This Week in Research: August 29 – September 1

Highlights from the Week

1. Jackson, Mississippi is currently undergoing a water crisis, leaving a city of more than 150,000 residents without access to drinking water. Last week, torrential rainfall left the Jackson area flooded as the Pearl River overflowed and destroyed the pumps at two of the city’s main water treatment plants. Questions have been raised about failure on the part of Mississippi’s state government to provide adequate, updated infrastructure to this predominantly Black city (82% of Jackson’s residents are Black), some even drawing parallels between the current situation and the water crisis in Flint, Michigan in 2014. To see a statement from Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, click here.

2. Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union at the time of the state’s collapse in 1990 and the reunification of Germany, passed away on Tuesday, August 30. Gorbachev is remembered for his diplomatic outreach to American leaders and his dedication to the advancement of social democracy in Russia. Click here to see President Biden’s statement on the former President’s passing, or click here to see a statement from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

3. Pakistan has experienced devastating flood damage this week from overflowing rivers due to the extreme monsoons that are sweeping the country. Pakistan, a country in Central Asia bordering India and Afghanistan, is the world’s fifth most populous country with more than 220 million inhabitants. The flood fallout is so expansive that the “lake” of pooled flood water can be seen from space on satellite imaging. More than 1000 Pakistani citizens are confirmed dead, with approximately 30 million losing homes, businesses, farms, and transportation. On Tuesday, August 30, USAID announced a 30 million dollar relief package for humanitarian assistance in Pakistan. To see a statement from Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Senator Chris Murphy, click here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team (Noah, Courtney, Seth, Nick, Caleb, & Anthony)

Elections:

Want to learn more about where to register to vote? Click here to select your state to view your voter registration deadlines, qualifications, and requirements ahead of the general election.

Biographies: Want to learn more about the candidates who are running in South Carolina’s general election? You can see the full list of candidates by office below:

• Congressional General Candidates

• Gubernatorial General Candidates

If you want to learn more about a candidate, click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more.

Want to learn more about the candidates who are running in Utah’s Congressional general election? You can see the full list of candidates running here. If you want to learn more about a candidate, click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more.

Want to learn more about the candidates who are running in South Dakota’s general election? You can see the full list of candidates by office below:

• Congressional General Candidates

• Gubernatorial General Candidates

If you want to learn more about a candidate click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more.

Want to learn more about the candidates who are running in New York’s Gubernatorial general election? You can see the full list of candidates running here. If you want to learn more about a candidate, click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more.

Issue Positions/Political Courage Test:

Want to learn more about the candidates who are currently being tested and their responses to the Political Courage Test? You can see the full list of candidates, their responses, and response rates running for various offices below:

• Alabama Congressional Primary Candidates

• Alaska Congressional Primary Candidates

• Arkansas Congressional Primary Candidates

• Arizona Congressional Primary Candidates

• California Congressional Primary Candidates

• Colorado Congressional Primary Candidates

• Connecticut Congressional Primary Candidates

• Delaware Congressional Primary Candidates

• Florida Congressional Primary Candidates

• Georgia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Hawaii Congressional Primary Candidates

• Idaho Congressional Primary Candidates

• Illinois Congressional Primary Candidates

• Indiana Congressional Primary Candidates

• Iowa Congressional Primary Candidates

• Kansas Congressional Primary Candidates

• Kentucky Congressional Primary Candidates

• Maine Congressional Primary Candidates

• Maryland Congressional Primary Candidates

• Massachusetts Congressional Primary Candidates

• Michigan Congressional Primary Candidates

• Minnesota Congressional Primary Candidates

• Mississippi Congressional Primary Candidates

• Missouri Congressional Primary Candidates

• Montana Congressional Primary Candidates

• Nebraska Congressional Primary Candidates

• Nevada Congressional Primary Candidates

• New Hampshire Congressional Primary Candidates

• New Jersey Congressional Primary Candidates

• New Mexico Congressional Primary Candidates

• North Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

• North Dakota Congressional Primary Candidates

• Oklahoma Congressional Primary Candidates

• Oregon Congressional Primary Candidates

• Pennsylvania Congressional Primary Candidates

• Rhode Island Congressional Primary Candidates

• South Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

• South Dakota Congressional Primary Candidates

• Tennessee Congressional Primary Candidates

• Texas Congressional Primary Candidates

• Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Vermont Congressional Primary Candidates

• Washington Congressional Primary Candidates

• West Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Wisconsin Congressional Primary Candidates

• Wyoming Congressional Primary Candidates

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Thomas, Bibi, Johanan, Neal, Jake, Craig, Israel, and Katie

Public Statements: 1,116 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 47 new votes were added, 10 bills were updated with new information.

• Hawaii passed SB 2218, a bill intended to combat Hawaii’s high cost of resources and lack of locally available food by establishing funding for individuals who want to open a food distribution center or hub in Hawaii. These hubs can oerate as cleaning, packaging, preparation, and distribution centers for local producers.

• The New York House and Senate have sent an education bill, S 9460, to the governor for signing regarding class sizes for districts in cities with more than one million students. The bill caps class sizes at different levels for varying grades and establishes class size reduction plans.

• California passed a bill to amend Business and Professions codes to prohibit doctors from engaging in COVID-19 misinformation through the spread of misleading information regarding vaccines, transmission, or treatment of COVID. Under this new bill, doctors who participate in such activities face professional consequences and legal fines.

• Federal Legislation: No new votes

Special Interest Groups

• There were 31 endorsements and 1 rating released to the live web this week, which can be viewed here (organized by group). This year to date, the SIGs team has rated 83,539 candidates and entered endorsements for 23,023 candidates.