February 13, 2013

By Josh Altic

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: It is possible that Indiana voters will see an constitutional amendment protecting rights to hunting, fishing and farming in 2014. The Indiana Senate sent the amendment on to the House with a 38-10 vote in favor. If the House also approves the amendment, it will be on the 2014 general election ballot for the people to decide. The amendment would make Indiana join about seventeen other states in constitutional protection of hunting and fishing rights, including Idaho, which overwhelmingly approved a similar law last year.^[1][2]

Republican Senator Brent Steele sponsored the amendment and argued that it provides needed protection of Indiana’s $8 billion a year agriculture industry as well as the more than 950,000 residents that hunt and fish. Steele pointed to the reported attempts to impose limits on hunting and fishing by animal-rights activist groups to defend the need for this amendment. Concerning these activists he said, “You think they haven’t spread their tentacles? I merely ask you to go to your computers and look them up.”^[1]

Greg Taylor, a democratic Senator who disapproved of the amendment, argued that it was simply unnecessary because state law already protects hunting and farming and there have not been any efforts made to change these laws. “I just wonder why we’re doing these things,” Taylor said. “There hasn’t been one state in the country to make it illegal to hunt and fish.”^[1]

By Greg Janetka

Indianapolis, Indiana: Four state executive positions were up for election this year in the state of Indiana. With Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman (R) term-limited, only two incumbents ran for re-election, one of whom won on November 6, 2012.

Here are the candidates who won election.^[1]

Office	Incumbent	General Election Candidates	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
Governor	Mitch Daniels	John Gregg Mike Pence Rupert Boneham Donnie Harold Harris	Mike Pence	No
Lieutenant Governor	Becky Skillman	Vi Simpson Sue Ellspermann Brad Klopfenstein George Fish	Sue Ellspermann	No
Attorney General	Greg Zoeller	Kay Fleming Greg Zoeller	Greg Zoeller	No
Superintendent of Public Instruction	Tony Bennett	Glenda Ritz Tony Bennett	Glenda Ritz	Yes

 Official Results

• Governor/Lt. Governor
• Attorney General
• Superintendent of Public Instruction

 

See also: Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012

[hide]Governor/Lieutenant Governor of Indiana General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Gregg / Vi Simpson	46.6%	1,200,016
	Republican	Mike Pence / Sue Ellspermann	49.5%	1,275,424
	Libertarian	Rupert Boneham / Brad Klopfenstein	4%	101,868
	Independent	Donnie Harold Harris / George Fish	0%	21
Total Votes				2,577,329
Election Results via Indiana Secretary of State.

 National picture

States with 2012 executive elections

There were 94 total seats up for election across 22 states this year, including 11 Governors, 9 Lt. Governors, 10 Attorneys General, 7 Secretaries of State and 57 down ballot seats.

• Before the election, 51 of these offices were held by Democrats, 38 were held by Republicans, and the remaining 4 positions were held by non partisan or Independent officers . After the election, Democrats hold 49 (net loss of 2 seats), Republicans 42 (net gain of 4 seats), and Independents/non partisans only 1 (loss of 3).
• Of the 69 incumbents who ran for election in 2012, 7 were defeated-6 Democrat and 1 Republican. Democratic Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau narrowly escaped that fate, having had to wait for her challenger to cancel a self-financed recount on December 11, 2012 before being named the official winner.^[2]
• Out of 25 total open seats, 13 were won by Democrats, 11 went to Republican, and 1 went to an Independent (non-partisan) candidate. In all, there are 34 new state executives as a result of the election.
• From the gubernatorial perspective, after the November 2012 election, there are 30 Republican and 19 Democratic governors.^[3] If the GOP had taken five governor seats from Democrats on November 6, that would have given the party 34 — the most for Republicans since 1922. As of December 2012, the number of Democratic governors in the country is at its lowest since 2001.

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional team

MADISON, Wisconsin: Indiana had nine U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Six total incumbents sought re-election on November 6, 2012.

Indiana’s 2nd congressional district switched partisan control in the general election. This was not unexpected, as redistricting made the district more Republican in terms of voter registrations. This race was also the closest one, with Jackie Walorski (R) winning narrowly by a little over 1% of the vote.

Here are the candidates who won election from Indiana.

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Peter Visclosky  Joel Phelps	Peter J. Visclosky	Peter Visclosky	No
2nd	Brendan Mullen  Jackie Walorski Joe Ruiz  Kenneth R. Lunce, Jr.	Joe Donnelly	Jackie Walorski	Yes
3rd	Kevin Boyd  Marlin Stutzman	Marlin A. Stutzman	Marlin Stutzman	‘No
4th	Tara Nelson  Todd Rokita  Benjamin J. Gehlhausen	Todd Rokita	Todd Rokita	No
5th	Scott Reske  Susan Brooks  Chard Reid	Dan Burton	Susan Brooks	No
6th	Brad Bookout  Luke Messer  Rex Bell	Mike Pence	Luke Messer	No
7th	Andre Carson  Carlos May  Tim Frye	Andre Carson	Andre Carson	No
8th	Dave Crooks  Larry Bucshon  Bart Gadau	Larry Bucshon	Larry Bucshon	No
9th	Shelli Yoder  Todd Young	Todd Young	Todd Young	No

Margin of victory for winners

There were a total of 9 seats up for election in 2012 in Indiana. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.

District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Vote	Top Opponent
Indiana, District 1	Peter J. Visclosky	34.6%	279,034	Joel Phelps
Indiana, District 2	Jackie Walorski	1.4%	273,475	Brendan Mullen
Indiana, District 3	Marlin Stutzman	34.1%	280,235	Kevin Boyd
Indiana, District 4	Todd Rokita	27.8%	272,268	Tara Nelson
Indiana, District 5	Susan Brooks	20.8%	333,359	Scott Reske
Indiana, District 6	Luke Messer	24%	275,253	Brad Bookout
Indiana, District 7	Andre Carson	25.7%	257,950	Carlos May
Indiana, District 8	Larry Bucshon	10.3%	283,992	Dave Crooks
Indiana, District 9	Todd Young	10.9%	298,180	Shelli Yoder

National picture

Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in theU.S. House. Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated — 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.

By Josh Altic

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: Four state executive positions are up for re-election in Indiana on November 6, 2012. These positions are Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Indiana voters gave the Gubernatorial and Lieutenant Gubernatorial positions to the Republican ticket as Mike Pence and Sue Ellspermann received 1,275,424. which is approximately 49.5% of the total votes cast. The Democratic runner up ticket of John Gregg and Vi Simpson received 1200016, giving them about 46.6% of the total. The Independent ticket, with 21 votes, and Libertarian ticket, with 101,868, together accounted for less than five percent of the votes in this race.^[1]

The Attorney General candidates were Kay Fleming for the Democratic party and Greg Zoeller for the Republican party. The incumbent, Greg Zoeller, was re-elected, receiving 1,453,334 votes, putting him at about 58%.^[2]

Glenda Ritz was running for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction in the Democratic party and Tony Bennett was the Republican party candidate. Glenda Ritz, receiving 1,332,755 votes, defeated the incumbent Tony Bennett, who had 1,190,716 votes, by the fairly narrow margin of almost 6%.^[3]

These election results are from the Secretary of State website and are not yet official. They were last updated on November 26th. Continue to follow Ballotpedia’s Indiana state executive official elections, 2012 page to see final election results as soon as they are officially certified.

November 19, 2012

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features a breakdown of when state legislators will be sworn into office and a look at 2013 elections.

Weekly highlight

See also: Swearing-in dates of state legislators elected on November 6, 2012 and When state legislators assume office after a general electionWhen legislators are sworn in

While votes are still being counted in many areas, some newly elected and re-elected state legislators have already been sworn into office. The 6,015 candidates who won seats on November 6 will progressively be sworn-in from now until February.

In 34 of the 44 states that held elections this year, legislators who are elected in November don’t assume office until 2013, while in 10 states, legislators assume office before December 31.

Three states - Hawaii, Indiana, and South Carolina - have already sworn in their new legislators. Florida will join the party tomorrow, with Oklahoma on Wednesday. Another five states - North Dakota, Idaho, California, New Hampshire, and Maine - will swear in legislators-elect between December 1 and December 5.

Thirty-three states will swear-in legislators between January 1 and January 28. Nevada legislators-elect have the longest wait to officially be sworn into office. While their terms begin on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November (the day after election day), legislators are not officially sworn in until the first Monday in February following the election. Per the Nevada constitution, the term of the incumbent leaving office ends on the day after the election. Thus they won’t officially be sworn-in until February 4, 2013.

[edit]2013 elections preview

See also: State legislative elections, 2013

As an election-fatigued nation bids adieu to the 2012 elections, take heart – next year will be a quiet one, at least as far as state legislatures are concerned. While 86 of the country’s 99 legislative chambers were up for election in 2012, only 3 chambers will be up in 2013 – the New Jersey State Senate, New Jersey General Assembly, and Virginia House of Delegates. Virginia will not hold anystate senate elections in 2013.

Louisiana and Mississippi also typically hold elections in odd years. However, legislators are elected to 4-year terms in those states and those will not be up for election again until 2015.

40 of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for re-election in November 2013, and 180 of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for re-election. Altogether, 220 of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats are up for re-election on November 5, 2013.

[edit]

• Sessions
• Redistricting
• Special Elections

 

This week 3 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting - New Jersey and Ohio are meeting in regular session, while Massachusetts is meeting in informal session, which it will continue to do throughout the rest of the year.

Forty states have adjourned for the year, while four states - Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas - were not scheduled to hold regular sessions in 2012. The first 2013 session is scheduled to begin on December 3 in California.

[edit]Regular sessions

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions and Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions

Click here to see a chart of each state’s 2012 session information.

Although most states have concluded 2012 business, some states have already begun 2013 action. Drafting for 2013 has begun in Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Wyoming, while prefiling of legislation is going on inAlabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas.^[1]

[edit]Special sessions

Snapshot of State Legislatures: Monday, November 19, 2012
There are 7,383 Total State Legislators
Total Democratic state legislators	3,301 (44.7%)
Total Republican state legislators	3,947 (53.5%)
There are 99 Total State Legislative Chambers
Total Democratic Party-controlled chambers	37
Total Republican Party-controlled chambers	58
Total tied or non-partisan chambers	4
2012 Session Information
Total Special Elections	39
Total Special Sessions	20

In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete theredistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.

During 2012, there have been 20 special sessions in 16 states. There are no special sessions currently scheduled.

[edit]In recess

As of today, November 19, 6 state’s sessions are currently in recess:

• California - In recess from September 1, 2012 to November 29, 2012.^[2]
• Illinois - In recess from August 17, 2012 to November 27, 2012.^[3]
• Michigan - In recess November 9, 2012 to November 26, 2012.^[2]
• New York - In recess from June 22, 2012 to January 8, 2013.^[2]
• Pennsylvania - In recess until November 30, 2012.^[2]
• Wisconsin - In recess from March 17 to December 31, 2012.^[2]

October 12, 2012

By Josh Altic

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is considering a land proposal presented by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. If the land proposal is approved, it would make 164 acres of land part of a trust for a South Bend “tribal village.” This would make this land part of a sovereign territory owned by the Indian Band, which already owns Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan, excepting it from state law limits on gambling and allowing a tribal casino to be part of the village.

Among those who oppose the approval of this proposed is State Representative Scott Pelath. He said, “This proposed federal action will expand gaming beyond the locations that our state has authorized. Instead, we will have gaming operations that are not subject to any consideration of what is best for Indiana.” He also pointed out that a new South Bend casino outside of state jurisdiction and without limits on size or wagering taxes could be a source of fatal competition for other casinos in the State. He fears that another casino would merely move jobs from one place to another.^[1]

Matt Wesaw, Pokagon Band Chairman, issued a statement to the media in which he said, “The Pokagon Band’s Indiana residents, particularly our elders and low-income citizens, face significant challenges in finding suitable housing and accessing our health, education, and family services programs.” The Pokagon Band claims that a casino is not the priority of the land proposal and that it is possible that the land will only be used for homes and other businesses. Moreover, there are those who support the land proposal along with the possibility casino. “The economic impact would be a major and permanent boost to our local economy and a magnet for more future development,” said Dave Thomas, in support of the construction of a casino.^[2]

August 16, 2012

By Tyler King

MADISON, Wisconsin: Indiana’s legislative elections in 2012 are less competitive than most of the country, based on Ballotpedia’s Competitiveness index which captures the extent of electoral competitiveness exhibited in state legislative elections.

About the Competitiveness index:
The Ballotpedia state legislative competitive index looks at three factors: is the incumbent running for re-election in a district; if so, does he or she draw a primary challenge; and are there two major party candidates in the general election.

Ballotpedia’s index is created by summing the three percentages and then dividing by three. Each state is given 1 point for each percentage. Then, the points are added up and divided by three to establish the index rating. 1 is least competitive and 100 equals most competitive.

The comprehensive 2012 state legislative competitive index will be released following the completion of the primaries in all 44 states with 2012 state legislative elections. It will examine all 6,016 state legislative seats that are up for election on November 6, 2012.

Once a state releases official primary candidate lists, Ballotpedia staff analyzes the data to determine primary competitiveness. Just one state remains that has passed their filing deadline, but has not been analyzed by Ballotpedia staff – New York.

Indiana in 2012:
Indiana’s filing deadline was on February 24, 2012. It was the 6th state to be analyzed by Ballotpedia staff and the inclusion of its data brought the national index to 30.79 in 2012.

In Indiana, there are 125 total state legislative seats with elections in 2012 and most current incumbents are seeking re-election.

Of those 125, 25 are State Senate seats and 100 are State House seats. A total of 103 incumbents (82.4%) are seeking re-election this year. Just 17 (16.5%) incumbents running for re-election face primary opposition. Additionally, there are 22 (17.6%) districts where an incumbent is not seeking re-election within that district. For November’s general elections, there will be 75 (60.0%) seats where more than one major party candidate will appear on the ballot.

8.0% of Districts were open seats, increasing to 17.6% in 2012.Comparison to 2010:
In 2010, Indiana ranked 37th in overall competitiveness.

• 16.5% of incumbents faced primary opposition, in line with 16.5% in 2012.
• 62.4% of Districts had more than one major party candidate in the general election, compared to 60.0% in 2012.
• Indiana’s 2010 competitiveness index was 29.0, compared to 31.4 in 2012.

Edited by Lauren Rodgers

This is the inaugural edition of The Executive Summary, a bi-monthly news report prepared by Ballotpedia’s team of state executive reporters. We will provide comprehensive coverage of everything related to the state executive offices, from elections and appointments to controversies and current events. With each edition, you’ll get the most important and relevant information about state executives across the country.

If you’re looking for information about governors, lieutenant governors, attorneys general, secretaries of state, auditors, state treasurers, controllers, insurance commissioners, superintendents of schools, mine inspectors, adjutants general, or commissioners of labor, agriculture, education, insurance, natural resources and public services, you’ve come to the right place. Ballotpedia’s state executive official project covers 749 offices. We are continually updating incumbent profiles and office overview pages to make sure you’re getting the most complete and accurate information possible.

Elections

Twenty-two states are holding regularly-scheduled state executive elections in 2012.

Of all the offices we cover, 335 are popularly elected; the remaining 414 are appointed by either the governor or the state legislature. This year, 22 states are holding regularly-scheduled state executive official elections. In those elections, a total of 37 state executive seats and 57 down ballot seats are up for election. Wisconsin also held two special recall elections for Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov Rebecca Kleefisch on June 6, 2012.

• 11 states have already held primary elections
• Candidate filing periods have closed in 7 other states
• In four states, no deadlines have passed (though there are two this week)

Upcoming key dates

Recent appointments

• Iowa Director of Natural Resources: Former Republican legislator Chuck Gipp was named the new Iowa Director of Natural Resources by Gov. Terry Branstad (R) on May 31, 2012. The position was left open when Roger Lande, who had served since December 2010, announced he was retiring in order to spend more time at his home in Ontario, Canada.^[1] The Department of natural resources is responsible for oversight of the state parks, forests, and other resources.^[2]

• Oregon Superintendent of Schools: On June 4, Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo announced that she will resign at the end of the month, roughly two years before her term’s scheduled expiration. ^[3] Governor John Kitzhaber said he would appoint someone to the newly created post of deputy chief education officer to replace Castillo – who was most recently re-elected in 2010 – by July 1. For the last 150 years, the superintendent has been an independent, elected position. Then in 2011, as part of Gov. Kitzhaber’s reorganization of the entire state education system, a law was passed placing the superintendent’s office directly under the governor’s control, for the purpose of fostering “a more coordinated education system stretching from pre-kindergarten through graduate school.”^[3] The new law, which was not expected to take effect until Castillo’s term ended in 2014, transfers “responsibility for the state’s half-million students attending 1,200 public and charter schools”^[3] to the governor, who will appoint a deputy chief education officer to oversee the department in place of an elected superintendent.^[4]

See also: Election year aside, Oregon finds itself in an awkward transition phase

Featured office

In each report, beginning June 28th, we’ll feature one state executive office. Keep an eye out for the next edition, when we highlight public services commissioners. We’ll give you a rundown of what they do, how they’re chosen, how much they are paid (on average) and other interesting facts about the office.

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional, State Legislative, State Executive and Ballot Measure teams

The May 8 primary elections are now over, capping one of the busiest election days of the 2012 season. Here at Ballotpedia, we’ve got you covered in all aspects of the ballot. That includes filling you in on the overall occurrences of Tuesday’s events.

Here you fill find stories giving recaps on what happened during the primary elections held in the states below. Additionally, you will find links to the pages about the recalls that happened in Wisconsin. More recap articles are coming soon, so check back here for more updates!

Here are a few notable developments from the May 8 elections:

• North Carolina Amendment 1 was approved with 61.05% of voters casting “yes” votes. The measure intends to define marriage as between one man and one woman in the state constitution.
• Incumbent Richard Lugar, Republican U.S Senator from Indiana, lost to challenger Richard Mourdock. Lugar had been in office since 1977.
• Six state House incumbents lost on May 8 in North Carolina – five Republicans and one Democrat - bringing the number of defeated incumbents in state legislatures across the country to 18.
• Earl Ray Tomblin, the only West Virginia state executive incumbent seeking re-election who faced a primary challenger, easily defeated Arne Moltis in the Democratic gubernatorial election

Indiana

The bullets below contain a recap of what happened during the May 8 primary election in Indiana. No recap article was posted for state executives due to only one candidate running for governor from each party. The governor’s race was the only state executive office on the ballot in the primary election:

• State Executive Official Primaries
• Congressional and Legislative Primaries recap

North Carolina

The bullets below contain a recap of what happened during the May 8 primary election in North Carolina.

• Amendment 1 recap
• State Executive Official Primaries recap
• Congressional and Legislative Primaries recap

West Virginia

The bullets below contain a recap of what happened during the May 8 primary election in West Virginia.

• State Executive Official Primaries recap
• Congressional and Legislative Primaries recap

Wisconsin

Primary elections were held in the recall campaigns for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. See below for election results:

• Scott Walker recall, Wisconsin (2012)
• Rebecca Kleefisch recall, Wisconsin (2012)

By Lauren Rodgers

Gov. Mitch Daniels is prevented by term limits from seeking another term in office.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN: Four state executive offices are up for election in Indiana this year: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction. However, only the governor’s race is on the ballot in the primary election. In Indiana, the two major parties conduct state conventions to nominate candidates for many of the state executive offices, including lieutenant governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction.^[1]

This year, there is only one candidate running for governor from each of the parties, so you won’t see any surprises or upsets in tomorrow’s results. Indiana’s current governor, Mitch Daniels, is prevented by term limits from seeking another term in office. Two Republican candidates - Congressman Mike Pence and Fishers businessman Jim Wallace - submitted signatures and filed to run for their party’s nomination. But on February 24, 2012, the Indiana Election Commission voted 3-1 to remove Wallace from the May 8 primary ballot. In order to qualify for the ballot, a candidate needs 500 signatures from each of the state’s congressional districts. Wallace fell 14 signatures short of that figure, despite having submitted 1,282 signatures. The Marion County Board of Voter Registration rejected 62% of those signatures leaving Wallace with just 486 signatures from the district.^[2][3]

Pence, as the lone Republican now, will meet John Gregg (D),^[4] Rupert Boneham (L) and write-in candidate Donnie Harold Harris^[5] in the November 6th general election. In Indiana, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on a single ticket in the general election. Boneham, of Survivor fame, is running with Brad Klopfenstein; Harris has chosen George Fish as his running mate. Pence and Gregg will have to wait until the statewide party conventions to see who will share their ticket in November.

The Republican Party state convention is scheduled for June 9th and the Democratic Party state convention will be held the following week on June 16th. Once those conventions are held, the major party ballots will be set for the attorney general and superintendent of public instruction races, as well. The Democrats have yet to indicate who might be their candidate for attorney general to challenge incumbent Republican Greg Zoeller, but all signs point to Justin Oakley as the likely Democratic challenger to current Republican superintendent Tony Bennett.