Michigan 2020 Election Results

President:  50.6-47.9 Biden over Trump.  The raw margin was about 146,000.  Close, but not quite enough.

Senate: 49.8-48.3 for Peters over John James.  The raw margin was about 84,000.  That's probably too large a margin to be due to voter fraud, but any credible allegations of fraud should be investigated.

Proposal 1 (natural resources): 84% yes.

Proposal 2 (privacy): 89% yes.  A rare moment of bipartisan agreement.

Supreme Court:  32% McCormick, 20% Welch for the two winning Ds.  17% Kelly, 14% Swartzle for the two Rs.  Ds take a 4-3 majority on the court.  This will have bad consequences.

State Board of Education:  Ds took both slots, with a 45K vote margin between the second and third candidates.
University of Michigan:  D Mark Bernstein was reelected.  R Sarah Hubbard snagged the second slot with a 12K vote margin over the other D.
Michigan State:  R Pat O'Keefe took the top slot, and D Rema Vassar took second.  D incumbent Brian Mosallam took third, and R Tonya Schuitmaker was fourth.
Wayne State:  R former SOS Terri Land was first, and D Sherley Stancato was second.

Congress:

1. 61-37 for Bergman.  If Bergman keeps his term limits pledge, this seat will be open in 2022.
2. 59-38 for Huizinga.
3. 53-47 for Meijer.  Kent has trended in the wrong direction.  Hopefully Meijer locks it down.
4. 65-32 for Moolenaar.
5. 42-54 for Kildee.  Closer due to Trump's appeal to blue collar workers.
6. 56-40 Upton.  A better result against the far-left Hoadley.  If Upton is thinking about retirement, 2022 would be a good year to do so.
7. 59-41 Walberg. This is Walberg's best margin yet in what was once a swing district.
8. 47.3-50.9 for Slotkin.  A stronger candidate could have won.  This district will likely change significantly in redistricting.
9. 38-58 for Andy Levin.
10. 66-34 for McClain.
11. 47.8-50.2 for Stevens.  Esshaki did well under the circumstances.  This district probably gets chopped up in redistricting.
12. 31-66 for Debbie Dingell.
13. 19-78 for Tlaib.
14. 19-79 for Lawrence.

State house.  Republicans lost two seats and picked up two, for no net change.  The majority is now 58-52.  Conservative Jason Wentworth will be the new speaker.

3-9. Rs got 2-7% in the all-Detroit districts.
13. 42-58 for Tullio Liberati.  This district might be worth contesting in the future.
19. 49.8-50.2 for Pohutski (258 votes).  The same margin as in 2018.  Rs should contest this again.
20. 45-55 for Koleszar.  This upscale suburban district was lost in 2018.
23. 47.5-52.5 for Camilleri.  This district must be contested in 2022, when it will be open.
25. 47-53 for Shannon.  This could have been won with a better candidate.
31. 44-56 for Sowerby.  This could be worth more effort in the future.
38. 48.4-51.6 for Breen.  LOSS in an open suburban seat that was close in 2018.
39. 52-47 for Berman against a far-left candidate.  This was heavily targeted by Ds.
40. 42-58 for Manoogian.  This upscale suburban district swung hard in 2018 after long being safe R.
41. 45-55 for Kuppa.  Lost in 2018, but may be worth contesting again.
43. 60-40 for Schroeder.  Some pundits absurdly thought this would be close.
44. 60-40 for Maddock.
45. 52.3-47.7 for Tisdel.  Close win in a district heavily targeted by Ds.
48. 50.5-49.5 for David Martin.  PICKUP in a blue collar suburban Flint district against far-left incumbent Sheryl Kennedy.
50. 46-54 for Sneller.  Close due to Trump performing well in suburban Flint.
59. 64-36 for Carra.  Possibly the most conservative new member.
60. 25-75 for Rogers.  She previously lost the 61st in 2006 and 2008.
61. 46-54 for Morse.  LOSS in an open suburban seat that was close in 2018.
62. 48.7-51.3 for Haadsma.  Another close loss for Dave Morgan.
63. 61-36 for Matt Hall.
66. 59-41 for Beth Griffin.  The D here got some hype, but it wasn't close.
67. 46-54 for Hope.  This district is sometimes close, but never close enough.
71. 47.3-51.2 for Witwer.  This district was lost in 2018.
72. 55-45 for Steven Johnson.
73. 57-42 for Posthumus.  MIRS had a poll that showed a 1 point race.
79. 57-43 for Wendzel.  The D candidate got a lot of hype here.
91. 60-40 for VanWoerkem.  Big win in a former swing district.
96. 57-43 for Timothy Beson.  PICKUP in a blue collar Bay County against an incumbent who renounced his pro-life position.
98. 59-41 for Annette Glenn.  Much bigger margin than in 2018, when utilities spent heavily.
99. 61-37 for Hauck.
104. 51-47 for John Roth.  Better candidate than the scandal-plagued incumbent.
109. 42-57 for Cambensy.  This district may be worth targeting when open.
110. 58-41 for Markkanen.  This was a surprise pickup in 2018.

In 2022, Rs should target districts 19, 23, 25, 38, 50, 62, and 71.  Of course, there will be a new district map, so some district boundaries or numbers will change.

My ratings turned out to be pretty accurate.  Every race I had at likely or safe for a party was won by that party.  The only lean races I missed were house 48 and 96.  My state house tossups had margins of 0.4, 3.2, 5, 8, and 4.  My lean R races had margins from 4 to 24.  My lean D races had margins of 10, 6, -1, 1, and -14.  The closest margin in a race I had at safe was 5 (house 23).  My lean ratings for Congress had margins of 6, 16, 3.6.

November 2020 Judiciary News

ACB > RBG

Supreme Court:

Barrett:  Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed on October 26 by a 52-48 vote.  All Rs except Susan Collins voted yes; all members of the D caucus voted no.  Barrett was sworn in by Justice Thomas the same evening.

Barrett:  Carrie Severino summarizes Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of the Judiciary Committee hearings on Judge Barrett.

ABA:  The left-leaning American Bar Association gave Judge Barrett a rating of Well Qualified by a substantial majority, with a minority voting for a rating of qualified.

Barrett:  Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declined to criticize Judge Barrett during their debates.

Barrett:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room has analyzed the split opinions involving Judge Barrett, both when she was in the majority and minority.

Barrett:  Politico writes that Barrett quickly became a consensus candidate due to strong support from Mitch McConnell, Leonard Leo, and Josh Hawley.  Also notable is the Leo helped to keep Neomi Rao off Trump's Supreme Court list.

Barrett:  Leftists have demanded that Justice Barrett recuse herself from a variety of cases, especially potential election litigation.  Carrie Severino and Ed Whelan disagree, pointing out previous cases in which liberal judges did not recuse themselves.

Supreme Court:  Senator Ted Cruz has written a book on the Supreme Court: One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History.  He revealed that he raised concerns with President Trump about Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.  He instead recommended Senator Mike Lee be appointed.

Supreme Court:  Joshua Wilson asks why there aren’t any evangelicals on the Supreme Court, while there are 6 Catholics.  He mentions that evangelicals are less likely to become lawyers, and less likely to attend top law schools.  One answer the article doesn’t give is that evangelicals are more interested in results than identity politics.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Feinstein:  Some leftist groups want Senator Diane Feinstein removed as ranking D on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Some senators are unhappy with her performance in the ACB hearings, but there doesn't seem to be much support for removing her.

Texas:  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was accused of corruption by seven aides, including First Assistant AG Jeff Mateer, who resigned in protest.  Mateer is notable due to his nomination to ED-TX in 2017.  He was not confirmed due to some controversial comments he made that came to light.

New Nominations:
TBD

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings:
TBD

Confirmations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Judicial winning:  Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network is writing a series highlighting Trump's conservative judicial appointees.  The series so far includes Kyle Duncan, Amul Thapar, Ken Lee, Lisa Branch, Amy Coney Barrett, Greg Katsas, Justin Walker, Kevin Newsom, Dan Bress, Eric Murphy, Daniel Collins, Patrick Bumatay, Paul Matey, and Jay Richardson.

Misconduct:  Judges accused of misconduct often retire to avoid accountability.  Case in point is Judge Truman A. Morrison III of the DC Superior Court.

1st Circuit:  Judge Juan Torruella died on October 26 at age 87.  He was the first appeals court judge from Puerto Rico.  He was appointed to D-PR by Ford in 1974 and to the 1st Circuit by Reagan in 1984.  He was generally liberal, issuing rulings supporting abortion and gay rights, and obstructing the death penalty.

SD-CA:  Chief Judge Larry Burns will take senior status on January 22, 2021, two days after the winner of the next presidential election is inaugurated.  He was appointed by W in 2003.  In 2012, he wrote a column endorsing an assault weapons ban, so he isn't that conservative.

State Supreme Courts:

Elections:  Check out my preview of state supreme court elections in 2020.

California:  Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Martin Jenkins to the California Supreme Court.  He was appointed to ND-CA by Clinton in 1997, and resigned in 2008.  Governor Schwarzenegger then appointed him to the California Court of Appeals.  He is 66.  The court now has 5 D and 2 R appointees.

Texas:  Governor Greg Abbott appointed Rebeca Huddle to the Texas Supreme Court.  Huddle, 47, is a native of El Paso who was a justice on a Houston-based appeals court.  She replaces Justice Paul Green, who retired in August.

Numbers and Trivia:

Obstruction:  Keith Whittington examines obstruction of circuit court nominees.  Both parties have engaged in this practice and President Obama was not obstructed significantly more than previous presidents.

Supreme Court:  Ilya Shapiro shows that liberal justices of the Supreme Court are more likely to vote as a block than conservative justices.

Roberts Court:  Dan McLaughlin rebuts the claim by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse that the Roberts Court decided 80 cases by a 5-4 margin, and all 80 cases were decided in favor of corporate interests.

Longevity:  Three judges originally appointed by Nixon, Gerald Bard Tjoflat, John Clifford Wallace, and Peter T. Fay, just passed 50 years of service.  They are tied for 26th on the list of longevity of service of federal judges.

Longevity:  ProPublica examines the longevity of current federal judges.  Trump appointees are somewhat younger than those of other presidents.

Courting Change:  Reuters examines the federal appeals courts, including appointing president, circuits, age, race, and sex.

Claims:  President Trump appointed Eleni Roumel as Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims on October 19.  Trump appointed her to the court in February 2020.  She was Deputy Counsel to VP Mike Pence 2018-2020.  She replaces Margaret Sweeney, whose term on the court of claims expired on October 24.  Sweeney was appointed to the court by W in 2005 and was named chief by Trump in 2018.

History:

Lincoln:  Kamala Harris misrepresented how President Lincoln handled a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year.  He didn't make a nomination before the election not because "the people should decide" but because the Senate was out of session.  (Also, there was a civil war.)  The seat was filled in the lame duck session after the election.

Resources:
Bench Memos (National Review)
The Vetting Room
Twitter: FedJudges Senate Cloakroom
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Judicial Ratings
Wikipedia: Trump Judges US Appeals Courts
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia--State Supreme Court Vacancies Elections
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August September October Elections

2020 State Supreme Court Election Preview

A majority of states have elections for state Supreme Court in November.  Here is a guide to the contested elections.  The elections in Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas seem to be the most competitive.

Ballotpedia:  2020 State Supreme Court Elections

Alaska:  Liberal Justice Susan Carney, on the court since 2016, faces a retention election.  A conservative group is campaigning for a no vote.

Arizona:  Justices Robert Brutinel, Andrew Gould, and John Lopez face a retention election.

Colorado:  Justices Melissa Hart and Carlos Samour face a retention election.

Florida:  Conservative Justice Carlos Muniz faces a retention vote.  He was appointed to the court by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2019.  There is no organized campaign against him, but several major newspapers have recommended a no vote.

Illinois:  
District 3  (North central)  Justice Thomas L. Kilbride (D) is an ally of corrupt Speaker Mike Madigan.  He faces a retention election where he must receive 60% of the vote.  If he doesn't get 60%, the other justices will choose a replacement for the next two years.
District 5 (South) Two judges of the 5th District Appellate Court are facing each other for the seat of retired Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier (R).  The candidates are Judy Cates (D) and David Overstreet (R).

Indiana:  Justice Christopher Goff, appointed in 2017, faces a retention election.

Iowa:  Justices Susan Christensen, Edward Mansfield, Christopher McDonald, Thomas Waterman face a retention election.  All are conservatives appointed by R governors.

Kansas:  Liberal Justice Eric Rosen faces a retention election.

Kentucky:  Samuel Wright III, the incumbent judge in district 7 (east) lost in a nonpartisan primary due to a graft scandal.  The runoff candidates are liberal D state rep Chris Harris and conservative Circuit Court Judge Bob Conley.

Louisiana:  
District 4 (Northeast)  Justice Marcus Clark (R) retired in June.  Judges Jay McCallum (2nd Circuit Court of Appeal) and Shannon Gremillion (3rd Circuit Court of Appeal) are running.  Both are Rs, but McCallum has support the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI), while Gremillion has been supported by trial lawyer John Carmouche.
District 7 (New Orleans) Chief Justice Bernette Johnson (D) is retiring.  The candidates to replace her are Judge Piper Griffin and 4th Circuit Court of Appeal judges Sandra Cabrina Jenkins and Terri Love.  All three are black female Ds.

Maryland:  Justices Brynja Booth, Jonathan Biran, and Mary Ellen Barbera face a retention election.

Michigan:  There are two full-term seats up for election on the Michigan Supreme Court. They are those of Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack (D) and conservative Stephen Markman (R), who is age-limited.  McCormack is likely safe, as she has the endorsement of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which usually endorses Rs.  The other D nominee is Grand Rapids attorney Elizabeth Welch.  Court of Appeals judge Brock Swartzle and assistant St. Clair County prosecutor Mary Kelly are the R nominees.  Swartzle has the stronger resume, but Michigan loves electing Irish female judges, as former justices Marilyn Kelly and Mary Beth Kelly can attest.  The second seat seems to be a tossup.

Minnesota:  Justice Paul Thissen, a former D speaker of the house, faces R Michelle MacDonald.

Mississippi:  
District 1 (Central) Justice Kenny Griffis, appointed by Governor Phil Bryant in 2019, faces Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks, a black woman.  The candidates have been endorsed by R and D parties, respectively.
District 3 (North) Justice Josiah Coleman faces Chancery Judge Percy Lynchard.

Missouri:  Conservative Justice Patricia Breckenridge faces a retention election.

Montana:  Justice Jim Shea is unopposed for reelection.  R-leaning Justice Laurie McKinnon faces trial lawyer Mike Black, who has been endorsed by several D former justices.  McKinnon got 53% to 29% for Black in the primary.

Nebraska:  Justices Lindsey Miller-Lerman and Jeffrey Funke face retention elections.

Nevada:  R-leaning justice Mark Gibbons is retiring.  The candidates to replace him are D state rep Ozzie Fumo and Eighth Judicial District Court judge Douglas Herndon, who is supported by R groups.  Herndon got 45% in the primary to Fumo's 36%.

New Mexico:  D Justice Shannon Bacon, appointed in 2019, faces R deputy district attorney Ned Fuller.
D Justice David Thomson, appointed in 2019, faces R attorney Kerry Morris.

North Carolina:  
Seat 1:  Chief Justice Cheri Beasley (D) is being challenged by Justice Paul Martin Newby (R).
Seat 2:  Court of Appeals judges Lucy N. Inman (D) and Phil Berger Jr. (R) are facing off.
Seat 4:  Justice Mark A. Davis (D) faces former state senator Tamara Barringer (R).

Ohio:  Justice Judi French (R) faces liberal D former SOS Jennifer Brunner.  Justice Sharon Kennedy (R) faces Judge John O’Donnell (D).

Oklahoma:  Justices John Kane, Tom Colbert and Richard Darby face a retention election.

South Dakota:  Justice Steven Jensen, who has been on the court since 2017, faces a retention election.

Texas Supreme Court:  There are four R incumbents up for election. Ds are aggressively challenging the incumbents.
Place 1: Nathan Hecht (R) faces 201st Judicial District Judge Amy Clark Meachum (D).
Place 6: Jane Bland (R) faces attorney Kathy Cheng (D).
Place 7: Jeffrey S. Boyd (R) faces Dallas County District Court Judge Staci Williams (D).
Place 8: Brett Busby (R) faces Texas Third Court of Appeals Judge Gisela Triana (D).

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: There are three R incumbents up for election.
Place 3: Bert Richardson (R) faces former Dallas County Criminal District Court judge Elizabeth Davis Frizell (D).
Place 4: Kevin Patrick Yeary (R) faces Dallas County Criminal District Court judge Tina Yoo Clinton (D).
Place 9: David Newell (R) faces Texas 292nd District Court judge Brandon Birmingham (D).

Utah:  Justice John A. Pearce, on the court since 2015, faces a retention election.

Washington:  Justices Charles Johnson and Debra Stephens are unopposed for reelection.  Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, appointed in January by Governor Jay Inslee, faces Federal Way Municipal Court Judge David Larson.  Justice Helen Whitener, appointed in April, faces former Winlock School District Superintendent Richard Serns.

Wyoming:  Justices Lynne Boomgaarden and Kari Jo Gray face retention elections.

2020 Michigan State House Races

Last updated October 15, 2020.

Cross-posted at The Western Right, Right Michigan, and RRH Elections.

All 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives will be up for election in November. Republicans won a 63-47 majorities in 2014 and 2016, and a reduced 58-42 margin in 2018. There are 25 open seats, 12 held by Republicans and 13 held by democrats. There are 22 open due to term-limits, 1 just due to seeking another office, 1 due to death, and 1 pure retirement.

Democrats are hoping to take control of the state house. They may benefit from anti-Trump enthusiasm, particularly in suburban districts in Oakland County.

Republican Michigander has a profile of the Michigan state house focusing more on district demographics.





The following lists district number, current incumbent, geographic description, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 state house results, 2012 Romney %, 2016 Trump % (if known), and political rating.  The complete candidate list and recent fundraising numbers are available here:

2020 Michigan Primary Candidate List
July 2020 Michigan State House Fundraising

October 2020 Judiciary News

RBG, RIP.

Supreme Court:

Ginsberg:  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died September 18 at the age of 87.  She was appointed to the DC Circuit by Carter in 1979.  She was elevated to the Supreme Court by Clinton in 1993 at age 60.  She was recommended to Clinton by Senator Orrin Hatch (!) and confirmed 96-3.  The three no votes were Jesse Helms, Don Nickles, and Bob Smith.

Ginsberg:  Despite her support for abortion, Justice Ginsberg acknowledged in 1973 that Roe v Wade was wrongly decided:

“One of the most curious things about Roe is that, behind its own verbal smokescreen, the substantive judgment on which it rests is nowhere to be found.”

Ginsberg:  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hired over 100 law clerks, but only one is black (Paul Watford of the 9th Circuit).  Under the theory of 'disparate impact', any racial distribution in hiring different from the surrounding population is proof of racial discrimination.  Ginsberg's hiring discredits this theory.

Barrett:  President Trump announced the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th Circuit for the Supreme Court on September 26.  Barrett, age 48, got her JD from Notre Dame and clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman (DC Circuit) and for Justice Scalia at the Supreme Court.  She was a professor at Notre Dame for 15 years, and has been on the 7th Circuit since November 2, 2017.

Barrett:  The AP explains how Barrett rose from law professor to Supreme Court nominee with the help of Don McGahn, the Federalist Society, and the conservative movement.

Barrett:  Ed Whelan has written a series of articles on Judge Barrett's views on abortion, the Second Amendment, textualism and originalism, Title IX protections for accused students, and stare decisis.

McConnell:  Senator Mich McConnell has been accused of hypocrisy for pledging a vote on President Trump's nominee while refusing a vote on Merrick Garland in 2016.  However, McConnell clearly stated then that he was referring to blocking a nominee of the opposite party.

Hypocrisy:  In 2016, more than 350 law professors signed a letter stating that the Senate had a “constitutional duty to give President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee a prompt and fair hearing and a timely vote.”  Surely they will say the same about President Trump's nominee.

Senate:  National Review examines how Senator McConnell rounded up support in the Senate for voting on a Supreme Court nominee prior to the election.

Lagoa:  Barbara Lagoa, the reported runner-up for the nomination, has been a member of the Federalist Society since 1998.  Her rise to prominence coincides with the increasing influence of the Florida Federalist Society over judicial selections in that state.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Trump list:  President Trump released a list of 20 additions to his list of Supreme Court candidates, along with a statement of purpose.  The additions are:

Circuit Judges: Bridget Bade (9th), Kyle Duncan (5th), James Ho (5th), Gregory Katsas (DC), Barbara Lagoa (11th), Peter Phipps (3rd), Allison Jones Rushing (4th), Lawrence VanDyke (9th)
District Judges: Martha Pacold (ND-IL), Sarah Pitlyk (ED-MO)
State Supreme Court Judges: Carlos Muñiz (FL)
US Senators: Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley
DC lawyers: Paul Clement, Steven Engel, Noel Francisco, Christopher Landau, Kate Todd
State Attorney Generals: Daniel Cameron (KY)

Notable omissions include Neomi Rao (DC), Michael Park (2nd), Andy Oldham (5th), Ken Lee (9th)

Future appointments:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room lists twelve state court judges Donald Trump and Joe Biden might elevate to the Court of Appeals.  The contrast is stark.

Blue slip:  For the past four years, senate Ds have lauded the blue slip, but now that they expect a Biden victory, the far-left group Demand Justice is demanding that Senator Diane Feinstein end it.  Feinstein says she is undecided, apparently meaning that she needs to know the election results before she decides her position on blue slips.

D-NM:  New Mexico's D senators are using the blue slip to hold up district court nominees from their states as a protest of the latest Supreme Court nomination.   It appears that other D senators are doing the same.

MD-FL:  Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a nominee to MD-FL, is only 33 years old.  She has been attacked for inexperience, and got a NQ/Q rating from the ABA.  Carrie Severino defends her experience, noting she had four clerkships, worked in the Department of Justice, private practice, and taught in law school.

New Nominations:
Supreme Court: Amy Coney Barrett--clerk for Scalia, Judge (7th Circuit)

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings:
October 1 (business): Five district court nominees are likely to be approved.

Confirmations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Judicial winning:  Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network is writing a series highlighting Trump's conservative judicial appointees.  The series so far includes Kyle Duncan, Amul Thapar, Ken Lee, Lisa Branch, Amy Coney Barrett, Greg Katsas, Justin Walker, Kevin Newsom, Dan Bress, Eric Murphy, Daniel Collins, Patrick Bumatay, and Paul Matey.

Trump judges:  The far-left People For the American Way released a report, Trump Judges: Even More Extreme than Reagan and Bush Judges.  Music to our ears!

DC Circuit: Carrie Severino writes an 'open letter' to new DC Circuit Judge Justin Walker, detailing the "politicization and bitter infighting" on the circuit.

4th Circuit:  Senior Judge Clyde Hamilton died in early September at age 86.  He was appointed to D-SC by Reagan in 1981 and to the 4th Circuit by HW in 1991.  He took senior status in 1999 and was active until his death.  The 4th Circuit now has only two senior judges.

5th Circuit: Former Judge Robert Manley Parker died on August 27 at age 82.  He was appointed to ED-TX by Carter in 1979 and to the 5th Circuit by Clinton in 1994.  He retired in 2002.

ED-TN:  Judge Pamela Reeves died of cancer on September 10 at age 66.  She was appointed by Obama in 2014.  ED-TN now has two vacancies out of five judgeships.

State Supreme Courts:

Florida:  The Florida Supreme Court issued a 5-0 ruling that Governor DeSantis must appoint a judge from the existing list of qualified judges submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission in January.  They previously ruled that his appointment of Renatha Francis to the court was not allowed by the law, since she did not have ten years of legal experience by the deadline to make the appointment.  The suit was filed by state rep Geraldine Thompson, a black D who wanted one of the more liberal black applicants screened out by the Commission to be appointed.  While she initially wanted a new list drawn up, the court allowed her to amend her complaint to demand a judge from the existing list.  Governor DeSantis waited a few hours after the court's deadline of September 14 at Noon to announce his choice.

Florida:  Governor DeSantis appointed Jamie Grosshans to the Florida Supreme Court.  She is a judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal, appointed by Rick Scott in 2018. Grosshans, age 42, is a member of the Federalist Society, Orlando Christian Legal Society, and Alliance Defending Freedom.

Kansas:  Eleven lawyers have applied for the seat on the Kansas Supreme Court vacated by retiring Justice Carol Beier.

Massachusetts:  Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants died at age 65.  He was appointed to the court by Governor DeVal Patrick in 2009.  Another seat will open December 1 when Justice Barbara Lenk is age-limited.  When those seats are filled, all seven justices will be appointees of left-leaning Republican Governor Charlie Baker.

Numbers and Trivia:

Clerks:  John Doe has a list of judges for whom Trump's judicial nominees have clerked.  Justice Thomas leads the pack.

D-KS:  Judge Wesley Brown was the oldest judge to ever hear cases.  Brown heard cases until shortly before his death in 2012 at age 104.  He was appointed by Kennedy in 1962 and took senior status in 1979.

Asian Judges: Wikipedia has a list of Asian judges, but does not separate out federal judges.  These are Asian judges that Trump has appointed:
6th Circuit: Amul Thapar
5th Circuit: James Ho
6th Circuit: John Nalbandian
DC Circuit: Neomi Rao
2nd Circuit: Michael Park
9th Circuit: Kenneth Lee
9th Circuit: Patrick Bumatay
ND-TX: Karen Scholer
D-HI: Jill Otake
WD-PA: Nicholas Ranjan
ND-IL: Martha Pacold
SD-FL: Anuraag Singhal
ED-NY:  Diane Gujarati

There are a few more who have been nominated (corrections welcome):
CD-CA:  Steve Kim
ED-NY:  Saritha Komatireddy

History:

Supreme Court:  Dan McLaughlin shows that historical precedent supports a President and Senate of the same party filling a Supreme Court vacancy at any time, including a lame duck session.  This article led National Review's list of top stories for a week after RBG's death.

Resources:
Bench Memos (National Review)
The Vetting Room
FedJudges (Twitter)
Senate Cloakroom (Twitter)
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Judicial Ratings
Wikipedia-Trump Judges
Wikipedia-US Appeals Courts
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia-State Supreme Court Vacancies
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August September

Voter Fraud: Now We Have Proof

For a long time, those of us on the right have suspected that voter fraud is widespread on the left.  There have been plenty of isolated cases where fraud has been proved, but these were usually small or amateurish.  This allowed democrats to claim that voter fraud was rare and oppose measures to secure elections, branding them 'voter suppression'.

That all changed a week ago with the publication of a bombshell article in the New York Post.

Confessions of a voter fraud: I was a master at fixing mail-in ballots

A democrat operative from New Jersey, speaking anonymously, has exposed the democrats' operation.  They collect ballots from unsuspecting voters (ballot harvesting), then steam open the envelopes, and replace the ballots with copies they have filled in.  Postal employees can also collect ballots from the mail do the same thing, or just destroy them.  Nursing home employees can also "help" the elderly fill out ballots.  Homeless people can be bribed to vote their way.

The right has focused most on voter impersonation, while mail vote fraud has always been a bigger threat.  Nonetheless, impersonation is also one of their tactics.

So what can we do?  The most secure way to vote is in person.  If you can't vote in person, fill out your absentee ballot and bring it to your local clerk yourself.  You absolutely should not trust anyone you don't know (including postal employees) with your ballot.  Then make sure your friends know this as well.

September 2020 Judiciary News

Judiciary news continues to roll in.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Trump list:  As we wait for President Trump's updated Supreme Court list, John Malcolm and Zack Smith of the Heritage Foundation and Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute have made recommendations for who he should add.

Future appointments:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room lists thirteen federal judges Donald Trump and Joe Biden might elevate to the Court of Appeals.  The contrast is stark.

Court packing:  The democrat party included a plank in its party platform calling for
“structural court reforms” to counter what they call Trump's “unqualified, partisan judges.”  The Biden campaign signed off on the plank.  The platform does not specify what these 'reforms' would be, but it seems likely to include court packing, adding new seats that would be filled with leftists.

Legislative filibuster:  Court packing would depend on eliminating the legislative filibuster.  Support for this has been building on the left and among senate Ds.  Joe Biden has signaled openness, but has not formally endorsed the idea.  A few senate Ds say they are opposed, though it remains to be seen whether this opposition is real.

Roe v. Wade:  Senator Josh Hawley has argued that future Supreme Court nominees should be on the record saying that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.  Ed Whelan argues that this is a flawed test, as some liberals have acknowledged that Roe was wrongly decided and some conservative judges had not said this.  He suggests a different approach for pro-life senators.

New Nominations:
Court of Federal Claims: Zachary Somers--staffer for Senate Judiciary Committee

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings:
TBD

Confirmations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Judicial winning:  Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network is writing a series highlighting Trump's conservative judicial appointees.  The series so far includes Kyle Duncan, Amul Thapar, Ken Lee, Lisa Branch, Amy Coney Barrett, Greg Katsas, and Justin Walker.

9th Circuit:  Judge Jerome Farris passed away on July 23.  He was appointed by President Carter in 1979 and took senior status in 1995 on his 65th birthday.  He was the first black judge on the 9th Circuit.

DC Circuit:  Judge Stephen F. Williams passed away on August 7 due to the coronavirus.  He was appointed by President Reagan in 1986 and took senior status in 2001.  He was one of eight Reagan appointees to the DC Circuit.

D-ID:  Judge David Nye issued an injunction against an Idaho law declaring that women's sports not allow men.  Nye is a Trump appointee who was previously nominated by President Obama, but not confirmed.

D-ME:  Has Trump-appointed Judge Lance Walker betrayed conservatives?  This article tries to argue this, but most of the examples cited are not ideologically clear-cut.

State Supreme Courts:

States:  Harsh Voruganti argues that D governors appoint judges who are older and less involved in legal activism than R governors.

Florida:  The Florida Supreme Court ruled that Governor DeSantis' appointment of Renatha Francis to the court was not allowed by the law, since she did not have ten years of legal experience by the deadline to make the appointment.  The ruling was 5-0, with recently-appointed Justice John Couriel recused.  The suit was filed by state rep Geraldine Thompson, a black D who wanted one of the more liberal black applicants screened out by the Judicial Nominating Commission to be appointed.  However, the court ruled that what she wanted was illegal, and she did not request a proper remedy of appointing one of the other (non-black) candidates approved by the commission.  Thus Judge Francis can join the court in September.

South:  Billy Corriher summarizes state supreme court elections in Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, and North Carolina.

Numbers and Trivia:

2nd Circuit: As of September 1, Debra Ann Livingston will be the Chief Judge of the 2nd Circuit, taking over from Robert Katzmann. Katzmann was appointed by Clinton and is a D feeder judge.  Livingston was appointed by W in 2007. The Presidents who appointed chief judges of the 13 appeals courts are Clinton (4, 6, 9), W (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, Fed), and Obama (DC).

9th Circuit:  This article analyzes the limited en banc panels of the 9th Circuit, particularly which judges are most and least likely to be selected for them.  John Doe has calculated (correctly) that there is a 24.9% chance that a limited en banc panel will have a majority of R appointed judges (ignoring senior judges).

Hispanic Judges:  Wikipedia has a list of Hispanic judges, but does not separate out federal judges.  These are Hispanic judges that Trump has appointed:
11th Circuit: Barbara Lagoa
SD-TX:  Fernando Rodriguez Jr.
SD-FL:  Roy Altman
SD-TX:  David Morales
SD-FL:  Rodolfo Ruiz
D-PR:  Raúl Arias-Marxuach
ND-GA:  Steven Grimberg
D-PR:  Silvia Carreño-Coll

There are a few more who have been nominated (corrections welcome):
CD-CA:  Fernando Aenlle-Rocha
ND-IL:  Franklin Valderrama
SD-FL:  Aileen Cannon
ED-NY:  Hector Gonzalez

History:

Supreme Court:  Dan McLaughlin shows that historical precedent supports a President and Senate of the same party filling a Supreme Court vacancy at any time, including a lame duck session.

Maryanne Trump Barry:  The President's sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, is a retired judge of the 3rd Circuit and D-NJ.  She was considered a moderate who was nominated by presidents of both parties, and is not close to her brother.

ABA:  Harsh Voruganti of the Vetting Room reviews the history of the ABA having a special role rating judicial candidates and argues (from the left) that this practice should end.

Resources:
Bench Memos (National Review)
The Vetting Room
FedJudges (Twitter)
Senate Cloakroom (Twitter)
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Judicial Ratings
Wikipedia-Trump Judges
Wikipedia-US Appeals Courts
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia-State Supreme Court Vacancies
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July August

Lessons from the 2020 Primary Elections

What can we learn from the 2020 primary elections? This article explains what the winning candidates had in common. I wrote similar articles in 2014, 2016, and 2018.

They don't call it the establishment for nothing Establishment candidates won most state house races. They have the inside track on fundraising, endorsements, and organization.  None of the winners are outright moderates.  Most could be considered establishment conservatives.  Solid conservative winners include Chase Turner, Steve Carra, Ken Borton, and John Damoose.

Experience counts Elected experience is valuable for winning candidates. Ken Borton is a county commissioner, and establishment conservative winners like Robert Bezotte, TC Clements, and Dave Morgan are also elected officials.

Incumbency Matters All incumbent Republicans won renomination. Beating an incumbent in a primary is very hard. In recent years, the only conservative challengers who beat a Republican incumbent are Tim Walberg in 2006, Lee Chatfield in 2014, and Matt Hall in 2018. Certainly many incumbents deserve primary challenges, but conservatives have limited resources. Winning an open seat is much easier than beating an incumbent. Politicians can still be held to account when they run for other offices.  There are still some benefits to primary challenges, though, as they may encourage the incumbent to vote better for awhile and may help the challenger to win an open seat later.

If at first you don't succeed  Chase Turner almost beat an incumbent in the 2018 primary.  This time, he easily won the primary, advancing to a competitive general election.  Candidates who lost this time should look for opportunities to run again in the future.

Don't split the vote Conservatives did much better this year than in past years. HD-58 may have been lost to a less conservative candidate due to vote splitting.  Conservatives may have benefited from splits in the establishment in HD-59.

Money doesn't buy elections  Self-funding candidates have a bad electoral track record.  Sreenivas Cherukuri self-funded and lost badly in HD-38.  Shri Thanedar did win the D nomination in HD-3 with major self-funding after losing a race for governor in 2018.

Money is essential Money does not guarantee victory, but it is essential to get your message out. This is particularly true in local elections, which are often decided by name recognition. Look at how much winning conservative candidates raised.
Turner 31K
Carra 24K
Borton 50K
Damoose 70K

The candidate who raised the most money won in 6 of 12 contested primaries in open Republican seats (fewer than in past cycles), and the remaining winners still had good fundraising.  My rule of thumb is that the minimum amount needed to be a credible candidate is $30,000. Only two winners raised less than 30K this cycle, one in a race where no candidate did.  The minimum raised by a winner was 24K.

2020 Michigan Primary Election Results

2020 Michigan Primary Election Results

Congress:
3. Meijer 50 Afendoulis 26 Norton 16
5. Kelly 79
6. (R) Upton 62 Oelke 38
    (D) Hoadley 52 Richardson 48
8. Junge 35 Detmer 29 Lyke 25
10. McClain 42 Hernandez 36 Slocum 22
11. Esshaki 31 Greco 23 Bentivolio 22 Acosta 13 Williams 11
13. (D) Tlaib 66 Jones 34

State House:
2. (D) Tate 69 Harrell 31
3. (D) Thanedar 35 McKinney 20
9. (D) Whitsett 45 Ogburn 30
19. Ptashnik 52 Crider 43
20. Lacny 59 Rouch 41
25. Smith 37 Wiley 32 Early 31
32. Hornberger 64 Mikula 36
38. Turner 62 Cherukuri 23
41. Sosnoski 51 Agnello 49
47. Bezotte 54 Reckling 41
56. Clements 72 Blaine 28
58. Fink 39 Welden 26 Wiseley 18 Stockford 17
59. Carra 37 Coleman 23 Walton 18 Balog 16
60. (D) Rogers 51.5 Moore 48.5
61. Haltom 66 Graham 34
62. Morgan 72 Gregoire 20
70. Outman 57 Ross 22
71. Johnsen 51.3 Barnes 48.7
73. Posthumus 46 Inhulsen 29 Regan 25
79. Wendzel 82 Blackwell 18
81. Eisen 72 Mahaney 28
83. Beeler 36 Alexander 28 Keller 20 O'Mara 14
100. VanSingel 68 Sebolt 32
101. O'Malley 87 Cater 13
104. Roth 58 Cerone 42
105. Borton 55 Cutler 36
107. Damoose 57 Twardy 12 Fisher 11

Oakland:
D turnout was about 200000, R turnout was about 120000.
Executive. (D) Coulter 54 Meisner 46
Prosecutor. (D) McDonald 66 Cooper 34

Macomb:
D turnout was about 89000, R turnout was about 95000.
Prosecutor. (D) Chrzanowski 35 Switalski 32
Prosecutor. (R) Lucido 68 Goodman 32
If Lucido wins, his senate seat will be open.
Clerk. (R) Forlini 45 Williams 23

2020 Michigan Primary Recommendations

Every seat in the Michigan state house is up for election in 2020, and many seats are open due to term limits.  The house has been run by its more conservative wing for the past four years.  Continuing this trend will depend on conservatives winning primaries in August.  Here are my recommendations for who to support in Republican primaries.  Michigan Right to Life is abbreviated RTL.  Fundraising totals are available from Open Secrets.  Some races are hard evaluate, so additional information from readers is welcome.

Congress:

3.  Tom Norton is the most conservative candidate here, but he seems unable to raise a significant amount of money.  He didn't come close either time he ran for state representative.  Lynn Afendoulis is thoroughly establishment friendly.  Peter Meijer is a veteran and heir of the retail chain who seems to be somewhat more conservative than Afendoulis.  Joe Farrington has an eccentric platform.
5. Former state rep. Tim Kelly had a conservative record in office and is a credible candidate.
8. It will take a good candidate with good fundraising to beat incumbent democrat Elissa Slotkin.  Television anchor and Trump USCIS official Paul Junge has a decent resume and has raised by far the most money.  None of the other candidates have raised much money.  Mike Detmer is endorsed by Pat Colbeck.
10. State rep. Shane Hernandez is the clear choice here.  He was a Tea Party leader who has compiled one of the most conservative voting records in the state legislature, according to the American Conservative Union, MIRS, and RightMichigan.  He has been endorsed by conservative organizations including Gun Owners of America, Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, Michigan Trump Republicans, and Tea Party Express.  He has also been endorsed by many conservative legislators, including Jack Brandenberg, Leon Drolet, Pam Hornberger, and Tom Leonard, plus many more establishment-friendly colleagues.  Neither of his opponents have a conservative track record.
11. The field of candidates to take on incumbent democrat Haley Stevens is quite weak.  Nurse/lawyer Eric Esshaki and businesswoman Carmelita Greco have raised the most money.  Whitney Williams is endorsed by former state rep. Jeff Noble.  Former Congressman Kerry Bentivolio had a conservative voting record, but was ineffective in Congress and is a weak candidate.

State House:

19. Penny Crider was district director for senator Pat Colbeck.  Martha Ptashnik has support from establishment groups.
20. Marine veteran John Lacny has the RTL endorsement.
21. Businesswoman Laurel Hess has the RTL endorsement.
25. Jazmine Early and Adam Wiley both seem to be fairly conservative.
38. Activist Chase Turner almost won a primary against an incumbent in 2018.  He is endorsed by RTL and Pat Colbeck.
41. Firefighter Evan Agnello has the RTL endorsement.
47. Livingston GOP chair Meghan Reckling worked for conservative Senator Lana Theis, who endorsed her. Wes Nakagiri and Tom Leonard have also endorsed her.
48. County commissioner David Martin is a credible candidate who has the RTL endorsement.
56. Bedford Township trustee TC Clements seems to be the only credible candidate, as his opponent is 19.  He has the RTL endorsement.
58. Prosecutor and realtor Daren Wiseley has a solidly conservative platform.
59. Steve Carra is a legislative staffer for solid conservative state representative Steve Johnson.  He has a true commitment to conservative values.
61. Trump campaign aide Bronwyn Haltom has establishment support and a big fundraising lead.  IT specialist Tom Graham has the NRA endorsement and a somewhat eclectic platform.
62. Pennfield Township Supervisor Dave Morgan, a former democrat, is running again after narrowly losing in 2018.  The other candidates might be fine in a safe district, but Morgan seems the best choice to flip this D-held seat.
70. Postmaster and pastor Martin Ross has the RTL endorsement.  Pat Outman, son of state rep and senator Rick Outman, is endorsed by conservative incumbent Jim Lower.
71. Former Eaton County commissioner Christine Barnes is running again.  Businesswoman Gina Johnsen has much better fundraising and is fairly conservative.
73. Businessman Robert Regan, who finished second in 2014 and 2018, is the most conservative and has some grassroots support.
79. Pauline Wendzel is an incumbent with a reasonably conservative record.
83. Teacher Tim Keller is a conservative former Tea Party leader.  He has been endorsed by the 10th district GOP and conservative leaders including Pat Colbeck, Tom McMillin and Wes Nakagiri.
100. Incumbent Scott VanSingel has a rather disappointing voting record.  Oceana County Commissioner Andrew Sebolt is solidly conservative.
101. Incumbent Jack O'Malley faces a primary from Carolyn Cater, who seems to be somewhat more conservative.
104. AFP organizer Heather Cerone seems to be more conservative than Grand Traverse County Republican Party chairman John Roth.
105. Otsego County Commissioner Ken Borton is the most conservative candidate.  Tony Cutler is a teacher who finished second in the 2014 primary.  Jimmy Schmidt is a former democrat.
107. Documentary producer John Damoose is the most conservative candidate in a large field.  He has the sole RTL endorsement.

August 2020 Judiciary News

The Supreme Court dealt with several controversial issues at the end of its term.

The Supreme Court:

Abortion:  Chief Justice Roberts sided with the left to strike down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics.  The law was similar to a Texas law Roberts had voted to uphold in 2016.

Blaine Amendments:  The Supreme Court struck down Montana's 'Blaine Amendment', which banned government aid to religious (but not secular) private schools.  Blaine amendments, named after Speaker of the House (1869-75) James Blaine (from the state of Maine), exist in 37 states.  They are widely acknowledged to be motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment at a time when public schools were de-facto Protestant schools.  The Supreme Court did not forbid states from banning all aid to private schools, as is the case in Michigan.

Death Penalty:  Federal executions were finally resumed on July 16.  Various attempts to stop them by activists and lower court judges were thwarted by a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court.

Religious Liberty:  The Supreme Court issued three rulings protecting religious liberty this term.  This continues a string of positive rulings over the past decade.

Roberts:  Joan Biskupic claims inside sources on John Roberts' maneuvering on the court.  Notably, the court has not taken any Second Amendment cases because Roberts has signaled that he could not be counted on to protect gun rights.  Ed Whelan believes that at least one Supreme Court justice leaked to Biskupic for the article.

Supreme Court:  Ed Whelan ponders why conservative judges are more likely to defect to join liberal decisions than the reverse.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Trump list:  President Trump's announcement that he would release an updated list of Supreme Court candidates has led to behind-the-scenes wrangling about who should be on the new list.  Some people want to omit younger Trump appointees with limited records.  Some older judges are likely to be removed from the list.

Feinstein:  Progressives are upset with Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, for not doing enough to oppose President Trump's judicial nominees.  It isn't clear who they think should have the job.

New Nominations:
TBD

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings:
TBD

Confirmations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Federalist Society:  The Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States has abandoned its attempt to ban judges from membership in the Federalist Society.

11th Circuit:  Clinton-appointed judge Robert Hinkle (ND-FL) recently ruled against a Florida law requiring criminals to pay fines before being restored voting rights.  The 11th Circuit agreed to hear the case en banc, bypassing a three-judge panel.  Senate Judiciary Committee Ds sent a letter to three Trump-appointed judges demanding that they recuse themselves from the case, which would give liberals the majority.  Judge Andrew Brasher (AL) had already done so shortly before the letter was sent.  Judges Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa had previously heard, but not ruled on, a different case on the same issue as justices on the Florida Supreme Court.  They denied the request to recuse themselves.

SD-FL:  Judge Federico Moreno took senior status on July 17.  He is the only Hispanic on President Trump's Supreme Court appointment list.  He was nominated to the 11th Circuit in 1992, but Joe Biden denied him a hearing.

ED-WI:  Clinton-appointed Judge Lynn Adelman was admonished by the 7th Circuit Judicial Council, which handles ethics complaints in that circuit.  He wrote a law review article entitled "The Roberts Court's Assault on Democracy", an angry screed against President Trump, Chief Justice John Roberts, and the R-appointed majority on the Supreme Court.  Before appointment to the bench, Adelman was a D state senator and three-time congressional candidate.

State Supreme Courts:

Alaska: Governor Mike Dunleavy name Dario Borghesan to the Alaska Supreme Court, replacing retired conservative Craig Stowers.  Borghesan was chief assistant attorney general under AG Kevin Clarkson.  He seemed to be the only candidate with conservative bonafides.  The other candidates were Superior Court Judges Dani Crosby, Jennifer Stuart Henderson and Yvonne Lamoureux, all appointed to the Superior Court by left-leaning independent Gov. Bill Walker.  Three of the five judges on the left-leaning court must retire no later than 2025.

Connecticut:  Governor Ned Lamont nominated Christine Keller to the Connecticut Supreme Court to succeed Justice Richard Palmer.  Keller is less than 3 years below the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Florida:  A lawsuit is challenging the appointment of black conservative Renatha Francis to the Florida Supreme Court.  Francis will not achieve the minimum 10 years of membership in the Florida bar until September 24.  Governor DeSantis announced that he would appoint her then.  He was supposed to make the appointment by March 23, but delayed the announcement due to the pandemic.  The suit was filed by state rep Geraldine Thompson, a black D who wanted one of the more liberal black applicants screened out by the Judicial Nominating Commission to be appointed.

New Hampshire:  The Hampshire Supreme Court has 2 D and 2 R appointees, with one vacancy.  That seat has been vacant for almost one year.  Former Justice Robert Lynn retired on August 23, 2019, as he was age-limited.  Governor Chris Sununu nominated Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, but the state Executive Council, with a 3-2 D majority, blocked the nomination.  Councilor Andru Volinsky is one of the D candidates against Governor Sununu this year.

Pennsylvania:  The Pennsylvania state senate approved a bill to elect Supreme Court judges by district rather than statewide.  The court currently has a 5-2 D majority, and most justices are from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

Texas:  Republican Justice Paul W. Green will retire in August.  He is 68 and was first elected in 2004.  His replacement will be appointed by Governor Greg Abbott.  This will be Abbott's fourth appointment to the all-Republican court.

Numbers and Trivia:

Trump Appointees:  Pew Research compares the number of Trump appointees to previous presidents at the same point in their terms.

Federalist Society:  John Doe (@fedjudges) has analyzed the signatories of the letter from mostly conservative judges opposing the proposal by the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Codes of Conduct to ban judges from membership in the Federalist Society.  I did some analysis of my own in June.

Two districts, D-ND and MD-AL, have only Trump appointees.  The first district court to have a Trump-appointed chief judge is D-ID, where the other judge is a Clinton appointee whose term as chief expired after 20 years.

History:

Lame Duck Appointments:  There have been many election-year Supreme Court appointments in the past, but none recently.  Not surprisingly, they are much more likely to be confirmed when the Presidency and Senate are controlled by the same party.

Resources:
Bench Memos (National Review)
The Vetting Room
FedJudges (Twitter)
Senate Cloakroom (Twitter)
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Judicial Ratings
Wikipedia-Trump Judges
Wikipedia-US Appeals Courts
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th
Ballotpedia-State Supreme Court Vacancies
The Supreme Courts
2020: March April May June July

July 2020 Michigan State House Fundraising

July 24 was the deadline for campaign finance reports for Michigan legislature.  Here are summaries of the total amount raised in competitive Michigan state house districts.  Totals include in-kind contributions.  Candidates who filed reporting waivers are generally omitted.  These numbers come from MIRS and the SOS campaign finance reports.  XX means the report has yet to be filed.

2. (D) Tate 108K, Harrell XX
3. (D) Thanedar 438K (all self), Mckinney 37K, Cochran 23K
4. (D) Aiyash 72K, Oberholtzer 58K, Holmes 37K, Ahmed 12K
6. (D) Carter 40K, Palmer 23K
7. (D) Scott 28K, Yancy 10K
8. (D) Etheridge 37K, Young 30K, Davis 24K
9. (D) Whitsett 22K, Ogburn 38K
10. (D) Cavanagh 13K, Hill 5K
13. (D) Liberati 34K, Estheimer 10K, Colovos XX
19. (R) Crider 54K (32K self), Ptashnik 45K (D) Pohutski 148K
20. (R) Lacny 30K (all self), Roush 3K (D) Koleszar 131K
21. (R) Nangle 6K, Hess 3K (D) Puri 128K, Petzold 55K
22. (D) Steenland 20K, Nelson 9K, Anderson 1.5K
25. (R) Smith 10K, Wiley 6K, Early waiver (D) Shannon 65K
27. (D) Weiss 50K, Kresch 33K, Stoel 22K, Williams 8K
35. (D) Bolden 61K, Martini 27K
37. (D) Bruce 111K, Steckloff 62K
38. (R) Chereukuri 102K (100K self), Turner 31K (D) Breen 43K McAllister 33K
39. (R) Berman 67K (D) Pulver 117K
40. (R) Cleary 6K (D) Manoogian 160K
41. (R) Agnello 22K Sosnoski 7K (D) Kuppa 188K
43. (R) Schroeder 56K (D) Breadon 25K
44. (R) Maddock 83K (D) Forrest 44K
45. (R) Tisdel 42K (D) Johnson 58K, Anness 39K
46. (R) Reilly 51K (D) LaMacchia 98K
47. (R) Reckling 55K, Bezotte 46K (21K self), Dyba 5K
48. (R) Martin 11K, Cross 1.3K (D) Kennedy 85K
55. (D) Brabec 142K
56. (R) Clements 28K, Blaine 4K
58. (R) Fink 49K, Welden 23K (17K self), Wiseley 19K, Stockford 11K
59. (R) Coleman 52K (38K self), Carra 24K, Walton 15K, Balog 9K, Hinkle 8K (all self)
60. (D) Rogers 107K, Moore 43K
61. (R) Haltom 286K (100K self), Graham 6K (5K self) (D) Morse 165K
62. (R) Morgan 13K (9K self), Gregoire 4K (D) Haadsma 199K
66. (R) Griffin 85K (D) Wheeler 24K
70. (R) Outman 46K, Ross 17K (14K self), Comden 4K
71. (R) Johnsen 88K (42K self), Barnes 12K (D) Witwer 195K
72. (R) Johnson 18K (D) Wilson 15K, Cheng 7K
73. (R) Inhulsen 116K, Posthumus 53K, Regan 23K (12K self) (D) Saxton 89K
76. (R) Zandstra 55K (D) Hood 45K
79. (R) Wendzel 83K, Blackwell 3K (D) Pitchford 38K
83. (R) Alexander 60K, O'Mara 49K (all self), Beeler 30K, Keller 29K
90. (R) Slagh 90K, Northrup 5K
91. (R) VanWoerkem 112K (D) Hosticka 37K
95. (D) Bryant 16K, Hammond 13K, Graham 7K, Adams 4K
98. (R) Glenn 258K (D) Schulz 173K
99. (R) Hauck 58K (D) Zang 6K
100. (R) VanSingel 78K Sebolt 9K
101. (R) O'Malley 80K Cater waiver
104. (R) Roth 38K (22K self), Cerone 19K (D) O'Neil 210K
105. (R) Culter 56K, Borton 50K
107. (R) Damoose 70K (30K self), Fisher 28K (21K self), Lamb 25K (24K self), Twardy 8K, Lieurance 5K
110. (R) Markkanen 31K (D) Metsa 20K, Dale 6K

CTV Endorsements

Citizens for Traditional Values, a social conservative organization in Michigan, has issued endorsements for the 2020 primary.  They endorsed most, but not all GOP incumbents.  They endorsed two candidates in some primaries.

16 Emily Bauman
19 Martha Ptashnik, Penny Crider
20 John Lacny
23 John Poe
24 Steve Marino
25 Adam Wiley, Jazmine Early
38 Chase Turner
42 Ann Bollin
43 Andrea Schroeder
44 Matt Maddock
45 Mark Tisdel
47 Meghan Reckling, Robert Bezotte
48 David Martin
50 Christina Firchett-Hickson
54 Martin Church
56 TC Clements
57 Bronna Kahle
58 Andrew Fink
59 Allen Balog
60 Gary Mitchell
62 Dave Morgan
63 Matt Hall
64 Julie Alexander
67 Nate Ross
68 Robert Atkinson
70 Martin Ross
71 Gina Johnsen, Christine Barnes
72 Steven Johnson
73 Robert Regan
74 Mark Huizenga
81 Gary Eisen
83 Greg Alexander
84 Phil Green
87 Julie Calley
90 Bradley Slagh
94 Rodney Wakeman
97 Jason Wentworth
98 Annette Glenn
100 Scott VanSingel
104 John Roth, Heather Cerone
106 Sue Allor
107 John Damoose
108 Beau LaFave
110 Gregory Markkanen

NRA Endorsements

The National Rifle Association has just issued its endorsements for the 2020 primary.  They give grades to candidates who have voting records or fill out their survey.  They endorse most acceptable incumbents and endorse in some open seats. (Aq means a candidate got an A from the questionnaire only, and doesn't have a voting record.)

Congress:
3. Afendoulis B Farrington ? Meijer AQ Norton AQ
8. No grades listed
10. Hernandez A+ McClain Aq Slocum A
11. No grades listed

State House:
13. (D) Colovos Aq Liberati B
19. Crider and Ptashnik both got Aq
20. Lacny C
21. Hess B
25. Early Aq Smith D Wiley Aq
38. Turner and Cherukuri both got Aq
41. Both got Aq
47. Bezotte and Reckling both got Aq
48. Both got Aq
56. Clements Aq (endorsed)
58. Fink, Stockford, Wiseley got Aq
59. All rated got Aq
61. Graham Aq (endorsed)
62. Gregoire and Morgan got Aq
70. Comden C Outman, Puckerin, and Ross got Aq
71. Both got Aq
73. All three got Aq
81. Eisen A+ (endorsed)
83. All rated got Aq
90. Slagh A (endorsed)
104. Both got Aq
105. Borton, Cutler got Aq Schmidt D
107. All rated got Aq