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Redistricting

NM Redistricting: Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed the new congressional map passed a few days earlier by New Mexico’s Democratic-run legislature, which we analyzed in a recent Digest.

Separately, both legislative chambers have approved new maps for their own districts, sending them to Lujan Grisham for her signature. The approval came after the state Senate had reinstated a map preferred by Native leaders; one senior Democrat had tried to replace that map with a proposal that those leaders opposed, but it was yanked in favor of the original plan.

RI Redistricting: Rhode Island’s Democratic-run legislature has released its first congressional redistricting proposal, which makes only minimal changes to the existing map in order to balance the population between the state’s two districts. Based on population trends over the previous decade, Rhode Island had appeared set to shrink down to a single at-large district, but surprising data from the census kept it at two seats.

Governors

IA-Gov: EMILY’s List has endorsed Deidre DeJear, who was the 2018 Democratic nominee for secretary of state.

IL-Gov: Multiple media outlets reported Thursday that billionaire Ken Griffin, who is the wealthiest person in Illinois and one of the wealthiest in the country, is willing to spend at least $150 million to defeat Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker if Republicans nominate his preferred slate in the June primaries. Those sources say that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is the potential gubernatorial candidate that Griffin is most focused on, though they told the Chicago Tribune‘s Rick Pearson that nothing has been finalized; they also add that Griffin so far hasn’t even met with Irvin.

A spokesperson for Irvin, whose 2017 win made him the first Black leader of the state’s second-largest city, unequivocally said back in October that there was “no way” the mayor would run against Pritzker. However, while Irvin’s team reiterated his lack of interest on Tuesday, they notably didn’t comment about Pearson’s report. When Irvin himself was asked Thursday about his plans he merely replied, “I am honored and flattered that people are considering me in that light, but right now I’m doing the work for the city of Aurora,” which is not a no.

Griffin, for his part, denied that he’s picked a candidate, though he made it clear he wanted to see Pritzker gone. However, one GOP source who spoke to Griffin’s people told the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Rachel Hinton that regarding Irvin, “They’ve been after him for awhile, and [Irvin’s] been going back and forth. But there’s no doubt that he’s the christened choice.”

Not everyone, though, is happy with Griffin’s machinations. One person identified only as a “prominent Republican” told Pearson, “These Griffin people behind the curtain, we don’t know. Is it like the Wizard of Oz?” They added, “I’m not saying they don’t have any credibility, but it’s a little bold to say to the Republican State Central Committee, ‘OK boys and girls, line up. This is what we’re going to do.”

The GOP primary already includes venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, who has his own wealthy backers; state Rep. Darren Bailey; businessman Gary Rabine; and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, and they’d each have plenty of material to attack Irvin over if he also got in. The mayor voted in the 2014, 2016, and 2020 Democratic primaries, though he did cast a ballot in the 2018 Republican contest.

Pearson also writes that Irvin “supports immigrant rights, and implementing sanctuary city-style policies with law enforcement for immigrants who lack legal status.” Irvin also proclaimed a day of honor to acknowledge Ngozi Ezike, the state director of public health who has implemented many of the measures to curb the pandemic that the GOP base utterly despises. Perhaps most notably, Irvin’s associates relay that he’s told them he’s pro-choice, though his advisor denies this.

Meanwhile, a different Republican billionaire is showing a small bit of interest in getting into the race himself. While Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts reportedly said no to running last month, a spokesman now says that “Ricketts has no current plans to run for governor,” which Crain’s Chicago Business correctly interprets as not ruling anything out. Illinois’ filing deadline isn’t until March, but serious candidates always start collecting signatures well before then in a state where petition challenges are a way of life.

NE-Gov: While the local media reported early this year that Mike Hilgers, who serves as speaker of the unicameral legislature, was considering seeking the Republican nod for governor, Hilgers said Wednesday that he would compete in the open seat attorney general race instead.

SC-Gov: Wealthy businessman John Warren once again didn’t rule out a Republican primary rematch against Gov. Henry McMaster, who defeated him 54-46 in 2018, though his “no comment” to the AP wasn’t especially informative. Warren, though, was far more open about his new bitcoin mining venture.

House

CA-36: Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia told The Desert Sun that he wasn’t ruling out a run for Congress even if the state’s new congressional map pits him against Rep. Raul Ruiz, a fellow Democrat who has announced that he’ll seek a sixth term. “Ideally, Congressman Ruiz and I could consider running for the two separate, adjoining districts we live in to strengthen, together, our region’s voice,” said Garcia, adding, “At this point, nothing has been ruled out, and I await the final maps to see where I might best serve our community.”

Ruiz, for his part, says he’d run in the seat that’s home to the city of Coachella, where Garcia once served as mayor.

CA-47: Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia on Friday became the first notable Democrat to announce a campaign to succeed retiring Rep. Alan Lowenthal in what is currently a safely blue seat. Garcia, who is originally from Peru, won his current post in a close 2014 contest that made him the first Latino, immigrant, or LGBTQ person elected to lead what the 2020 census found was America’s 42rd-largest city, and he had no trouble winning re-election four years later.

Several other Democrats may take an interest in this constituency, especially once redistricting is complete, but state Sen. Lena Gonzalez quickly made it clear she’d back Garcia rather than run herself. Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell has also been mentioned as a prospective candidate, though local political observers have also talked about him instead running to succeed Garcia in next year’s mayoral race.

MA-04: Politico reports that Jesse Mermell, who lost the 2020 Democratic primary to now-Rep. Jake Auchincloss by a slim 22-21 margin, is still considering seeking a rematch.

NJ-11: Republican state Sen. Kristin Corrado appears to have definitively ruled out the idea of running for Congress, saying, “I would never want to go there. I’m happy with where I am.”

NY-23: Chemung County Executive Chris Moss said Thursday that he would seek re-election in 2022, an announcement that takes him out of contention in the race to succeed his fellow Republican, retiring Rep. Tom Reed, in a state where redistricting is still underway.

PA-18: Nonprofit executive Stephanie Fox, who is a former member of the Brentwood Borough Council, announced Wednesday that she was joining the Democratic primary for what will almost certainly remain a safely blue Pittsburgh-based seat once redistricting is complete. Fox will compete for the nomination against state Rep. Summer Lee; attorney Steve Irwin; and law professor Jerry Dickinson, who unsuccessfully challenged retiring Rep. Mike Doyle in the 2020 primary.

SC-01: Marine veteran Tim Lewis, who currently chairs the Dorchester County Democratic Party, announced Thursday that he would take on Republican Rep. Nancy Mace in this coastal South Carolina seat. Lewis joins physician Annie Andrews in the June primary for a district whose future shape is still very uncertain.

Mayors

Milwaukee, WI Mayor: The U.S. Senate on Thursday night confirmed Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as ambassador to Luxembourg, a move that ensures there will be a 2022 special election to succeed him at home.

Barrett, who is a former Democratic congressman and three-time gubernatorial candidate, has not yet announced when he’ll officially resign from the job he’s held since 2004, but he indicated it would be before Dec. 28. As long as Barrett quits by then, the Milwaukee Common Council (the local equivalent of a city council) would be able to schedule a special nonpartisan primary for Feb. 15. The top-two vote-getters would then compete in an April 5 election for the final two years of Barrett’s term.

Common Council President Cavalier Johnson will become acting mayor once Barrett leaves, which will make him the second African American to serve as mayor of Wisconsin’s largest city; the first was Marvin Pratt, who also took over as acting mayor back in 2004 a few months before losing to Barrett. Johnson announced back in August that he’d campaign in the special election, but a few fellow Democrats also said that they’d run in the months before Barrett was officially confirmed.

The field already includes Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas, who decisively won the 2018 race that took place a year after the infamous David Clarke resigned, and Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, whom Wisconsin Public Radio called one of the Common Council’s “more outspoken liberal members.” Lucas, like Johnson, would be the first Black person elected mayor, while Dimitrijevic would be the first woman to lead the city.

The other notable declared candidate is former Alderman Bob Donovan, a conservative who lost to Barrett in a 70-30 landslide in 2016. Others can still get in, though they’d have to decide fast if the nonpartisan primary ends up getting scheduled for February. Whoever ultimately wins could be here for quite some time, as Barrett is only the fourth person to be elected to the post since 1945.





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