Welcome to the Tuesday, Nov. 19, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Republicans gain one state government triplex in 2019 elections
2. Democrats to hold 5th presidential debate in Atlanta tomorrow
3. Two-thirds of Brew readers who responded to our survey say they have donated to a candidate’s political campaign

Republicans gain one state government triplex in 2019 elections

Three states—Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi—held elections for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general in 2019. When one party holds those three positions in a state's government, we describe that party as having a state government triplex. 

Heading into 2019, 18 states had a Republican triplex, 17 states had a Democratic triplex, and 15 states were under divided control. One state—Mississippi—went from divided control to a Republican triplex as a result of the 2019 elections. Once the newly-elected officials are sworn in, the new count will be 19 Republican triplexes, 17 Democratic triplexes, and 14 divided states.

Mississippi became a Republican triplex as a result of the 2019 elections. Tate Reeves (R) defeated Jim Hood (D) to become the state’s governor. Lynn Fitch (R) was elected attorney general and Michael Watson (R) was elected secretary of state. Mississippi was most recently a triplex in 2004 when Democrats held all three positions.

Both Kentucky and Louisiana remained divided triplexes. In both states, Republicans won the elections for attorney general and secretary of state, while a Democrat won the gubernatorial contest. 

Kentucky was most recently a triplex in 2015 when Democrats held all three positions. On Nov. 5, Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) defeated Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in the gubernatorial election, Daniel Cameron (R) was elected attorney general and Michael Adams (R) was elected secretary of state. 

Louisiana was most recently a triplex in 2015 when Republicans held all three positions. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) won a second term, defeating Eddie Rispone (R) in the Nov. 16 general election. In the secretary of state election, incumbent Kyle Ardoin (R) defeated Gwen Collins-Greenup (D). State Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) won re-election in the primary Oct. 12. 

Thirteen states—Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia—will hold elections in 2020 for at least one office which could result in a change in triplex status. These states are 4 Republican triplexes, 3 Democratic triplexes, and 6 divided states.

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Democrats to hold 5th presidential debate in Atlanta tomorrow 

The Louisiana general election held Saturday—Nov. 16—was the final statewide contest this year. This week, the 2020 presidential race will take center stage.

Ten candidates will participate in the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate on Nov. 20: 

• Joe Biden

• Cory Booker

• Pete Buttigieg

• Tulsi Gabbard

• Kamala Harris

• Amy Klobuchar

• Bernie Sanders

• Tom Steyer

• Elizabeth Warren

• Andrew Yang

All 10 candidates participated in the Oct. 15 debate. Wednesday’s debate will take place at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. MSNBC and The Washington Post are hosting the event with Andrea Mitchell, Rachel Maddow, Kristen Welker, and Ashley Parker moderating.

Each candidate had to receive 3% support or more in at least four national or early state polls or 5% support or more in at least two single state polls to meet the debate’s polling threshold. The four early states are Iowa (Feb. 3), New Hampshire (Feb. 11), Nevada (Feb. 22), and South Carolina (Feb. 29). Candidates also had to meet a fundraising threshold with 165,000 unique donors and a minimum of 600 donors in at least 20 states.

Julián Castro—who was in the Oct. 15 debate—failed to meet the polling threshold for this debate. The other October debate participant—Beto O'Rourke—dropped out of the race on Nov. 1.

So far, six candidates have already met increased polling and fundraising thresholds for the sixth Democratic debate on Dec. 19—Biden, Buttigieg, Harris, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren. Candidates have until Dec. 12 to qualify.

Two-thirds of Brew readers who responded to our survey say they have donated to a candidate’s political campaign

Our What’s the Tea? questions have been part of a series asking Brew readers whether they’ve ever participated or done certain things related to government, politics, and policy. This includes attending or speaking at government meetings, voting in special elections, or serving on a jury. 

Last week’s question asked whether our readers had donated to a political campaign. We received many responses, so thanks very much for participating!

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