Dem
47
GOP
53
Most weekends, we have letters about local politics from readers who are on the ground in states/cities/districts that we are not. Keeping readers informed about upcoming elections is our primary task here, and these letters offer insight that we cannot possibly offer. So, we have decided that from now until the election, we will divide those letters into two groups. Those letters that speak to the general nature of state/local politics will remain on the weekends. Those letters that speak to developments in ongoing local and state races will be run during the week, under the headline "Political Bytes, Local Edition." We'll follow the usual "Bytes" format, and after sharing reader reports, will add our own, brief take. And with that said, here we go, starting with two election previews we did not get to in yesterday's item. Please try to make your letters concise and to the point.
R.G. in Washington, DC: Due to the District of Columbia's lack of voting representation in Congress, our primaries understandably did not get a rundown on Electoral-Vote.com. In case any of your readers are interested, we do have some heated primaries that will be settled today, including half of the City Council, a new U.S. House delegate for the first time in 36 years, and the biggest contest of all, namely to be the next Mayor of D.C. RCV is in use for the first time as well, despite it being passed by the voters in 2022 (the City Council dragged their feet on implementation). It is one-party rule in DC, so the Democratic primary is really for all the marbles. The Republicans are only fielding candidates for a couple of council seats and for delegate, and taking a pass on mayor.
Polling indicates that we are about to join NYC in electing a Democratic Socialist to lead our city. Of the seven people running for Mayor, the race is basically down to two. It's not exactly Bernie v. Hillary Part 463, as both are pretty lefty, but it is a Democratic Socialist in Janeese Lewis George and a lefty Democrat in Kenyan McDuffie. Both of them served together on the City Council and seem to have worked amicably, so I believe the current nastiness of the campaign is hyperbolic. They have similar platforms, with minor differences over local matters. Lewis George has the endorsements of all the major unions and McDuffie has the endorsements of a good chunk of the establishment. Where there is a slightly bigger difference is how they plan to deal with federal interference and the Trump administration. Lewis George wants to take a more adversarial approach while McDuffie wants to take a slightly more cooperative approach, although not an overly amenable one by any stretch. I personally would be happy with either of them as our next mayor and ultimately ranked Lewis George first and McDuffie second. I only ranked one other of the seven running and abstained from my fourth and fifth choices, as I was not terribly impressed with the other four candidates.
The big takeaways from this primary is that another major American city has now enacted RCV and that come Tuesday night, we very likely will have nominated a Democratic Socialist as our standard bearer. I, for one, am thrilled for my city.
Our Take: You're right this is a very interesting election. Among those who will be watching closely is Trump, who said that if Lewis George wins, the federal government might take over D.C.
A.T. in Union City, CA: Hello from ex-Swalwell country! We are well pleased to be moving on to our next chapter, with a special election primary today that may immediately determine the identity of our new Representative, or may result in an August runoff.
Alameda County has a page here that should have vote tallies starting sometime after polls close.
In the June 2nd primary, for the regular term, State Senator Aisha Wahab (D) has claimed 38% of votes counted so far; in second place, BART administrator Melissa Hernandez (D) has pulled ahead of Wendy Huang (R) on the strength of late-counted mail and drop-box ballots, so it really looks like the November ballot will be Democrat vs. Democrat. The top five candidates are all on tomorrow's ballot as well. I have no guess how many voters held on to their ballots until late enough for the June 2nd primary results to affect their votes, and thus if the top candidates might coalesce enough votes (50%) for an outright winner.
Our Take: The right-wingers are not going to be happy that California's slow enough that it's going to be counting two sets of ballots for the same seat. Too bad, Spencer!
O.E. in Greenville, SC: Greetings from the Rock Hill* and Mission Precincts in Greenville County, SC! Today went mostly well, and despite my tiredness, I'll let you know the results.
First, you may ask, why two precincts? Well, both of them were combined into one location, though I'm not sure why. (Theories included a lack of poll workers or one of the polling place—a church building—being in use for Vacation Bible School.)
For governor, one precinct was won by AG Alan Wilson (R), with Rep. Ralph Norman (R) second, while the other was won by Norman, with Wilson second. Pamela Evette finished third, despite being from the county. I'm not sure if sexism, or negative campaigning, or the other two having a higher profile left her at third. Her money helped her get a higher profile in the race, and her campaign HQ is here in Greenville. Rep. Nancy Mace (R) finished fifth, though I am unsure if it's due to the transphobic attack ads about her (which are blatant lies, as Mace is herself a Transphobe), or due to her standing against Trump. Statewide, of course, Wilson and Evette advanced to a runoff. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Jermaine Johnson won his party's nomination, beating Billy Webster, who was endorsed by Bill Clinton.
For U.S. Senate, Mark Lynch (R) narrowly beat Lindsey Graham in both precincts. Part may be due to Lynch running a more reactionary campaign, and part may be due to Lynch's family business being very locally known. It may not be the worst Lindsey Graham has done, but he has tended to be at the bottom of the list of Republican victors statewide, at least when it comes to percentages. Depending on how poorly he does, and how unpopular Republicans are nationally, physician Annie Andrews (D) may have a chance to beat him.
One important note to all voters, regardless of party, location or position: If you change your registration at your local Department of Motor Vehicles, it may not get to the Local or State Election Commission in time or at all. It happened to several voters here in South Carolina, and I know it has happened in other states.
We had over 800 total voters, and over 300 absentee and early voters. The combined precincts had 5,000 voters, so the turnout could be around 25%, which is good for a primary.
Next Tuesday, it will be time for the Republican gubernatorial runoff between Evette and Wilson, as well as in the Republican primaries for Agriculture Commissioner and Attorney General. This should be quicker and simpler, but I do think there may be more negative campaigning and attack ads. Someone sent out bigoted texts against failed gubernatorial candidate Rom Reddy (R), which were denounced by Evette and Wilson. Meanwhile, an Evette volunteer attacked a Mace volunteer at an event today, which may explain why Mace endorsed Alan Wilson.
Now, I'm eating supper and about to crash into bed. I hope this report helps inform everyone about some of what's happening in South Carolina!
Our Take: We don't know exactly what primary vote totals tell us. But before anyone puts stock in the fact that Graham Platner got just 72% of the Maine Democratic primary vote, keep in mind that Lindsey Graham got just 57%. And nobody is claiming that Graham is fatally wounded, despite the fact that HE wasn't up against a popular sitting governor.
C.L. in Boulder, CO: I wanted to provide information on Colorado's 2026 U.S. Senate election (and lack of election).
The last "poll" taken in the contest was from the 2020 election. It's labeled in your map as Hickenlooper vs unknown. We now know who the Republican is: Mark Baisley.
Note that the sole 2026 U.S. Senate election in Colorado will feature Baisley versus the winner of the Democratic primary: John Hickenlooper or Julie Gonzales. There is also at least one other candidate, Bob Chew, who is putting $2M of his own money into the race. He is running as an independent under the Forward Party label, but he doesn't have a primary. A Democratic friend told me that if Hickenlooper wins the primary, she may very well vote for Bob Chew.
There is also incorrect information on your retirements page about the other U.S. Senate seat. In fact, there will be NO open-seat election in 2026 for the seat currently held by Michael Bennet. If Bennet wins the gubernatorial primary—NOT a foregone conclusion—and resigns his U.S. Senate seat, then Gov. Jared Polis gets to name a U.S. Senator. However, Bennet has said that he will not resign his seat until he wins the general election AND is sworn in as governor; in that case, Bennet gets to choose his own successor in the U.S. Senate. At a recent debate between Bennet and Phil Weiser, Bennet said that he will choose someone who is under the age of 50. A lot of people are disgusted that Bennet didn't vacate his seat to run for governor, and won't announce who he plans to appoint.
Weiser has a tag line: Weiser for Governor, Bennet for Senate.
Our Take: Bennet and Hickenlooper are both putting to the test the philosophy that it's best to be bland and inoffensive than edgy and dangerous. Call them the anti-Platners.
M.S. in Canton, NY: The Republican primary race in NY-21 has gotten very nasty. Robert Smullen (R), the more establishment candidate, is running ads proclaiming his Trumpiness and calling Trump-endorsed candidate Anthony Constantino (R) a police-hating Democrat in disguise. Meanwhile, Constantino is running ads portraying Smullen as a crook and implying that he is a tool of the Chinese communists; he also has called Smullen a liar and a coward, and given him the nickname "SlimeBob." In response to the ads, Smullen's lawyers sent the Constantino campaign a cease-and-desist letter alleging defamation; apparently the most objectionable "defamation" was the claim that Smullen had been insufficiently enthusiastic about endorsing Trump's presidential campaigns. (I cringe to think that in all probability, one of these clowns will be my representative come January.)
View from the ground, literally: Last weekend, both Smullen and Democratic candidate Blake Gendebien (D) marched in Canton's annual Dairy Festival Parade. Gendebien brought along by far the largest piece of farm equipment in the parade (of which there were many); make of that what you will. Early voting in the primary has started.
Our Take: You know what they say that the size of a man's farm equipment tells you...
Thanks to everyone who wrote in this week. If you have a report on a local election—House, Senate, governor, state legislature, etc.—please do let us know at comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "All Politics Is Local." (Z)