Politics
Polarized politics has changed the dynamics of legislation and policymaking at the state and local level. Political parties with supermajorities are increasingly in control in many states and cities. These stories explain what that means for legislators, governors and mayors and how politicians can navigate this new political landscape.
Sen. Mike Braun is favored to win next week's primary and then coast to the governorship in the fall. Meanwhile, does it matter that Donald Trump is late in setting up his campaign's ground game?
Only 116 of the nation’s nearly 7,400 state lawmakers qualify as “working class,” according to a new survey.
Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill that will allow legislators to discuss public business in small groups, or so-called serial meetings, and lawmakers will not have to announce them publicly. The law went into effect immediately.
GOP state lawmakers have often opposed new spending and infrastructure for public transit. The reasons have as much to do with the urban-rural divide as partisan ideology.
Make Liberty Win sent mailers throughout Ohio attacking Republican incumbents and sowing confusion among voters.
Dean Plocher faces two ethics hearings this week. The speaker has sought to promote particular vendors outside the normal procurement process.
In a sweeping State of the Union address before Congress, the president spotlighted the economic comeback under his administration and offered his plans for the future.
Tuesday's election results demonstrate voter antipathy towards crime. Meanwhile, the field is set in the year's most competitive race for governor and Texas has gotten redder.
Not only are they trying to rob voters of their voice, but what they’re doing highlights the state’s broken recall process.
Everyone knows this is a charged moment for election administration. A bipartisan committee has refreshed long-established ethical standards to help officials navigate current minefields.
Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against Fisco, Denison and Castleberry school districts, alleging that they violated election law when officials suggested voting for candidates who oppose school vouchers.
A group backing a potential ballot question that would classify app-based drivers as independent contractors rather than employees has raised more than $6.8 million last year exclusively from non-resident companies.
Major tech firms have signed an accord to fight the deceptive use of AI in 2024 elections. It’s a welcome signal, if not a promise to solve the problem.
The city’s own study about Mayor London Breed’s proposal to make it more profitable to turn empty offices into new homes found that it is unlikely to drive significant savings under current market conditions.
California workers are allowed to sue employers for themselves and others if they believe they’ve been victims of wage theft under a unique state law. But a new ballot measure would replace the law if approved in November.
A total of eight African Americans are serving as the top chamber leaders in state legislatures. Meanwhile, the fallout from an Oregon Supreme Court ruling that barred some state senators from seeking re-election won't be as great as you might think.
State Rep. Jon Hansen has proposed making it easier for people who have signed a ballot initiative petition to be able to remove their signatures, which he says is “practically impossible” now.
Special elections offer some clues about the mood of the electorate. Recalls might be an even better predictor.
Bomb threats, misinformation, AI advancements and ransomware are just some of the challenges election officials will deal with this year.
Legislatures across the nation are confronting several social issues including crime, drug use, immigration and poverty. These issues will continue to hold resonance, of course, in the November elections.
The city of 28,500 has become a ground zero in the nation’s political fight over border and immigration issues after the state took over the 47-acre Shelby Park on Jan. 10 without notifying city leaders. The future of the Texas small town is unclear.
There are some delightful, lively small towns, but let the numbers do the talking: In Illinois, downstaters and their city “cousins” live in different worlds of expectations and aspirations.
So far this year in Michigan, Democrats have done practically nothing. Also, let's not call it the Texas GOP Civil War and the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that 10 Republican senators are not eligible to run this year.
Even with the lessons from 2020, election administrators find themselves in unknown territory this time around.
Since the last presidential election, 16 million Americans have reached voting age for the first time. Some experts believe millennials and Gen Z voters will bring a lot of sway to November.
The court’s unanimous decision means one-third of the Oregon’s Senate cannot run for re-election. Republicans have slammed the decision, calling the court “Democrat-stacked.”
The low-profile primary races in state House District 108 and the contest for Dallas County Republican Party chair will have wide-reaching impacts.
Legislatures and governors are not afraid of undermining — or even downright repealing — citizen initiatives that win at the ballot box.
Between 2002 and 2018, the state had one of the lowest turnover rates of any state legislature in the nation. In the past four election cycles, the average number of legislators who did not run for re-election has nearly doubled.
Last year was one of the Missouri Legislature's least productive sessions in decades. Meanwhile, the Assembly speaker in Wisconsin faces a recall attempt.
Ron DeSantis started his presidential run as a Republican rock star. As he returns to Florida, it’s not clear what he’ll do next.
