Voters decide congressional primaries in eight states
Eight states and the District of Columbia held congressional primaries. Fifty-two seats were on the ballots, including five U.S. Senate seats, 46 U.S. House seats, and one nonvoting U.S. House seat. There were 288 total candidates.
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Forty-six incumbents were on the ballot, 22 Democrats and 24 Republicans. Iowa Rep. Steve King (R) was the only incumbent defeated in the primary. Twenty-five incumbents did not face primary challengers, and six seats were open.
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Ballotpedia tracked 11 federal primaries taking place June 2 as battleground primaries; one for the U.S. Senate and 10 for the U.S. House. Here’s what happened in some of those races:
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Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Iowa: Theresa Greenfield defeated three other candidates to win the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Joni Ernst (R). Greenfield had 48% of the vote to second-place candidate Michael Franken’s 25%. Election forecasters rate the general election as leaning towards Ernst.
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Republican primary in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District: Rep. King (R), who was first elected to Congress in 2002, was unseated by state Sen. Randy Feenstra (R) 46% to 36%. King faced four primary challengers, including Feenstra. Feenstra will face J.D. Scholten (D), who ran against King in 2018, in the general election. Election forecasters say Feenstra is likely to win.
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Republican primary in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District: Yvette Herrell (R) defeated Claire Chase (R) and Chris Mathys (R) to win the Republican nomination in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. Herrell was the Republican nominee in 2018, when Xochitl Torres Small (D) won the seat by a margin of two percentage points. General election forecasters say the rematch between Herrell and Small is a toss-up.
Biden, Trump sweep presidential primaries June 2
Joe Biden and Donald Trump won their respective primaries on June 2 in Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington, D.C. As of Thursday, Biden won an estimated 406 pledged delegates in those races and Bernie Sanders won 44, with delegates in some states yet to be assigned. This brought Biden to 1,972 out of the 1,991 delegates needed to secure the nomination, according to the Associated Press. 12%
of all pledged delegates in the Democratic primaries were available to be allocated on June 2. Only Super Tuesday, held on March 3, had more delegates at stake on one day.
Five states to hold presidential, congressional primaries June 9
Georgia and West Virginia are holding Democratic and Republican presidential primaries on Tuesday, June 9. Georgia will have 105 pledged delegates available to be allocated in the Democratic primaries, and West Virginia will have 28. Delegate allocation is proportional in both states. Both Georgia and West Virginia delayed their primaries from earlier in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Congressional primary elections are taking place in Georgia, North Dakota, Nevada, South Carolina, and West Virginia on June 9, 2020. Candidates are competing to advance to the general election scheduled for November 3, 2020.
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Georgia: voters will select one candidate to serve in the U.S. Senate and 14 candidates to serve in the U.S. House from the state’s 14 congressional districts.
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North Dakota: voters will select one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state’s one at-large congressional district.
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Nevada: voters will select four candidates to serve in the U.S. House from each of the state’s four congressional districts.
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South Carolina: voters will select one candidate to serve in the U.S. Senate and seven candidates to serve in the U.S. House from each of the state’s seven congressional districts.
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West Virginia: voters will select one candidate to serve in the U.S. Senate and three candidates to serve in the U.S. House from each of the state’s three congressional districts.
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Ballotpedia has identified seven congressional battleground elections taking place June 9: one for the U.S. Senate and six for the U.S House. Those primaries include:
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Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Georgia: Seven candidates are running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). The three top fundraisers have been Sarah Riggs Amico, Jon Ossoff, and Teresa Tomlinson, who each argue their background would make them the best nominee.
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Democratic primary in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District: Six candidates are running for the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s 7th District. Incumbent Rob Woodall (R) is not running for re-election. Carolyn Bourdeaux, who was the nominee in 2018, Nabilah Islam, Zahra Karinshak, and Brenda Lopez Romero have led the field in endorsements, fundraising, and media attention.
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Republican primary in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District: Seven candidates are running for the Republican nomination to succeed Rob Woodall. Lynne Homrich, Rich McCormick, and Renee Unterman have led in endorsements, fundraising, and media attention. Homrich, who is backed by Value in Electing Women PAC, says her business experience would help her grow the economy. McCormick, a physician and former fighter pilot, says he will fight for the district and that he is endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and the House Freedom Fund. Unterman, a member of the Georgia State Senate, says she has the experience needed to get results and that she is endorsed by former Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R).
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Puerto Rico debt board appointments, issues four other opinions
On June 1, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued decisions in five cases argued during its October 2019-2020 term. The court has issued decisions in 38 cases so far this term.
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The case: Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment LLC (Consolidated with Aurelius Investment v. Puerto Rico, Official Committee of Debtors v. Aurelius Investment, United States v. Aurelius Investment, and UTIER v. Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico) concerned how the Appointments Clause in Article II of the U.S. Constitution applies to U.S. territories. The case originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit and was argued on October 15, 2019.
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The issue: Whether the Appointments Clause governs the appointment of members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico and therefore requires Senate confirmation of FOMB appointees.
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The outcome: The court ruled 9-0 that the Appointments Clause governed the appointment of members of the FOMB but that the method of appointment used did not violate its requirements.
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The case: Banister v. Davis concerned habeas petitions, or legal actions to bring prisoners before a judge to determine the legality of their imprisonment. The case originated from the 5th Circuit and was argued on December 4, 2019.
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The issue: Whether and under what circumstances a timely Rule 59(e) motion should be recharacterized as a second or successive habeas petition under Gonzalez v. Crosby, 545 U.S. 524 (2005).
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The outcome: The court reversed and remanded the judgment of the 5th Circuit in a 7-2 vote, holding that because a Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend a habeas court's judgment is not a second or successive habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. §2244(b), Banister’s appeal was timely.
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The case: Thole v. U.S. Bank concerned the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and whether the plaintiffs had standing, or the legal right to sue. The case originated from the 8th Circuit and was argued on January 13, 2020.
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The issues: (1) May an ERISA plan participant or beneficiary seek injunctive relief (i.e. file a lawsuit) against fiduciary misconduct under 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(3) without demonstrating actual or imminent financial loss? (2) May an ERISA plan participant or beneficiary seek restoration of plan losses caused by fiduciary breach under 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(2) without demonstrating such loss or risk of loss? (3) Whether petitioners have demonstrated Article III standing.
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The outcome: The court affirmed the 8th Circuit's decision in a 5-4 ruling, holding that the plaintiffs did not have the right to sue and so would still receive the same amount of monthly benefits regardless of the case's outcome.
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The case: GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC concerned the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the "New York Convention"). The case originated from the 11th Circuit and was argued on January 21, 2020.
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The issue (from SCOTUSblog): "The extent to which courts should compel arbitration when one or more of the parties to the dispute is not a party to the arbitration agreement."
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The outcome: In a unanimous ruling, the court reversed the decision of the 11th Circuit, holding the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards does not conflict with doctrines in state law that allow the enforcement of arbitration agreements by nonsignatories to those agreements.
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The case: Nasrallah v. Barr concerned judicial review of a noncitizen’s factual challenges to an order denying relief under the international Convention Against Torture. The case originated from the 11th Circuit and was argued on March 2, 2020.
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The issue: Whether, despite Section 1252(a)(2)(C) of the United States Code, it is within the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to review factual findings related to denials of withholding (and deferral) of removal relief.
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The outcome: The court reversed the 11th Circuit's judgment in a 7-2 vote, holding that U.S. Code Sections 1252(a)(2)(C) and (D) permit judicial review of a noncitizen’s factual challenges to a denial of relief order under the international Convention Against Torture.
Filing deadline passes for congressional candidates in five states
The filing deadline to run for Congress passed in Alaska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Minnesota. The filing deadline was on June 1, 2020, for Alaska, Kansas, and Wisconsin, and on June 2 for Hawaii and Minnesota.
Prospective candidates filed for the following congressional offices:
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Alaska
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U.S. Senate (1 seat)
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U.S. House (1 seat)
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Kansas
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U.S. Senate (1 seat)
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U.S. House (4 seats)
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Wisconsin
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Hawaii
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Minnesota
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U.S. Senate (1 seat)
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U.S. House (8 seats)
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Wisconsin and Minnesota’s primaries are scheduled for August 11. Alaska’s primary is scheduled for August 18; Kansas’ on August 4; and Hawaii’s on August 8. The general election in each state is scheduled for November 3.
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The next statewide filing deadline is on June 11 in Connecticut.
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Democrats hold a 233-197 majority in the House, with one Libertarian member and four vacancies. All 435 seats are up for election in 2020. A majority in the chamber requires 218 seats.
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In the Senate, there are 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents who caucus with the Democrats. In 2020, 33 seats are up for election, and a majority requires 51 seats.
U.S. Senate confirms two federal judges
The U.S. Senate confirmed two nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships. The Senate has confirmed 198 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 51 appellate court judges, 143 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
Candidate filing period for congressional seats to end in Connecticut, New Hampshire
The statewide major-party filing deadlines to run for congressional offices in Connecticut and New Hampshire are approaching. Connecticut’s deadline is on June 11, and New Hampshire’s deadline is on June 12. Connecticut’s major-party deadline was originally scheduled for June 9, but Gov. Ned Lamont (D) issued an executive order extending it by two days in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Prospective candidates in Connecticut may file for the following congressional offices:
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Prospective candidates in New Hampshire may file for the following congressional offices:
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Connecticut’s primary is scheduled for August 11, and New Hampshire’s primary is scheduled for September 8. Both states’ general elections are scheduled for November 3, 2020.
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The next and third-to-last statewide filing deadline is on June 24 in Rhode Island.
Congress is in session
Where was the president last week?
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On Monday, Trump met with Attorney General William Barr, had lunch with Vice President Mike Pence, and delivered remarks from the Rose Garden.
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On Tuesday, Trump visited the national shrine for John Paul II and signed an executive order on international religious organizations.
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On Wednesday, Trump had lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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On Thursday, Trump received his intelligence briefing and signed an executive order on expediting permitting.
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On Friday, Trump held a news conference in the Rose Garden and visited Puritan Medical Products in Bangor, Maine.
Federal Judiciary
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