact COVID-19 had on these races. Click here to reserve your spot!

We’re also looking forward to another big election night on June 9, where we’ll be covering an additional 1,020 races for 646 offices, including 13 battleground elections. Be sure to follow along as the results come in.

Let’s take a quick look at one of those June 9 battleground elections: the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat from Georgia.

• Seven candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Sen. David Perdue’s (R) seat. 
• Media attention has focused on three candidates: Sarah Riggs Amico, Jon Ossoff, and Teresa Tomlinson. Each argues their background makes them the best candidate.

• Amico was executive chairperson of her family's trucking company and the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018. 
• Ossoff ran in the 2017 special election for Georgia's 6th Congressional District—the most expensive House race in history—ultimately losing to Karen Handel (R) 51.8% to 48.2%. 
• Tomlinson is the former mayor of Columbus, Georgia. 

Perdue was elected in 2014 with 53% of the vote to Democrat Michelle Nunn's 45%. Race ratings outlets rate the election as likely Republican.

Learn more

       

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Local roundup

Here’s our weekly rundown of local election results.

Baltimore, Maryland mayoral election

Baltimore held a primary election for mayor June 2. Twenty-four Democrats and seven Republicans ran in the primary. Incumbent Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young (D) ran for re-election.

In the Democratic primary, early returns show Sheila Dixon (D) in the lead with 

24,278 votes, or approximately 30% of the vote. In the Republican primary, Shannon Wright had 932 votes, or about 28% of the vote. As of 2:30 p.m. Eastern, the race was too close to call.

Young, the former Baltimore City Council president, automatically took office in May 2019 after former Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) resigned amidst a federal investigation into sales of her self-published children’s book series.

Baltimore has had a Democratic mayor since 1967.

Voters across the country saw local ballot measures addressing taxes and revenue. Below are two of the measures we covered June 2.

West Ada School District, Idaho, Supplemental Property Tax Levy Renewal

A supplemental property tax levy renewal was on the ballot for West Ada School District voters in Canyon and Ada Counties, Idaho. The measure was defeated 53.7% to 46.3%. It had been approved every two years since 2012.

The measure would have authorized the district to impose a $14 million annual supplemental tax for two years with an estimated average cost of $52.60 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

Fort Wayne Community Schools, Indiana, Bond Issue for School Repairs and Renovations Measure

A bond issue was on the ballot for Fort Wayne Community Schools voters in Allen County, Indiana. It was approved 74.3% to 25.8%.

The bond issue authorizes Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) to issue bonds or enter into a lease in order to fund repairs and renovations to 37 buildings, which was estimated to cost $130 million, and authorizes FWCS to levy an additional property tax of $148.60 per $100,000 in assessed value.

Nationwide partisan breakdown of state legislators shows 46.9% Democrats and 52.2% Republicans

Ballotpedia tallies the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month - here’s our May count. Of the nation’s 7,383 state legislators, 52.2% are Republicans and 46.9% are Democrats. Democrats and Republicans each lost one seat since the April count.

Republicans have held a simple majority of state legislative seats since at least 2011, when Ballotpedia began tracking this. Republicans held the highest number of seats during that period of time in October 2017, when they had 4,162—or 56.4%—of seats. Democrats held the highest number of seats in January 2013, when they held 3,501—or 47.4%—of seats.

Republicans hold a majority in 61 chambers, and Democrats hold a majority in 37. One chamber—Alaska’s state House—has a power-sharing agreement between the two parties.

Here are a few more facts for you:

• There are 7,383 state legislative offices—1,972 state senate seats and 5,411 state representative seats. 
• Republicans hold 3,856 state legislative seats—1,083 senate seats and 2,773 house seats. 
• Democrats hold 3,459 state legislative seats—874 senate seats and 2,585 house seats. 
• Independent or third-party legislators hold 29 seats. Twenty-four seats are vacant—a decrease of ten seats from last month's 34 seats.

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