This Week In Research: October 23rd - October 27th, 2023

Highlights from the Week

1. On October 19th 2023, the United States Senate passed a resolution standing with Israel against terrorism, in response to the October 7th attack on the country from Hamas. It was passed unanimously, 97-0. After the election of Speaker Johnson on October 25th, the House of Representatives also passed a resolution “to stand with Israel in its right to defend itself against Hamas and other terrorists.” It was passed by a vote of 412-10. To read the Senate resolution, click here. To read the House resolution, click here. To read a statement from President Biden, click here. To read a statement from Senate President Pro Tempore, Patty Murray of Washington State, click here. To read a statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, click here. To read a statement from Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Senator Shelly Moore Capito of West Virginia, click here.

2. Following up on the last two research reports where we discussed the race to replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, on October 25th the United States House of Representatives finally elected Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana for the role. Johnson, who won the nomination late the previous night, was able to win the Speakership over House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York by a vote of 220-209, with all Republicans and all Democrats voting for their party’s leader. Johnson, who was first elected to represent Louisiana’s fourth district in 2016 and previously served as Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, was the fourth Republican nominee for Speaker, following Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, and Tom Emmer. To learn more about the new Speaker, click here. To read a statement from Speaker Johnson, click here. To read a statement from President Biden, click here. To read remarks from Minority Leader Jeffries, click here. To read a statement from Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, click here. To read Johnson’s nomination speech by Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, click here. To read a statement from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, click here.

3. On the evening of October 25th, the United Auto Workers and the Ford Motor Company reached a tentative labor contract agreement, potentially ending part of the auto workers strike that started six weeks ago. The agreement, which includes a 25% general wage increase over the course of four years with an immediate 11% increase in wages, still needs to be approved by the 57,000 members of the union. To read a statement from President Biden, click here. To read a statement from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, click here. To read a statement from Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, click here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Caleb, Seth, Jessica, and Max and Elections Research interns Ionut, Spencer, Molly, Rachel, Emma, Kaia, and Brenda

Biographies & Elections:

Want to learn more about the results of elections happening around the country? You can see the list of elections that happened this week here:

• Alabama State Legislative Special Primary Runoffs

• South Carolina State Legislative Special Election

Want to learn more about elected officials in your state? You can see the full list here:

• Congressional Officials

• Arkansas State Legislative Officials

• Maryland State Legislative Officials

• South Dakota State Legislative Officials

Want to learn more about the leadership in each state legislature? You can see the full leadership rosters here:

• Legislative Leadership

Want to learn more about which committees elected officials are a part of? You can see the full list of committees for each state here:

• State Legislative Committees

Want to learn more about the candidates who are currently being tested and their responses to the Political Courage Test ahead of the general election? You can see the full list of candidates, their responses, and response rates running in various states by office below:

• Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidates

• Louisiana Statewide Candidates

• Louisiana State Legislative Candidates

• Mississippi Gubernatorial Candidates

• Mississippi Statewide Candidates

• Mississippi State Legislative Candidates

• New Jersey State Legislative Candidates

• Virginia State Legislative Candidates

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Sam, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Quinn and Interns: Justin, Skylar, Jami, Abby, Claire, Heather, Kaitlin, Sophia, Tristen, Arola and Nischay.

Public Statements: See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

States: 43 new votes were added.

• Pennsylvania House passed HB 1456 - Appropriates $45 Billion for the State Budget

• Pennsylvania House Concurrence (Action by which one house agrees to a proposal or action that the other chamber has approved) passed HB 27 - Appropriates Funding for State Public Education System

• Pennsylvania House Concurrence (Action by which one house agrees to a proposal or action that the other chamber has approved) passed HB 1300 - Authorizes Funding for Home Repair Subsidies, Adult Mental Health Services, and Public Defenders

• Maine House and Senate passed LD 258 - Appropriates Funding for the Fiscal Year 2023-2025 State Budget

• Oregon Senate passed HB 3442 - Authorizes Local Governments to Allow for Affordable Housing on Certain Lands

• U.S. Congress: 1 new vote was added.

• Senate passed S J Res 417 - A resolution standing with Israel against terrorism

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

• This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 38,047 ratings and 11,581 endorsements for candidates.