By: Douglas Kronaizl
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Senate Judiciary Committee voting whether to advance Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination on April 4
- Nineteen candidates running in Oregon’s Republican gubernatorial primary on May 17
- #FridayTrivia: How long was Hawaii’s statewide mask requirement in place?
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Supreme Court nominee Jackson’s committee vote scheduled for April 4
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on April 4 on whether to advance Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination. Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced the date on March 23.
The committee is evenly split between 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Jackson can advance with a tied vote under an organizing resolution passed at the start of the 177th Congress. If advanced by the committee, the full Senate will then vote on Jackon’s confirmation.
In 2020, Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s committee vote took place on Oct. 22, and her full Senate confirmation vote took place on Oct. 26. When Justice Stephen Breyer’s vacancy was announced, President Joe Biden (D) said he hoped to have a nominee confirmed within 40 days of the nomination, which would be April 9, 2022.
The average length of a Supreme Court vacancy since 1962, when measured from the retirement announcement to confirmation of a successor, is 132 days. The longest vacancy came between the terms of Antonin Scalia and Neil Gorsuch at 419 days, and the shortest was between the terms of Charles Evans Whittaker and Byron White at 13 days.
Jackson’s committee vote follows four days of hearings, which took place from March 21 to 24. The hearings involved a statement from Jackson, interviews with witnesses testifying for and against the nomination, and questions from senators regarding the nominee’s experience, past judgments, and judicial philosophy. Topics discussed by senators included abortion, Jackson’s approach to sentencing, LGBTQ issues, and the Supreme Court’s use of emergency orders. To learn more about these hearings, click here.
Jackson currently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Biden nominated her to that post in April 2021, and the Senate confirmed her with a 53-44 vote on June 14, 2021. Three Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), voted to confirm.
Nineteen candidates running in Oregon’s Republican gubernatorial primary on May 17
We are bringing you updates on competitive primaries across the country and at all levels of government throughout the 2022 election cycle. Today, let’s take a closer look at Oregon.
Nineteen candidates are running in Oregon’s Republican gubernatorial primary on May 17. Incumbent Gov. Kate Brown (D) is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.
Three candidates—former House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, oncologist Bud Pierce, and Mayor Stan Pulliam of Sandy, Ore.—have led in fundraising and media coverage. All three candidates have highlighted education and public safety as key campaign issues.
On education, Drazan said she would change the state superintendent of public instruction from an appointed position to an elected one. Pierce proposed a non-political board to oversee education in the state. Pulliam said he would empower parents and local school boards.
With public safety, Drazan suggested an increase in funding to the state troopers. Pierce said he would coordinate between federal, state, and local authorities to improve public safety. Pulliam said he would triple the size of the Oregon State Police and temporarily deploy them in Portland, the state’s largest city.
Oregon has not elected a Republican governor since the 1982 re-election of Gov. Victor Atiyeh (R), giving the state the second-longest current streak of Democratic governors behind only Washington. Three independent election forecasters rate the general election as Likely or Lean Democratic.
Also running in the primary are Raymond Baldwin, Bridget Barton, Court Boice, David Burch, Reed Christensen, Jessica Gomez, Nick Hess, Tim McCloud, Kerry McQuisten, Brandon Merritt, John Presco, Amber Richardson, Bill Sizemore, Stefan Strek, Marc Thielman, and Bob Tiernan.
#FridayTrivia: How long was Hawaii’s statewide mask requirement in place?
On March 26, the last statewide mask requirement in the country came to an end when Hawaii lifted its masking rules. This was the first time since N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) ordered the first mask requirements where no state in the country had an active statewide mask requirement. Of the 50 states, 39 implemented statewide mask requirements at some point, and, of that total, Hawaii had the longest cumulative length of statewide mask requirements in days.
How long was Hawaii’s statewide mask requirement in place?
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