This Week in Research: May 9-May 12

Highlights from the Week

1. Debates over abortion legislation continued in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court opinion draft last week, and protests outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices prompted statements from several officials regarding the appropriateness of the protests. View Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s statement on the Supreme Court protests here.

2. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas announced that he would seek to challenge the court on the precedent set by Plyler v Doe that the public is obligated to educate all children, including undocumented immigrants. View Greg Abbott’s issue positions and statements here. View statements from all congressional officials on the topic of education here.

3. The senate moved to pass a bill legislating protections for abortion rights but failed in a 51 to 49 vote. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin became the deciding vote in breaking with the party line to vote no. View the bill here, and view statements from members of congress on abortion here.

4.. This week the war in Ukraine continued to wage on and congress passed a bill waiving certain requirements related to the President's authority to lend or lease defense articles if the defense articles are intended for Ukraine's government or the governments of other Eastern European countries affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. View the bill here, or view all statements on Ukraine by members of congress here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team Elections:

Want to learn more about the candidates running in Maine’s State Legislative Primary Elections? You can see the full list of candidates running here.

Want to learn more about the results from the Primary Elections in Nebraska and West Virginia that happened this week? You can see the results of the elections below:

• Nebraska

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

  • Gubernatorial Primary Candidates

  • Statewide Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

• West Virginia

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

Biographies: Want to learn more about the candidates running in Congressional Primary Elections? You can see the full list of candidates running for various offices below:

• Missouri Congressional Primary Candidates

• Ohio Congressional Primary Candidates

• Tennessee 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 Tennessee Gubernatorial Primary Elections? 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 running in Idaho State Legislative Primary Elections? 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

• Arkansas Congressional Primary Candidates

• California Congressional Primary Candidates

• Colorado Congressional Primary Candidates

• Georgia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Idaho Congressional Primary Candidates

• Illinois Congressional Primary Candidates

• Indiana Congressional Primary Candidates

• Kentucky Congressional Primary Candidates

• Maryland Congressional Primary Candidates

• Nebraska Congressional Primary Candidates

• Nevada Congressional Primary Candidates

• New Jersey Congressional Primary Candidates

• North Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

• Oklahoma Congressional Primary Candidates

• Oregon Congressional Primary Candidates

• Pennsylvania Congressional Primary Candidates

• South Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

• West Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

Officials

By the Officials Research team

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

Key Votes:

• States: 28 votes were added

  • Legislation was passed in Oklahoma establishing restrictions on abortions occurring before and after a fetal heartbeat is detected and was signed into law on May 3, 2022, by governor Kevin Stitt.

  • This week Wisconsin Governor, Tony Evers, vetoed four bills that had passed the state legislature. View those vetoes here.

  • The Colorado House and Senate passed HB 22-1297, making daylights savings time permanent for the state.

  • The California State Senate passed a bill allowing non-citizens to become peace officers in the California state police force and highway patrol.

  • The Florida House of Representatives passed SB 524, amending previous election laws to establish the Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State to assist the Secretary of State in the completion of their duties to investigate election crimes.

• Congress: 1 bill was added

  • The House of Representatives passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022, which temporarily waives certain requirements related to the President's authority to lend or lease defense articles if the defense articles are intended for Ukraine's government or the governments of other Eastern European countries affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Special Interest Groups

• There were 130 endorsements and 2 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 51,786 candidates and entered endorsements for 6,121 candidates.