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Healthcare consultant and former congressional aide Janelle Perez (D) has withdrawn from her announced challenge to freshman Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Miami) and instead will run for the state Senate. Among the potential Democratic post-redistricting candidates are defeated one-term House members Donna Shalala, who was also the former Health & Human Services Secretary and ex-University of Miami president, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell who represented the adjacent 26th District until losing to current Rep. Carlos Gimenez (D-Miami).
As the California recall vote draws to a close, conservative political commentator Larry Elder, who easily placed first in the now moot gubernatorial replacement election, confirmed in a media interview that he will “likely” run in the regular 2022 election. Though he would be a considerable underdog in this most Democratic of states, Mr. Elder now has proven fundraising ability - approximately $18 million for the recall race - and attracted approximately 3 million votes. No other Republican has such prominent political credentials.
Former US Senator, Representative, and Secretary of State Dean Heller (R) is scheduled to announce his gubernatorial bid early next week. He will join Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee as major Republican candidates. The winner challenges first-term Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) in what promises to be a competitive general election race.
Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner announced he will challenge Gov. Dan McKee in next year’s Democratic primary. Already in the race is Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (D). On the other end of the spectrum, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza (D), saying he cannot fulfill his current duties and simultaneously campaign statewide, announced that he will not enter the gubernatorial primary.
Mr. McKee ascended to the Governorship from his elected Lt. Governor position when incumbent Gina Raimondo (D) resigned to become US Commerce Secretary. The Rhode Island primary is scheduled for September 13, 2022. Winning the Ocean State Democratic primary is tantamount to clinching the general election. Though the Boston City Clerk’s office was slow in counting the election day mayoral ballots, we now have final totals. As expected, City Councilor at-large Michelle Wu (D) captured first place with 34% of the vote. City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George (D) held onto second place with 22%, edging Councilor Andrea Campbell (D) and Acting Mayor Kim Janey (D). The latter pair garnered 20 and 19%, respectively. Polling was correct here in predicting a Wu first place finish with a bunched trio vying for second position. The general election runoff, scheduled for November 2nd, will now officially feature Councilors Wu and Essaibi George.
Freshman New Mexico State Senator Siah Correa Hemphill (D-Silver City) confirmed this week that she is considering challenging freshman Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-Alamogordo) in a re-drawn 2nd District. Rumors are flying that the state Democratic leadership will try to push the redistricting envelope and draw three Democratic congressional seats. Whether the ploy will work may be another question, but it appears Sen. Hemphill, who won her election by only 386 votes, is waiting in the wings to see what unfolds. The current New Mexico delegation stands at 2D-1R, but a shift of only 22,528 people statewide is necessary to bring the current districts into balance.
New Hampshire state Representative and retired Naval officer Jeffrey Greeson (R-Wentworth) filed a congressional committee with the Federal Elections Commission to explore his chances of unseating Rep. Annie Kuster (D-Hopkinton/Concord). Since the Republicans are apparently going to make the 1st District much more Republican in redistricting, by default District 2 would become much more Democratic. Therefore, Mr. Greeson and other 2nd District Republican hopefuls may be drawn out of a chance to run a competitive campaign in the state’s western district.
St. Rep. Chuck Gray (R-Casper), who through self-funding had more money than any of the Liz Cheney Republican primary challengers at the June 30th candidate finance reporting deadline, has ended his campaign. Former President Donald Trump endorsing Harriet Hageman (R) led to his decision. Including Ms. Hageman, six GOP challengers remain.
Candidate filing does not end until June 1, 2022, so much time remains for the anti-Cheney forces to whittle the field into a one-on-one match between Rep. Cheney and Ms. Hageman. The prevailing wisdom suggests that Rep. Cheney can survive in a crowded race, but would be a severe underdog if those opposing the Congresswoman unite behind one candidate. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) easily survived his recall election, at this point in the counting posting 64% of the vote. To keep Newsom in office, the people had to choose the NO option on the recall question. Though the replacement election is now moot, conservative commentator Larry Elder (R) easily placed first with just under 47% of the vote in a field of 46 candidates. The next closest finisher, Los Angeles realtor Kevin Paffrath (D), posted only 10%. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) finished third with 9%, and 2018 gubernatorial election finalist John Cox (R) dropped all the way to 4.4%.
Counting will continue for the next several weeks as the California mail process requires a long period of signature verification. Ballots, postmarked on election day, can be received over a long post-election period. The morning after the Boston mayoral primary election, not even half the precincts are reporting, but, as expected, at-large City Councilor Michelle Wu (D) has opened a large lead with 36% of the vote. After showing just over 30% earlier in the process, City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George (D) maintains second place but with 21% as the halfway point in counting approaches. Trailing are City Councilor Andrea Campbell (19%) and Acting Mayor Kim Janey (17%). Ms. Janey will continue to serve in office until a new Mayor is chosen in the November 2nd election. It is likely that Councilors Wu and George will be the finalists.
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