This Week in Research: July 11 – July 14

Highlights from the Week

1. On Wednesday, July 13th, President Joe Biden traveled to Israel for a four-day diplomatic trip to the Middle East. During this trip, he hopes to reshape the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, which has been fraught in the face of human rights abuses by the Saudi government. The discussions with the Saudi Crown Prince are intended to increase the flow of oil to American pumps and slow down Iran’s nuclear program. To see statements from Biden on foreign affairs, click here. To see statements from members of Congress on Saudi Arabia, click here.

2. Sri Lanka’s President resigned officially on Thursday, July 14th, after fleeing the country on Wednesday in the wake of economic collapse and demonstrations. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was part of a powerful family that has been intricately involved in Sri Lanka’s political system, and his time in office has been criticized for exacerbating the country’s economic struggles by mismanagement. To see all statements from members of Congress on Sri Lanka, click here. To see all statements from members of Congress on foreign affairs, click here.

3. The January 6th committee has continued to investigate President Trump’s involvement in the storming of the US Capitol in 2021. The committee has focused this week’s line of questioning on the allies and supporters who surrounded Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to January 6th. Testimonies were taken from supporters who traveled across the country to attend the rally and text messages that had been subpoenaed from allies such as Mike Lindell of MyPillow were made public. Click here to see statements from members of Congress on the January 6th trial. To see statements from members of Congress on all Government Operations issues, click here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team (Noah, Seth, Nick, Caleb, & Anthony) and Elections Interns (Andres, Liam, Luke, Muzhi, Ephriam, Hugh, Riley, Mia, & Charles) Elections: Want to learn more about the ballot measures we have collected so far for the 2022 election cycle? You can see the full list of ballot measures here.

Biographies: Want to learn more about the candidates running in Congressional primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running for various states below:

• Alaska Congressional Primary Candidates

• Florida Congressional Primary Candidates

• Hawaii Congressional Primary Candidates

• Wisconsin Congressional Primary Candidates

• Wyoming Congressional Primary 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 running in Gubernatorial primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running for various states below:

• Alaska Gubernatorial Primary Candidates

• Wyoming Gubernatorial Primary Candidates

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

• 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 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

• 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, Eliana, Johanan, Neal, Jake, Craig, Israel, Wyatt, and Katie

Public Statements: 2,894 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 50 new votes were added, 12 bills were updated with new information.

• In Delaware, the House and Senate passed SB13 and sent it to be signed by the governor. This bill makes it illegal for colleges to ask about an applicant’s previous criminal convictions during the application process.

• A bill passed in New Jersey requiring gun owners to obtain a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card. This bill, A 4370, prohibits any individual from selling, giving, transferring, receiving, or otherwise acquiring a handgun unless the purchaser or holder is licensed as a dealer.

• New York passed S 51001, and it was signed by the governor into law. This bill requires that individuals who apply for a handgun license must disclose their social media accounts. The bill details that in order to receive a license, the individual must have “good moral character”, which is defined as “having the essential character, temperament, and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others.”

• Federal Legislation: No new votes were added.

Special Interest Groups

• There were 181 endorsements and 29 ratings released to the live web this week, which can be viewed here (organized by group). This year to date, the SIGs team has rated 71,945 candidates and entered endorsements for 12,394 candidates.