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
- Ontario, Canada residents head to the polls today in order to cast their ballots to choose their next provincial governor. The Progressive Conservative party, a center-right party, are extremely likely to either win a majority or a strong plurality in the elections. The main competition of the night is between Liberals and the New Democratic Party, a more left-wing alternative to traditional Liberals. Both parties have polled over 10% below the PCs but within 2% of each other. Polls close at 9pm ET.
- The first Oregon Governor poll has been released after the state’s May 17th Primary, and the results are not encouraging for Democrats. Republican Christine Drazan holds a small lead over Democratic nominee Tina Kotek, 29%-27%. Independent Betsy Johnson polled at 19%, highlighting the skepticism some Democrats have about the progressive Kotek. Johnson served as a Democrat in the Oregon State Legislature for 20 years in the Northwestern part of the state. She was a centrist Democrat, most notably voting against several pieces of gun control legislation supported by the vast majority of her caucus. Sitting Democratic Governor Kate Brown boasts a 54% disapproval rating, awarding her the title of the most unpopular Governor in America according to Morning Consult.
- President Joe Biden awarded $5.8B of Student Loan Debt relief to over 500,000 students who formerly attended Corinthian Colleges. Corinthian has faced many allegations of defrauding students out of federally backed loans, and when Kamala Harris was Attorney General of California she achieved a $1.2B judgment against the institution. Biden promised during his 2020 Presidential Campaign he would aim to forgive $10,000 per borrower, although progressive activists called for up to $50,000.
- As many incumbent Democratic Senators prepare for an intense re-election fight in what looks to be a favorable political environment for Republicans, they have taken different approaches to new pushes for gun control legislation in reaction to the recent Uvalde school shooting. Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) have signed on to Dianne Feinstein’s “Assault Rifle Ban,” but Mark Kelley (D-AZ) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) have not yet joined them. The bill is extremely unlikely to gain enough votes to pass the chamber, even with support from Kelly and Cortez-Masto.
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 |
