Each week, The Weekly Brew brings you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. Here are the top stories from the week of July 20 - July 24.
Sixty-nine members of the U.S. Congress are not running for re-election this year — the most in at least 26 years
Sixty-nine members of Congress — 11 Senators and 58 Representatives — are not running for re-election this year, the most since at least 2000 and 30% more than the 53 who did not run in 2024.
Seven Republicans and four Democrats are not running for re-election to the U.S. Senate, marking the most Republican retirements dating back to 2000.
Thirty-six Republicans and 22 Democrats are not running for re-election. As in the Senate, this is the most Republican retirements since at least 2000.
Massachusetts voters to decide nine ballot measures this year — tying for the second-most in state history
Massachusetts voters will decide nine statewide ballot measures this year, above the even-year average of four and tying with 1972, 1976, and 1994 for the second-most measures in the state's history.
On July 17, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin (D) announced that campaigns for eight initiative petitions collected enough valid signatures to qualify their measures for the Nov. 3 ballot. A previously certified veto referendum for the Nov. 3 ballot brings the total to nine.
Notable measures include two that address election policy — the Permit Same-Day Voter Registration Initiative and the Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative. The first initiative would permit same-day voter registration, and the second would adopt top-two primaries for state offices and require gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates to run as a joint ticket in primaries.
Another, the Eliminate Recreational Marijuana Sales and Allow Limited Possession Initiative would repeal the state's laws that legalized, regulated, and taxed retail sales of recreational marijuana. Massachusetts is one of 13 states and Washington, D.C. to have used the ballot initiative process to legalize the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill overhauling California’s public school governance
In November, California voters will elect a new Superintendent of Public Instruction. Historically, that role, the state’s chief school officer, has overseen the California Department of Education. But because of a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed on July 10, the role will look considerably different when the eventual winner of the election takes office in 2027.
Since 1912, California has divided responsibility for managing its K-12 public education system between a governor-appointed State Board of Education (SBOE), which devises the regulations and policies to which schools and districts must adhere, and an elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, who manages the California Department of Education and enforces the SBOE’s directives.
The bill Newsom signed, AB 181, moves day-to-day control of the Department of Education from the Superintendent of Public Instruction to a new governor-appointed education commissioner. The Superintendent of Public Instruction will assume a more evaluative role, monitoring education programs on behalf of voters and serving as a liaison to lawmakers. The Superintendent, which will remain an elected nonpartisan position, will be responsible for monitoring programs, serving as a legislative liaison, and having a vote on the state board of education.
Wisconsin Democrats ask state commission to let mail-in voters recast ballots after changes to gubernatorial candidate field
Seven candidates will appear on Wisconsin's Aug. 11 primary ballot, but two of them have suspended their campaigns. More than 80,000 voters have returned mail-in/absentee ballots since clerks began sending absentee ballots to voters in June. Whether people who have already voted for a candidate who withdrew can change their vote is now the subject of legal debate.
On July 9, the Wisconsin Election Commission issued guidance stating that voters may not spoil their already cast ballot in favor of a new one "because the candidate they originally voted for has dropped out of the race."
The Wisconsin Democratic Party sent a letter to the commission on July 21, asking them to rescind the guidance and remove any social media posts and media statements about it.
Missy Hughes, the former CEO of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, was the first candidate to drop out on June 22. Sara Rodriguez, who is the Lieutenant Governor, suspended her campaign on July 17.
A third candidate, David Crowley, suspended his campaign on July 8 but then announced that he was reentering the race on July 18, following Rodriguez’s withdrawal. Four other Democratic candidates — Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, Francesca Hong, and Kelda Roys — are also running.
