Welcome to the State and Local Tap

December 12, 2020

Welcome to the weekend! We've compiled the noteworthy happenings in state and local politics below. To read the full version, follow the link as always.

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Recount continues in North Carolina Supreme Court race, Alaska state House Republican announces support for bipartisan coalition

Here are the latest election results updates since our last edition on Dec. 5:

The hand recount of North Carolina’s state Supreme Court chief justice election continued this week and is scheduled for completion Dec. 14. Challenger Paul Martin Newby (R) led incumbent Cheri Beasley (D) by a margin of 401 votes out of more than 5 million cast in the general election. A machine recount completed Dec. 2 found Newby ahead and was followed by a hand recount in randomly-selected precincts.
- Two other seats on the court were up this year, one held by a Democrat and one by a Republican. Republicans won both seats.
Alaska state Rep. Louise Stutes (R) announced on Dec. 8 she would leave the House Republican caucus and join the bipartisan coalition currently in the House majority, leaving Republicans and the coalition with 20 votes apiece heading into the new legislative session.
- In the November 3 election, Republicans won 21 of the chamber’s 40 seats, with Democrats winning 15 and independents four.
- The chamber’s current majority is a bipartisan coalition made up of 15 Democrats, four Republicans, and two independents.
- Stutes’ announcement leaves control of the chamber undetermined. Either coalition would need to gain one member to win an outright majority.

New Hampshire Speaker of the House dies from complications caused by COVID-19; other state, local officeholders test positive

New Hampshire State House Speaker Dick Hinch (R) died on Dec. 9 from complications caused by COVID-19. Rep. Hinch, who assumed office in 2008, was sworn in as speaker on Dec. 2.
- Hinch is the sixth state-level officeholder to die from complications caused by COVID-19.
On Dec. 7, New York state Sen. George Borrello (R) announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.
On Dec. 7, Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria announced she had tested positive for COVID-19.
On Dec. 7, Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Reese (R) announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.
On Dec. 6, Anchorage Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson announced she had tested positive for COVID-19.
On Dec. 6, Tennessee state Rep. David Byrd (R) was hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19.

Kansas governor announces she will appoint lieutenant governor to become state treasurer

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) announced her intention on Dec. 10 to appoint Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers (D) to the position of state treasurer to fill the vacancy created by the election of Jacob LaTurner (R) to the U.S. House. Rogers will be sworn in on Jan. 2, 2021, and will serve until the position is up for election in 2022.
Rogers was elected as lieutenant governor on Nov. 6, 2018. He also served in the Kansas State Senate from 2017 to 2019, representing District 25.
Jacob LaTurner, the current state treasurer, was first appointed to the position by former Gov. Sam Brownback (R) in Apr. 2017. LaTurner will represent Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House when he is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2021.

Incumbent faces predecessor in mayoral runoff election in El Paso, Texas

Incumbent Donald Margo and Oscar Leeser are meeting in the city's mayoral runoff election on Dec. 12. Leeser received 42.5%, and Margo received 24.7% of the vote in the general election on Nov. 3. Margo was first elected mayor in 2017. Leeser was the mayor of El Paso from 2013 to 2017 and did not run for re-election in 2017.
Although El Paso municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, Margo was previously a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives. Leeser was identified as a Democrat by KVIA-TV.

Georgia governor appoints LaGrua to state supreme court

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) appointed Shawn LaGrua to the Georgia Supreme Court to succeed Justice Keith Blackwell, who retired on Nov. 18. LaGrua is Kemp’s second nominee to the nine-member supreme court.
Under Georgia law, state supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections. Justices serve six-year terms. Vacancies on the court are filled through the assisted appointment method. The governor chooses an appointee from a list of candidates submitted by the judicial nominating commission.
Before her appointment to the state supreme court, LaGrua was a judge for the Atlanta Judicial Circuit of Georgia’s 5th Superior Court District, which she joined in 2010. Before that, she was the inspector general for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.

Wyoming becomes 38th state to require face-coverings due to pandemic

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) issued an executive order, effective Dec. 9, requiring face coverings in all businesses open to the public, on public transportation, at medical facilities (like hospitals, doctors’ offices, and veterinary clinics), and in non-federal government buildings. The order is scheduled to expire on Jan. 8.
Thirty-eight states have effective statewide orders requiring individuals to wear masks in indoor or outdoor public spaces. All 24 states with a Democratic governor have statewide mask orders, while 14 out of 26 Republican states require face coverings. Mississippi is the only state that has allowed a statewide face-covering requirement to expire.

Ward resigns from Alabama state Senate

Alabama State Sen. Cam Ward (R) resigned on Dec. 7 to become the director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Ward was appointed to his new position by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Nov. 17.
“It’s got to be the hardest job in state government,” Ward said in a phone interview. “They have a lot of issues going on. My number one issue is criminal justice reform.”
Ward’s successor in state Senate District 14 will be determined by a special election, which Ivey has set for July 13, 2021.

Louisiana voters decide local races

Louisiana voters decided local races in their second round of elections on Saturday, Dec. 5. Some notable races are found below.
- Orleans Parish District Attorney: Jason Williams (D) defeated Keva Landrum (D) in the general election for the Orleans Parish District Attorney. Williams received 57.8 percent of the vote, while Landrum received 42.2 percent. Williams is an at-large member of the New Orleans City Council, a seat he won in 2014. Williams served as a judge at the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court until July 2020, when she resigned to enter the district attorney race. Incumbent Leon Cannizzaro (D), who was first elected in 2008, did not seek re-election, leaving the office open for the first time in 12 years.
- Louisiana Public Service Commission District 1: Incumbent Eric Skrmetta (R) defeated Allen Borne Jr. (D), 62% to 38%, to win another term on the state's public service commission. Skrmetta had received 31% of the vote to lead the seven-candidate field in the primary on Nov. 3. The five-member commission regulates all common carriers and public utilities. It is currently made up of three Republicans and two Democrats.
- Baton Rouge Mayor: Incumbent Sharon Weston Broome (D) defeated Steve Carter (R) in the general election for Mayor of Baton Rouge. Broome received 56.5 percent of the vote, while Carter received 43.5 percent. Broome assumed office on January 2, 2017.

Voters to decide Corpus Christi, Texas, mayoral runoff

Joe McComb and Paulette Guajardo are facing off in Corpus Christi's mayoral runoff election on Dec. 15. McComb and Guajardo received 33.0% and 32.2% in the nine-candidate general election on Nov. 3. McComb was first elected mayor in 2016, and Guajardo is an at-large member of the Corpus Christi City Council.
Although mayoral elections in Corpus Christi are officially nonpartisan, McComb has been identified by the Nueces County Republican Party as a member of the Republican Party.

States in Session

Five states—Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio—are in regular session.

Ballot Measures update

A total of 129 statewide ballot measures were certified for 2020 ballots in 34 states for elections on seven different dates. Ninety-three (93) of the measures were approved, and 36 were defeated.
Forty-three of the certified measures were citizen-initiated measures. Eighty-one were legislative referrals. One was an automatic constitutional revision commission question. Four were advisory measures in Washington.
Click here to see all ballot measure election results, including highlighted measures.
On Dec. 5, Louisiana voters rejected a constitutional amendment 76.5% to 23.5% that would have allowed the governor to appoint at-large members to the boards of supervisors for the public university systems from out-of-state if there are multiple at-large seats and at least one at-large seat is filled by a member that resides within the state.
One statewide measure has been certified for the 2022 ballot.

Special elections update

Fifty-nine state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 27 states so far this year, with 58 elections having taken place already. Heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 21 of the seats, while Republicans previously controlled 37. One seat flipped from Democratic control to Republican control, and seven seats flipped from Republican control to Democratic control.

Upcoming special elections include:

December 15
- Alabama State Senate District 26 (primary runoff)
December 19
- Texas State Senate District 30 (runoff)

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