Welcome to the Monday, June 8, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Candidate Connection
2. Previewing the primaries in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District
3. May federal judicial vacancy count: 8% of Article III federal judicial positions are vacant

Candidate Connection

We’re now more than halfway between the beginning of 2020 and this year’s general elections on November 3. I thought this milepost would be a great time to brief you on our candidate questionnaire: Candidate Connection.

Candidate Connection is Ballotpedia’s unique questionnaire for candidates at all office levels. The questionnaire is an opportunity for candidates to connect with voters and provide them with more information about themselves. These surveys not only contain issues questions, they are also designed to elicit insightful and thoughtful responses that reflect the qualities and character of candidates.

We launched Candidate Connection in 2018, and 1,957 candidates responded. In 2019, a total of 872 candidates responded to the survey. This number represents 40.7% of the candidates Ballotpedia reached out to in 2019—a 27.7 percentage point increase over 2018 when 13.0% of contacted candidates responded to the survey.

We have already surpassed the number of surveys received in 2018 and 2019 combined. For the 2020 cycle, 2,796 candidates have submitted their Candidate Connection responses. These answers are featured on their Ballotpedia profiles and in our new mobile app. We hear from voters all the time that they rely on these responses to make decisions at the ballot box. Encourage candidates in your area to complete the survey today!

Learn more

       

---

Previewing the primaries in Georgia's 7th Congressional District

Tomorrow—June 9—is another big election night. As I mentioned in last Thursday’s Brew, we’ll be covering 1,020 races for 646 offices, including nine battleground elections. Leading up to June 9, we’ve been previewing some of those battleground races, including West Virginia’s gubernatorial primaries and the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat from Georgia.

Today, we’re looking at both party’s primaries in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District.

In the 2018 election, incumbent Rob Woodall (R) defeated challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux (D) by a margin of 433 votes out of more than 280,000 cast, or approximately 0.2 percentage points. This was the narrowest margin of any House race nationwide that year. This year, Woodall is retiring after five terms in office, leaving the seat open.

On April 9, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) postponed Georgia's statewide and presidential primary elections from May 19 to June 9.

Democratic primary

On the Democratic side, six candidates are running, including Bourdeaux. Bourdeaux, Nabilah Islam, attorney Zahra Karinshak, and state Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero have led in endorsements and fundraising.

Bourdeaux has the support of End Citizens United and U.S. Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). Islam is backed by Our Revolution and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Karinshak's supporters include VoteVets.org and former Gov. Roy Barnes (D), while Lopez Romero's include the Latino Victory Fund and six of her state legislative colleagues.

Georgia's primaries are open, meaning that all registered voters may participate regardless of partisan affiliation. In Georgia, a candidate must win more than 50% of votes in order to win a primary outright. If no candidate wins 50%, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on August 11.

Republican primary

Seven Republicans are seeking the party's nomination to succeed Woodall. Three—businesswoman Lynne Homrich, physician Rich McCormick, and state Sen. Renee Unterman—have led in endorsements, fundraising, and media attention. Each says their background would make them the best representative for the district.

Homrich, who has the endorsement of Value in Electing Women PAC, says her experience in the private sector will help her grow the economy and create jobs. McCormick says he is a former military pilot who will fight for the district. His backers include Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and the House Freedom Fund. Unterman says her more than 20 years of legislative experience will help her win results and that she is endorsed by former Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R).

The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the general election as Toss-up.

May federal judicial vacancy count: 8% of Article III federal judicial positions are vacant

Ballotpedia’s monthly federal judicial vacancy count reported that 74 of 890 (8.3%) active Article III judicial positions are vacant. Since April 2011, the largest number of Article III judicial vacancies occurred in July 2018, when 145 such positions were vacant. The chart below shows Article III vacancies from April 2011 to the present.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Vacancies: No new judicial vacancies since the April 2020 report. Seventy-four out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report are vacant. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 80 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
• Nominations: Five new nominations since the April 2020 report.
• Confirmations: Four new confirmations since the April 2020 report.

Vacancies

Eighty of 890 active judicial positions are vacant. A majority of those vacancies exist on U.S. District Courts. Here’s a breakdown:

Article III judges

• One (0.6%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions is vacant.
• 71 (10.5%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
• Two (22.2%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.

Other federal judges

• Six (37.5%) of the 16 U.S. Court of Federal Claims positions are vacant.

A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms. Vacant Article III judicial positions must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

New nominations

President Donald Trump (R) announced five new nominations since the April 2020 report. Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has nominated 260 individuals to Article III positions.

New confirmations

Since May 2, the U.S. Senate has confirmed four of Trump’s nominees to Article III seats. As of June 2, the Senate has confirmed 197 of Trump’s judicial nominees—142 district court judges, 51 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices—since January 2017.
 

Ballotpedia depends on the support of our readers.

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.