Couple of special elections tonight. In VA, #HD17 is for a Harris+43 district. Results here: enr.elections.virginia.gov/results/publ... GA's #SD18 is around Trump+20. This is a five-way race but just one Dem is running. Results here: results.sos.ga.gov/results/publ... And our Big Board -->

Repeal Prop. 4? Not at this pace. Utah's anti-gerrymandering rollback is stuck at ~34% of the statewide requirement. Needs 2,801/day; doing 2,063. Zero Senate districts at the 8% threshold. The math says "not gonna happen" without a surge. utahpolitics.news/repeal-prop-...

NEW: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's advisory redistricting commission has recommended a proposed congressional map that would likely turn MD's 7-1 Democratic majority into an 8-0 edge & flip GOP-held District 1 www.wbal.com/maryland-red... Interactive map with data davesredistricting.org/join/06423fc...

Using public voter files, Peter Lutz takes a first-of-its-kind look at partisan registration among pro athletes by league.

JUST IN: The North Carolina Democratic Party won't share its voter-turnout tools with four state legislative candidates who have a history of overriding gubernatorial vetoes. #ncpol READ MORE--> www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...

NEWS: No one filed to challenge two conservative/Republican justices on the Nevada supreme court who are up for reelection this year. The deadline was a few days ago. They will run for new terms unopposed.

Who among us has not done this?

Rep. Julia Letlow launches GOP primary challenge to Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana days after Donald Trump called for her to run and pledged to endorse her.

California Democrats in 2022 took control of the Board of Supervisors for Orange County, a famously conservative bastion that's become light blue in presidential races. They're fighting to keep it in 2026.

JUST IN: Virginia's legislature just adopted a constitutional amendment that would end Virginia's rules that ban people from voting for life. Virginia currently is the only state that strips people of voting rights for life for any felony. Youngkin rolled back reforms. Now going to a referendum.

If Virginia voters approve this amendment this spring, Democrats could redraw the congressional map in response to mid-decade Republican gerrymanders elsewhere. Here’s an example of how Democrats could target 4 GOP seats to gain a 10-1 majority in November davesredistricting.org/join/5429402...

"In less than one year at ICE, I’ve stopped more illegal immigration than Marcy Kaptur has in her 43 years in Washington," says Madison Sheahan, who left as deputy director of ICE on Thursday to run for Congress.

A top ICE official just stepped down to challenge Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in an Ohio House seat that just got tougher for Kaptur to hold. The congresswoman, though, isn't letting the new map deter her from running again.

Randy Villegas, who is a member of the Visalia school board, reports raising $374,000 for fourth quarter in campaign against GOP Rep. David Valadao. Villegas faces Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a fellow Democrat, in June top-two primary in #CA22.

Chris Taylor, the liberal candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, has massively outraised conservative rival Maria Lazar. The election is April 7.

Brook Park City Councilman Brian Poindexter, a Democrat who is also a union ironworker, is challenging GOP Rep. Max Miller, whom he calls "a stain on northeast Ohio." Trump carried this seat 55-44.

Republican state Rep. Sheryl Delozier in 2024 won reelection 55-45 in the Harrisburg suburbs as Donald Trump was carrying her seat 50-49. Delozier announced Tuesday that she would not seek reelection to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Pennsylvania Democrats won a 102-101 state House majority in back-to-back elections. A GOP retirement in a key seat boosts their optimism about defending—and expanding—this slender advantage.

"I don’t think that Greenberg wakes up and he’s a bad person," Parrish-Wright said of the incumbent, who previously worked as a developer, "but I think he’s very disconnected from the everyday lives that Louisvillians lead."

Shameka Parrish-Wright would become both the first woman and African American elected to lead Louisville, KY if she beats Mayor Craig Greenberg this year. A big change in the city's electoral rules, though, could help Greenberg against his fellow Democrat.

#VASEN Mark Warner (D-inc): $2.9 million raised in fourth quarter, $13.36 million cash on hand

Democracy is on the line in 2026 in many ways — including in courts. For Bolts, constitutional scholar @yeargain.bsky.social takes a look at seven legal questions to be settled in 2026 that matter to voting rights and how elections are run. NEW, important to be on top of this:

GOP Rep. Neal Dunn announces he won't seek sixth term in Florida's 2nd Congressional District. Trump carried this North Florida constituency 59-41.

Air Force veteran Kristina Knickerbocker announced Tuesday morning that she would seek the Democratic nomination to take on longtime GOP Rep. Mike Turner in Ohio's 10th District. We have much more on her and this race in our newest Morning Digest. www.the-downballot.com/i/184381655/...

Lots more news from across the country: • California Attorney General Rob Bonta won't make late entry into governor race, but these fellow Dems might • Florida's LG announces bid for top job, but Ron DeSantis already seems tired with him • Air Force veteran is taking on longtime Ohio GOP congressman

Mary Peltola's decision to run for Senate in Alaska widens the battlefield in a year where Democrats face a tough map.

NEW: Maryland's advisory redistricting commission heard public testimony on Friday, and many speakers supported a congressional map I drew. Based on this, I've submitted two revised maps. Interactive maps with data: B2 davesredistricting.org/join/70508b0... C2 davesredistricting.org/join/e1a44e3...

Ventura had cameo in 1997 "Batman & Robin" as guard who gets killed during escape of Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota the next year. In 2002 the late website The Agony Booth joked that death of Ventura's character was it for governors in the movie ...

Republicans like Mike Turner talk about how angry they are with Trump's actions—Turner said last month, "You can’t be America first and pro-Russia"—but it doesn't matter much when they keep seeking reelection in competitive seats and voting Trump's way most of the time.

Also in the newest Digest: • The oldest Republican in the House gets a last-minute primary opponent in his bid for a 24th term • A high-profile Democrat enters race to defend a tough open House seat in Maine • Zohran Mamdani takes sides in race to replace Nydia Velazquez

State Sen. Joe Baldacci announces he's running for Maine's 2nd Congressional District to succeed retiring Rep. Jared Golden, a fellow Democrat. Trump carried this seat 54-44 in 2024, and it's a top Republican pickup opportunity this fall. www.the-downballot.com/i/184087810/...

Jesse Ventura, the former wrestling star who was elected governor in 1998 as a third-party candidate, flirts with a comeback. "I did one term," Ventura tells Fox 9. “I am owed a second.”

Former Rep. Mary Peltola announces she's challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska, giving Democrats a recruit they've long sought for a challenging race.

Maryland is considering redrawing its congressional map in response to other states' remaps & asked for proposals, so I submitted these 3 maps. Interactive maps with data: A: davesredistricting.org/join/1b9246f... B: davesredistricting.org/join/aad85b9... C: davesredistricting.org/join/0e76b33...

Some very kind words from @joshtpm.bsky.social about The Downballot and other independent media outlets. paw.princeton.edu/article/25-y...

Hoyer long wanted to be his speaker, but his hopes were dashed following a climactic 2001 leadership contest with Nancy Pelosi for minority whip. That race was so competitive that a delegate from Guam chartered a plane at his own expense so he could travel to D.C. in time to vote—for Pelosi.

Rep. Steny Hoyer’s decision to retire sets off the first open seat race in his district since he was first elected in 1981.

“This was likely the last Democrat in Virginia who would agree to a 10-1 map — so if he’s onboard like it appears here — then the chances are high” From @jaaavis.bsky.social regarding state Sen. @scvanvalkenburg.bsky.social

Some background on Brownley's first race. It was the first time CA held a top-two primary & there was real fear that ex-Republican Linda Parks, who was running as an indy, and actual Republican Tony Strickland, would advance to the general. Then-new House Majority PAC spent $700K to avoid a lockout

Longtime Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley, 73, announces she won't run again. She was first elected in 2012 to #CA26 in Ventura County, just north of LA County. Her district remains solidly blue even under the new Prop 50 map, around Harris+15.

Welcome to 2026! A ton of campaign news broke over the holidays *and* we've already had our first special elections of the year. Get caught up on everything on today's new episode of The Downballot podcast, the first of our fifth season!

Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann says he raised $250,000 for fourth quarter of 2025. McCann is the frontrunner to take on GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga in #MI04.

Very cool, very useful, and *very* thorough. Instant bookmark.

Lots more in this Digest in races across the country, including some news that JUST broke out of New York City: Assemblymember Claire Valdez is running for Congress, reportedly with support from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the local branch of the Democratic Socialists of America.

April's race in Wisconsin to replace retiring rightwing Justice Rebecca Bradley is between two very different members of the state Court of Appeals: liberal Chris Taylor and conservative Maria Lazar. In North Carolina, Democratic Justice Anita Earls faces GOP state Rep. Sarah Stevens in November.

The candidate lineups are now set for critical supreme court elections in Wisconsin and North Carolina. Each could have a major impact in the coming years in the battles to control each swing state's highest court.

She’s *not* running www.ajc.com/politics/202...

Rep. Steny Hoyer, who spent two decades as the number-two Democrat in the House, tells the Washington Post he will not seek reelection. Hoyer, 86, jokes of his retirement, "At this young age, it’s probably premature."

Turns out Democrats weren't done making gains from 2025! Politico brings us this update from Orange County, NY www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Ordinarily, special elections that take place after redistricting but before the next general election use old district lines—but not always. A summer 2022 special election for Nebraska’s 1st District was held using the state’s new map, a move that did not face a legal challenge.