Brief # 15 Upcoming Run-Off Elections

BY William Bourque is U.S. Resist News’s election correspondent, based in Washington, D.C.

February 5, 2021

As we enter this post-Trump world, we now switch focus to runoff elections being held in the wake of cabinet appointments and other events that have taken place.  Several runoff elections are being held in several districts, such as  LA-02, LA-05, NM-01, and OH-11.

In LA-02, we will be seeing a special election due to the appointment of Cedric Richmond as Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.  The district, which includes parts of Baton Rouge and New Orleans is a strong democratic seat.  Several candidates have already announced their intention to run, with the frontrunners being state senators Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter, who will first have to face a primary on March 20, 2021.  Senator Carter Peterson has served 20 years in Louisiana’s Congress, splitting evenly 10 years in the House and 10 in the Senate.  Senator Carter has spent 30 years in public service, ranging from State House of Rep. to New Orleans City council to State Senate.  Needless to say, the primary on March 20 is likely to decide who will ultimately win the seat.

LA-05 will be having a runoff election in the wake of the death of newly elected Representative Luke Letlow, who passed away from Covid-19, several weeks after his election.  His wife, Julia Letlow, has said that she will run for her husband’s seat.  In this highly republican district we expect that Letlow will win her husband’s seat comfortably, especially given the tragic circumstances surrounding his death.  Several candidates have announced they are running for the seat as well, but with the endorsement of Representative Steve Scalise in her pocket, we expect to see Julia Letlow successfully win her husband’s seat.

In NM-01, the special election will be announced as soon as newly-appointed Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is confirmed by the Senate.  Rumors from the district suggest that the democratic candidate will likely be an indigenous woman, because of the strong indigenous connection to the district.  Additionally, Representative Haaland is one of the first two indigenous women elected to Congress, so her constituents may wish to continue that legacy.  So far, three state legislators have announced their intention to run, Representative Georgene Louis, Representative Melanie Stansbury, and Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez.  Attorney Randi McGinn has also announced that she plans to vie for the seat.  Once Haaland is confirmed, expect a fast and furious campaign for this seat.

In OH-11, Marcia Fudge is in the midst of confirmation to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and several folks have already announced their intent to run for the seat.  Progressive former State Senator Nina Brown announced her campaign in mid-December, and is a frontrunner in the very liberal district.  Another candidate is Cuyahoga County representative Shontel Brown, who is the chair of the Human Resources, Appointments, and Equity Committee.  Additionally, Jeff Johnson, who serves on the Cleveland City Council and works as an attorney, has announced his candidacy.  Once Fudge is officially confirmed an all-out sprint for her seat is expected.

We will have continuing coverage of all special elections in addition to extended coverage of November elections and beyond to 2022’s midterms.

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