Ohio Abortion Vote Leads List of Key 2023 Statewide Ballot Issues

Marijuana, tax, and energy policy to be decided by voters in several states

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE -- In six states this November, voters will be asked to weigh in on statewide ballot measures. -- Four states contributed to our list of key measures this year: Colorado, Ohio, Maine, and Texas. More limited measures are on the ballot in Louisiana and New...

The Republicans’ ‘Excess Seat’ Edge in State Legislatures

Republicans punch above their weight compared to presidential results in more places than Democrats

Dear Readers: In the latest edition of our Politics is Everything podcast, we talk with the author of today’s Crystal Ball piece -- Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson -- about his article today on “excess seats” in state legislatures as well as his journalism career with PolitiFact, House Republicans’ recently-announced impeachment...

Where Both Parties Overperform in the House, 2023 Edition

GOP edge in “excess seats” compared to 2020 presidential results expands following post-2020 redistricting, 2022 election

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE -- Two years ago, we began looking at the states that produced “excess” House seats for one party or the other -- states for which the partisan ratio in House seats exceeds what would be predicted by the state’s presidential vote in 2020. -- Back...

The 2023 and 2024 Attorney General and Secretary of State Races

Amidst several safe-state races with key primaries, competitive contests in North Carolina and Pennsylvania loom

Dear Readers: In the latest edition of our Politics is Everything podcast, the Crystal Ball’s J. Miles Coleman, Kyle Kondik, and Carah Ong Whaley discuss the results from Tuesday night’s Virginia state legislative primaries and look ahead to the closely-contested battle for control of both chambers coming up this fall....

How the Rookie Governors are Performing So Far

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE -- Governors seem to be strikingly popular these days, especially compared to national political figures and institutions such as Congress and the Supreme Court. -- This tendency appears to be holding for the nine rookie governors who took office for the first time after last...

What Happened in the States

Democrats picked up governorships, state legislative chambers; Republican state court victories could have redistricting implications

Dear Readers: Join us at noon eastern today for a Twitter Spaces featuring Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman of the Crystal Ball and our Center for Politics colleague Carah Ong Whaley. They will be discussing the continuing takeaways from the 2022 election, Donald Trump’s presidential announcement, the looming Georgia...

The (Updated) Battle for the Statehouses

Chambers in key swing states like Michigan and Nevada get more competitive

Dear Readers: Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson is analyzing several categories of state-level races for us this cycle. Today, he is updating his assessment of the race for state legislative control. He has also analyzed contests for attorney general, secretary of state, state supreme court, and statewide ballot issues....

2022’s Ballot Measures

States are set to vote on a range of measures dealing with abortion, elections, marijuana, and more

Dear Readers: Join the Center for Politics next Tuesday, Oct. 18, for “Hacking Our Elections.” Center for Politics Scholar and leading election security expert Chris Krebs heads up this urgent and timely panel discussion on how the same threats that created Jan. 6 are still with us today. Joining Chris...

The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape

Dear Readers: Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson is analyzing several categories of state-level races for us this cycle. Today, he is doing his second assessment of this year’s attorney general races. He has also analyzed secretary of state, state legislative, and state supreme court races. — The Editors KEY POINTS FROM THIS...

Secretary of State Races: Election Deniers Carry GOP Banner in Several Key States

Several top battlegrounds feature competitive races in these newly-prominent races

Dear Readers: Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson is analyzing several categories of state-level races for us this cycle. Today, he is doing his second assessment of this year’s secretary of state races, which have taken on added importance in the aftermath of the 2020 election. He has also analyzed attorney general,...

High Courts, High Stakes

2022’s top state supreme court races

Dear Readers: Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson is analyzing several categories of state-level races for us this cycle. After taking a first look at attorney general, secretary of state, and state legislative races, he is analyzing state supreme courts this week. While there are judicial elections across the country,...

Governors: Escaping Public’s Wrath Even as So Many Others Draw Ire

State chief executives continue to get high marks from voters even as party leaders, Congress do not

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE -- Virtually every measurement of public opinion shows that Americans are in a foul mood about their political leaders and institutions. But one group seems to have escaped this wrath: governors. -- State-level job approval polls from Morning Consult show that 92% of governors are...

The Battle for State Legislatures

Looking for competition in sorted statehouses

Dear Readers: Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson is analyzing several categories of state-level races for us this cycle. After taking a first look at attorney general and secretary of state races, he is now assessing the battles for state legislatures this year. The Republicans have built a robust edge...