Welcome to the Wed. Dec. 2, Brew.

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

1. Republicans gain at least two U.S. House seats in rematches of 2018 elections
2. Democrats gain veto-proof state legislative majorities in Delaware, New York
3. Three states add new state supreme court justices

Republicans gain at least two U.S. House seats in rematches of 2018 elections

Ballotpedia tracked 10,238 elections at the federal, state, and local level. Of those races, 402 were rematches between candidates who ran in 2018. These 402 rematches represented 4.2% of all general election races we covered this year. 

These 402 rematch elections included:

• 56 races for U.S. House districts
• One state executive race—for a seat on the North Dakota Public Service Commission
• 342 contests for state legislative seats
• Three elections for local offices that intersect with the 100 largest cities in the U.S.

Of the 53 U.S. House rematches where a winner had been determined as of Nov. 30, Republicans won 29 districts to Democrats 24. In 2018, Democrats won 29 of these districts to Republicans' 27. Three races are still undecided. 

Republican candidates defeated Democratic incumbents in rematch elections in California’s 39th and Florida’s 27th districts. Ten rematch races were decided by a margin of 10 percentage points or fewer this year, compared to 19 in 2018.

Among all rematch elections, Republicans won 229, Democrats 146, and third-party and nonpartisan candidates won two. In the 2018 elections in these districts, Republicans won 222 races, Democrats won 175, and third-party or nonpartisan candidates won two. As of Nov. 30, the result of 26 of these races was undecided. Twenty Republican and four Democratic challengers defeated incumbents in state legislative rematch elections. 

Twenty-two percent of this year's rematches were decided by a margin of 10 percentage points or fewer. In 2018, 32% of the same races were decided by 10 percentage points or fewer.

>   KEEP READING

Democrats gain veto-proof state legislative majorities in Delaware, New York 

Heading into the Nov. 3 elections, there were 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof majority in both chambers. Republicans held 16 such majorities, and Democrats held six. These 22 states included four states where the governor was a member of a different political party than the veto-proof majority—Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Maryland. The status of these four states did not change this year. Republicans retained their veto-proof majority in the Kansas and Kentucky legislatures, and Democrats retained a veto-proof majority in the Massachusetts legislature. Maryland did not hold state legislative elections in 2020.

While final results are not yet complete for all state legislative races, Ballotpedia has determined that the veto-proof majority status changed in four states as a result of the Nov. 3 elections. Democrats gained a veto-proof majority in three legislative chambers and lost it in one chamber.

These four states were:

• Connecticut—Democrats gained a veto-proof majority in the state Senate.
• Delaware—Democrats maintained a veto-proof majority in the state House and gained a veto-proof majority in the state Senate.
• Nevada—Democrats lost a veto-proof majority in the state Assembly. 
• New York—Democrats maintained a veto-proof majority in the state Assembly and gained a veto-proof majority in the state Senate.

With Democrats gaining a veto-proof majority in both state legislative chambers in Delaware and New York, there are now 24 states where one party has such a majority in the legislature—16 Republican and eight Democratic. 

The power to override a governor’s veto can sometimes play a role in policy disputes between state legislatures and governors.

>   KEEP READING

Three states add new state supreme court justices

Each state—plus the District of Columbia—has at least one supreme court. These courts do not hear trials of cases but rather appeals of the decisions made in lower trial or appellate courts. There are 344 state supreme court justices, and the number on each court varies between five and nine from state to state.

While 38 states hold elections to select their supreme court justices, governors can fill interim vacancies. In the last several weeks, justices were appointed or confirmed to new positions in three states: 

Colorado

Gov. Jared Polis (D) appointed Maria Berkenkotter to the Colorado Supreme Court on Nov. 20. Berkenkotter will succeed Chief Justice Nathan Coats, who is retiring in January 2021, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 72. Berkenkotter is Polis’s first nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Democratic governors have appointed six judges, and Republican governors have appointed one. 

Hawaii

The Hawaii state Senate confirmed Todd Eddins on Nov. 19 to succeed Justice Richard W. Pollack on that state’s supreme court. Pollack retired on June 30 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Gov. David Ige (D) appointed Eddins on Oct. 23. He is Ige's first nominee to the five-member supreme court. Democratic governors have appointed four judges, and Republican governors have appointed one.

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Governor's Council confirmed Justice Kimberly Budd as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Nov. 18. Budd succeeds former Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, who died on Sep. 14. Budd may serve as the court’s chief justice until she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70. Gov. Charlie Baker (R) appointed Budd to be chief justice on Oct. 28 and appointed Serge Georges Jr. to fill Gants’ seat. Baker has appointed five judges on the court, and Democratic governors have appointed two. 

This year, Ballotpedia has tracked 22 supreme court vacancies in 16 of the 29 states where replacement justices are appointed instead of elected. Thirteen vacancies are in states where a Democratic governor appoints the replacement. Eight are in states where a Republican governor appoints the replacement. One vacancy is in a state where the state supreme court appoints the replacement.