Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) announced for Senate & leaves open #OK01 (Tulsa), which was Trump +22 in 2024
Last 10 US House members to say they're retiring or seeking other office have all been Republicans.
Last D retirement: Julia Brownley (CA) & Steny Hoyer (MD) Jan. 8 (Delegate Norton of DC Jan. 27)
Georgia & Mississippi results after voting ends (AP): t.co/aKAMzHC1wq
Georgia Sec/State: t.co/DmumqkcVjR
In #MSSen, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) opposed in primary by physician/novelist Sarah Adlakha. Hyde-Smith was reelected 54%-44% in 2020.
3-way Democratic primary includes DA Scott Colom, whose nomination to federal bench was blocked by Hyde-Smith
In #MS02 Democratic primary, 33-year Rep. Bennie Thompson is opposed by Evan Turnage, lawyer and former counsel to Sens. Schumer & Warren. Pertis Williams is 3rd Dem on ballot.
From my BGOV Election Day newsletter:
In #GA14, 17 candidates (12 R, 3 D, 1 I, 1 libertarian) include Trump-endorsed DA Clay Fuller (R), 2024 MTG opponent Shawn Harris (D), ex-state Sen. Colton Moore (R).
If no one wins a majority, top 2 compete in April 7 runoff
It's primary day in Mississippi and special election day in Georgia's 14th District, which Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) vacated in January.
Voting ends at 7pm eastern in #GA14 and 8pm eastern in MS
Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in Luther v. Hoskins, about whether the legislature had the authority to engage in mid-decade congressional redistricting.
One of many challenges to the GOP map that dismantled Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's KC district.
Members of Congress Defeated for Renomination, 1966-present:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
For that 2014 #MSSen GOP runoff, found my spreadsheet comparing Cochran-McDaniel %s in primary & runoff, showing Cochran improved most in Black-majority counties
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Alabama, 1932: Sen. Hugo Black (D) won 49.7% in primary vs ex-Gov. Thomas E. Kilby (30.9%).
Black then won runoff, 58%-42%.
Black resigned from the Senate in 1937 after it confirmed him for FDR's Supreme Court
North Carolina, 1972: Democratic Sen. B. Everett Jordan (44%) pulled into primary runoff against Rep. Nick Galifianakis (49%), actor-comedian Zach’s uncle.
Galifianakis ousted Jordan in runoff, 56%-44%, but lost in November to Jesse Helms (R).
Arkansas 1972: 76-year-old Sen. John McClellan (45% in first primary) was pulled into a Democratic runoff with 37-year-old Rep. David Pryor (41%). McClellan won the runoff 2 weeks later, 52%-48%
Pryor would later serve as governor and senator.
Last one (AL GOP 2017) also included 3 major candidates who were a tall silvery-haired senator, a staunch conservative sometimes described as a culture warrior, and a US House member!
But a different race. Cornyn led Round 1 by 42%-41%, Strange (w/Trump endorsement) trailed 33%-39%.
Wrote about the past few times US Senators were pulled into party primary runoff elections: news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Oklahoma revised its US Senate vacancy law in 2021: t.co/ZstFC0ab8j
A couple of charts from the first issue
Members of Congress Defeated for Renomination, 1966-present
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Texas race & political performance by county:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Happy primary day in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas! My first BGOV Election Day newsletter is out. Hope you’ll consider signing up.
news.bloomberglaw.com/bgov-electio...
"We must impeach." - Rep. Al Green (D-TX) in TV ad with image of him waving cane toward Trump at March 2025 address to joint session (functionally the same as a #SOTU)
host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/...
Green vs new Rep. Christian Menefee (D) in Dem primary next Tuesday in redrawn #tx18
Some personal news: I'm rejoining @bgov.com as their senior budget reporter!
If you're working on spending and revenue issues on Capitol Hill — as a lawmaker, aide, or lobbyist — I want to hear from you! Let's grab coffee.
Two future presidents participated in the 1968 Republican response to LBJ's #SOTU:
Gerald Ford, then the House Minority Leader, and George HW Bush, then a first-term House member from Texas t.co/CR5K2muSA2 (excerpted from NYT, 1/24/68)
Any history of #SOTU opposition responses must mention the 1985 Democratic production hosted by then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
Genesis music! ("Turn It On Again") t.co/RITJH3c2NE
Democratic politicians participated in focus group panels after Reagan landslide
Escobar, who spoke with me last week, delivered a Spanish-language response to Trump’s 2020 #SOTU from a health clinic in El Paso
“I think it’s very, very important for my party — not just as a response to the State of the Union address, but in response to what is happening in America right now at the hands of a Republican trifecta — to offer an alternative vision to America." -Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas)
List of opposition responses to the #SOTU per Senate Historical Office: t.co/Im21EwLKgT
The 1st official televised rebuttal to a president's State of the Union came in 1966, when Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford responded five days after LBJ's #SOTU: t.co/Tas49lzpKJ
Of the 51 sitting US House members who aren't running for re-election, 27 (19R/8D) are seeking other political office.
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
#NJ11 (D): Analilia Mejia leads Tom Malinowski by 889 votes after she netted 21 votes from an update in Essex County.
The Fairshake super PAC network, with >$190 million cash from crypto industry, reported its first 2026 independent expenditures this weekend: its GOP arm aiding House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.), who leads committee of jurisdiction. Arkansas primary March 3.
“A lot of members don’t really care that much about crypto, but they would rather not be on the industry’s enemies list."
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go... #Crypto
