Elections news - October 21, 2019

All the news that I didn't cover for about a week and a half, in today's ELECTIONS NEWS:

HOUSE

• CA-50: Things continue to look not great for the re-election campaign of Rep Duncan Hunter (R) - he failed to get the endorsement of his county Republican Party, despite representing the district for 10 years.
• NY-17: Appropriations chair Rep Nita Lowey (D) is retiring.  District is Solid D (Clinton 59-38), so a lively primary is likely.  No, district resident Chelsea Clinton is not interested.
• FL-19: Rep Francis Rooney (R) is retiring, continuing the rapid turnover in this seat.  Seat is Solid R (Trump 53-44).
• MD-07:  Oversight and Reform chair Rep Elijah Cumming (D) passed away.  A special election will be scheduled for the spring sometime; the seat is Solid D (Clinton 76-20).
• TX-28: Interesting development as Emily's List endorses Jessica Cisneros in her primary challenge against Rep Henry Cuellar (D), the most conservative Democrat in the House.  Cuellar will be a tough nut to crack, though.
• TX-17: Former Rep Pete Sessions's oddball comeback attempt may have hit another snag, as he appears to be tied up in some Giuliani shenanigans.

SENATE

• AK: Dems have aligned behind independent Al Gross to run against incumbent GOPer Dan Sullivan.  Alaska has an unusual system where you can run both as an independent and as a party nominee.
• CO: Keating Research poll has likely Dem nominee Hickenlooper up 53-42 on GOP incumbent Gardner. 
• KS: Dems appear to be clearing the field for new candidate, state Senator Barbara Bollier.  Bollier, who as a Republican endorsed Democrat Laura Kelly (who went on to win), and then switched parties.  Kansas last elected a Democrat in 1932, so they probably need a combination of a moderate candidate like Bollier - who's already scored a GOP endorsement - and the GOP nominating Kris Kobach (who of course lost to Kelly in that governor's race).  Kobach is up to the usual, having gotten caught employing a known white nationalist.
• MI: Divergent polls in this race - Marketing Resource Group (R) has incumbent Dem Peters up only 43-40 over presumptive GOP nom James, whereas Target-Insyght has James up 53-37.  A GOP win here seems unlikely - Trump is solidly underwater in Michigan, and James just lost a Senate race last year - but Peters is famously the unknown senator, and stranger things have happened.
• GOP senators up in 2020 are looking more vulnerable, as approval ratings are sliding, and fundraising is anemic.  Flipping the chamber is still a challenge for the Democrats, but things look more positive than in the summer.

STATES

• KY gov: The first public poll of this race in forever comes from Mason-Dixon, which has it knotted up 48-48 between Dem Beshear and incumbent GOP gov Bevin.
• LA gov: Mixed polling for the runoff election for Louisiana governor, after incumbent Dem Edwards couldn't break the 50% markoff in the initial election (he hit 47%). An internal from ALG has Edwards up 52-36 on GOPer Rispone; We Ask America (R) has it tied 47-47. Obviously, not having gotten a majority in the first round makes Edwards look vulnerable, but interestingly, Dems tend to overperform in Louisiana runoffs.
• LA: Even if Edwards holds on to the governor's mansion, he faces trouble in the legislature.  Republicans sealed a supermajority in the Senate already; they have a decent chance of doing so in the House as well, depending how runoffs go.  Edwards has a somewhat more constructive relationship with the legislative GOP than in many states, but it'd still be better to have at least a chance to block veto overrides.
• OR: GOP efforts to recall governor Kate Brown (D) have failed.
• TX: Turmoil continues in the state House as secret tapes have been released showing the Speaker planning to screw over cities and counties.  Democrats have a shot at flipping the chamber in 2020 - and it's the suburbs that are the potential flips, so these remarks seem ill-chosen.  The effort to flip starts this year with a key special election.

ODDS & ENDS

• How Ohio nearly purged 40,000 voters from rolls in error.
• State court in Kentucky blocks the state from creating inactive voter list.  Unclear to me how this would vary from other states that have done so (such as Ohio, above).
• Voters are suing Indiana to force replacement of voting machines with no paper trail.