1. Ten candidates seeking Democratic nomination for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat
2. Republican National Committee adopts 2016 party platform for 2020 election
3. Pennsylvania House Speaker Turzai resigns

Ten candidates seeking Democratic nomination for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat

Ballotpedia is tracking 415 primary, local, and runoff elections for 258 offices in seven states on June 23. This includes 15 battleground primaries, which are races we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in government or to be particularly competitive or compelling.

Today, I’m previewing the only statewide June 23 election we’ve designated as a battleground—the Democratic primary for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat. Ten candidates are seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the seat currently held by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), who is seeking re-election. 

Media attention on the Democratic field has focused on Charles Booker, Mike Broihier, and Amy McGrath. McGrath had raised $41 million as of June 3—more than any other U.S. Senate candidate in the country. McConnell has raised the second-most nationally at $33 million. Booker had raised $793,000 and Broihier, $494,000, as of June 3.

Booker and Broihier are running as progressives. Their platforms include support for a universal basic income, Medicare for All, and immediately raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. McGrath says she is progressive on some issues and conservative on others. She supports improving the Affordable Care Act and gradually increasing the minimum wage. She opposes a universal basic income.

The candidates’ endorsements have mirrored how they’ve positioned themselves. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have endorsed Booker. Former Democratic presidential candidates Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang endorsed Broihier. McGrath has been endorsed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and VoteVets.

On March 16, Governor Andy Beshear (D) and Secretary of State Michael Adams (R) postponed Kentucky's primary election from May 19 to June 23 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In April, Beshear issued an executive order suspending the state's eligibility requirements for absentee voting and directing all residents to vote by mail if they're able to do so.

Readers of our weekly Heart of the Primaries newsletter learned even more about this race in Wednesday’s issue. Click here to become a subscriber today!

Learn more

       

---

Republican National Committee adopts 2016 party platform for 2020 election

The coronavirus outbreak has caused both major parties to change the dates and conduct of their 2020 presidential nominating conventions. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for the week of August 17 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Organizers postponed the event from its original date of July 13 through 16.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) will hold its nominating convention from August 24 to 27. It was originally set to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the RNC announced June 11 that the first day of the convention would take place in Charlotte before moving to Jacksonville, Florida, for the event's final three days. The RNC stated that they moved the president’s acceptance of the nomination “[d]ue to the directive from the governor that our convention cannot go on as planned as required by our rules.”

The RNC's Executive Committee also voted June 10 to adopt the same platform the party used in 2016. This decision was part of a series of adjustments the RNC made to the itinerary and location of the nominating convention due to the coronavirus pandemic, which included canceling the meeting of the party’s Platform Committee. A political party platform is a statement of the party's principles, campaign themes, and policy goals that is designed to address current and relevant political issues. 

Politico reported on June 12 that both conservative and moderate Republicans were dissatisfied with the decision. "Social conservatives wanted new language on gender identity and late-term abortions. Social moderates said the current platform could alienate suburbanites."

In response to the criticism, RNC national press secretary Mandi Merritt said, "It would not be right for a very small group to craft a new platform without all of the delegates present." President Donald Trump (R) called for an updated platform for 2020 on June 12. He tweeted, “The Republican Party has not yet voted on a Platform. No rush. I prefer a new and updated Platform, short form, if possible.”

The RNC Platform Committee is a temporary body that meets every four years and is responsible for drafting the party platform. It is made up of 112 Republican convention delegates—one male and one female delegate from each state, territory, and Washington, D.C. Platform Committee delegates are first selected as national delegates through primary elections or state conventions and are then chosen by their fellow national delegates or state party executive committees to serve on the platform committee.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Turzai resigns

Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai (R) resigned from the legislature on June 15 to take a job in the private sector. He was first elected as a state Representative in 2001 and had announced in January that he would not run for election in 2020. Turzai had served as Speaker of the House since January 2015. He previously served as the House majority leader from 2011 to 2014.

The current partisan composition of the Pennsylvania state House is 109 Republicans, 93 Democrats, and one vacancy. House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler (R) will serve as interim House Speaker. 

The Morning Call reported that Turzai has expressed an interest in running for governor in 2022. He was a 2018 gubernatorial candidate but withdrew from the race before the filing deadline and ran for re-election to the state House of Representatives that year instead. Incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf (D) will be prevented by term limits from seeking re-election in 2022.  

The speaker of the House is the primary leader of that chamber. He or she serves as the chief spokesman for the chamber, presides over legislative sessions, and directs the legislative process. The speaker is formally elected by the full membership but is generally selected by the caucus of the majority party. Republicans have majority control of 28 state Houses and Democrats have majority control in 20.  

Turzai’s resignation creates one of 61 state legislative vacancies that have occurred so far this year in 33 states. Thirty-two of those vacancies were by legislators who were Democrats and 29 who were Republicans. Thirty-four of those 61 vacancies have been filled through either appointment or special election. Click here for a full list of state legislative vacancies so far in 2020.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is among 22 state legislative chambers Ballotpedia has identified as battleground chambers for 2020. Democrats would need to flip nine of 203 seats in order to gain control of the chamber. Republicans will maintain control of the chamber if they lose partisan control of eight seats or fewer. In the 2018 elections, 31 races were decided by a margin of 10% or smaller.

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.