Welcome to this morning’s Decision Desk HQ Morning News Spotlight on Elections Daily as part of the Decision Desk HQ News Network.
Morning Headlines
- A Federal Court intervened to solve Ohio’s 2022 redistricting deadlock, ordering the state to implement gerrymandered State Legislature maps that were ruled unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court. The Federal Court left the possibility open that state legislative elections from 2024-2030 could occur under different maps. The implemented maps not only will make both State Legislative chambers safe for Republicans in 2022, but also create strong hopes for supermajorities in both chambers. Both chambers could potentially be semi-competitive later in the decade in a more favorable political environment for Democrats if different maps are installed.
- Now that front-runners James Craig and Perry Johnson were removed from the 2022 Michigan GOP Governor Primary Ballot for submitting forged signatures, nearly half of GOP voters are now undecided about who they will support to take on Democratic Incumbent Gretchen Whitmer. Candidate Ryan Kelley shockingly led the poll with the support of 19% of voters, leading establishment pick Tudor Dixon by 10%. Kelley notably was at the US Capitol on January 6th, leading some to worry about his potential electoral strength in a general election against Whitmer.
- Democratic voters in NY-10 remain largely undecided in what could now be the most high-profile Democratic House Primary in the nation. None of the three front-runners even surpassed 7% of the vote in the new poll, which declared that 77% of voters were currently undecided. With US Congressman Mondaire Jones, NY Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio in a three-way battle, no candidate is likely to win a majority of the vote on June 28th.
- New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez’s son, Robert Jr., appears set to become Democrat’s new congressional nominee in the Safe Dem NJ-08 on June 7th. Robert Jr. is backed by Menendez Sr., New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and retiring NJ-08 Congressman Albio Sires. Senator Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2015. The charges were later dropped, but not before the US Senate Select Committee on Ethics severely admonished Menendez, who stepped down as a ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez is a noted electoral underperformer, but his family name is unlikely to disappear from New Jersey politics anytime soon.
Upcoming Elections
| Tues June 7 | California Primary |
| CA US Senate Special Primary | |
| CA US House 22 Special General | |
| CA State Assembly 62 Special General | |
| CA State Assembly 80 Special General | |
| Iowa Primary | |
| Mississippi Primary | |
| Montana Primary | |
| MT State Senate 15 Special Dem Primary | |
| MT State Senate 15 Special GOP Primary | |
| New Jersey Primary | |
| New Mexico Primary | |
| South Dakota Primary | |
| SD Constitutional Amendment C | |
| Los Angeles, CA Mayoral Primary | |
| San Jose, CA Mayoral Primary | |
| Long Beach, CA Mayoral primary | |
| Chula Vista, CA Mayoral primary | |
| San Francisco DA Recall election | |
| Sat June 11 | AK US House at-large Special top-four Primary |
| Tues June 14 | Maine Primary |
| ME State Senate 7 Special General | |
| Nevada Primary | |
| North Dakota Primary | |
| South Carolina Primary | |
| TX US House 34 Special General | |
| Henderson, NV Mayoral primary | |
| Reno, NV Mayoral primary | |
| North Las Vegas, NV Mayoral primary | |
| Tues June 21 | Virginia Primary |
| Washington, DC Mayoral Primary | |
| Alabama runoff | |
| Arkansas runoff | |
| Georgia runoff |