by Joey Derrico

The special election in Montana to replace the congressional seat of newly appointed Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke turned out to be much closer than expected. Montana was a state President Trump won by 20 percentage points and, furthermore, no Democrat had held the at-large congressional seat in two decades. The Republican candidate was Greg Gianforte, a billionaire who made his earnings by selling his company RightNow Technologies to Oracle in 2012 for $1.8 billion. The Democratic candidate was Rob Quist, a small business owner and folk singer with significant name recognition in Montana.

On the eve of election night, a reporter for the Guardian was pressing Gianforte for a comment on the newly released CBO (Congressional Budget Office) score for the Republican-led American Healthcare Act. Gianforte, in his own campaign office at the time, quickly became agitated with the Guardian reporter, saying, “I’m sick and tired of you guys [reporters]!” When the Guardian reporter, Ben Jacobs,  persisted with his question, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck and slammed him to the ground, breaking Jacob’s glasses through the force of impact. Jacobs notified police of the incident and turned over his audio tapes to support his account. Local authorities charged Gianforte with a misdemeanor assault, who has until June 7 to appear in court.

Nevertheless, Gianforte won the special election with fifty percent of the vote compared to Quist’s forty-three percent. Many experts believe this outcome is due to Montana’s high rate of early and absentee voting. In fact, pollsters had estimated that seven out of ten likely voters had voted before election day. During his victory speech, Gianforte directly apologized to Jacobs, saying, “I should not have responded the way I did, for that I’m sorry. I should not have treated that reporter that way, and for that, I’m sorry, Mr. Ben Jacobs.”

by Joey Derrico

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley announced on Monday, May 8, that she will run for the Democratic party nomination for governor in 2018.

Whaley, a forty-one-year-old Democrat from Indiana, has been connected to Ohio politics since she was an undergraduate. While at the University of Dayton for undergraduate studies, Whaley headed the UD College Democrats and eventually climbed the ladder to become state chair of the College Democrats of Ohio. Whaley then received a Master’s degree from Wright State University; she later went on to work as an assistant to the Montgomery County Auditor. Subsequently, during the 2004 election cycle, Whaley became the Montgomery County press secretary for John Kerry’s presidential campaign. At age 29, Whaley made history when she became the youngest female to ever be elected to the Dayton City Commission. She served two terms on the city commission before being elected mayor in 2013. Whaley also made history when it was announced she will run unopposed during November’s election, a feat never accomplished before.

As mayor of Dayton, Whaley has spearheaded multiple initiatives. Dayton has become more bike-friendly and the number of local manufacturers has increased. Downtown Dayton has seen a rise in residential and commercial development, drawing in revenue for the city. Whaley also swiftly declared a state of emergency in response to Ohio’s opiate crisis.

The field of contenders for governor in 2018 grows even larger with Whaley’s announcement. On the Republican side, Ohio Secretary of State John Husted, Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and US Rep. Jim Renacci have all announced bids for the governor’s office. On the Democratic side, Whaley joins former US Rep. Betty Sutton, former State Rep. Connie Pillich, and State Senator Joe Schiavoni. Many experts believe Ohio is trending toward a Republican candidate. Current Governor John Kasich won his reelection bid in 2014 by thirty points and President Trump won Ohio by an eight-point margin.

The primaries for the governor’s race, where each major party pick their nominee, will take place on May 8, 2018 while the general election to decide the next Ohio governor will take place on November 6, 2018.

by Joey Derrico

New-found jobs in the Trump administration have led to vacant seats in the House of Representatives and other legislative bodies, and Republicans and Democrats alike want to capitalize on the opportunity, creating special elections in Kansas and Georgia. 

One special election in Kansas replaces the newly appointed CIA Director and former Congressman Mike Pompeo. Pompeo was a Republican who served the fourth congressional district of Kansas. During the general election in November, Trump won the district by 27 points, a huge margin in polling terms. The race between Republican nominee Ron Estes and Democratic nominee James Thompson was expected to be a Republican blowout, but the contest turned out to be much closer than expected. Political experts contribute this competitiveness to the early struggles of the Trump administration. Estes won the special election by a mere 7 percentage points. The Republican party also had to send surrogate Ted Cruz to the district on behalf of Estes. President Trump and Vice President Pence recorded robo-calls as well.

Another special election obtaining significant attention is taking place in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, a predominantly Republican district. Thirty-year-old John Ossoff, a Democrat, is taking on a fleet of Republican candidates in the first round of voting. A winner can only be declared if a candidate receives more than fifty percent of the vote. If nobody passes this threshold, a runoff election will be held between the top two-vote getters. Ossoff fell just short of the threshold, receiving 48.1% of the vote, the highest of any candidate. Republican Karen Handel finished second with 19.78% of the vote. Ossoff has raised more than 8.3 million dollars so far, partially with the assistance of celebrity surrogates such as Samuel L. Jackson. The runoff election between Ossoff and Handel will take place in June.

by Joey Derrico

After more than a year of intense deliberation from both sides of the political aisle, a candidate has been nominated and confirmed to fulfill the vacant 9th seat on the Supreme Court. Forty-nine-year-old Neil Gorsuch will take the place of deceased Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away last February from a heart attack at the age of 79.

Speaking in terms of credentials, Gorsuch is an extremely qualified candidate. Gorsuch attended Columbia University for undergraduate studies and then Harvard University Law School to receive his Juris Doctor degree, graduating in 1991.  Furthermore, Gorsuch would later attain a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from Oxford University in 2004. Gorush served as a clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 1991 to 1992. After a stint at the Department of Justice, Gorsuch was nominated by former president George W. Bush to the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and later confirmed unanimously by the Senate. Gorsuch served on the Tenth Circuit until his subsequent nomination to the Supreme Court.

Seen as a Conservative who will carry on Scalia’s legacy, Gorsuch’s nomination came with intense criticism and outcry from Democrats. This is a result of former President Obama’s nominated candidate, Merrick Garland, not receiving a hearing in the Senate, breaking from tradition. 

The confirmation of Gorsuch, however, proved to be a strenuous task for Republicans. Sixty votes are required to confirm a nominee to the Supreme Court, a precedent that has been followed for over 200 years. Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate, which means 8 Democrats would have to deviate from their party and vote for Gorsuch to confirm him. All Republican members and 4 Democrats voted for Gorsuch, meaning his confirmation fell short of the required 60 votes. Instead of finding a new candidate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) imposed the “nuclear option,” which changed the rule of needing 60 votes to only needing a simple majority. With this new rule in place, the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.