Protestors in February calling for the defeat of anti-union legislation in Utah (credit: Utah Education Association Facebook)
Leading Off
UT Ballot
Facing potential defeat at the ballot box, Utah’s Republican-dominated legislature voted to repeal anti-union legislation during a special session on Tuesday—before voters could do it for them.
The rollback comes 10 months after GOP Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation to prohibit unions representing public sector employees—including teachers and emergency service workers—from participating in collective bargaining. The bill, known as HB267, would have required government agencies to instead hold contract negotiations with individual employees rather than with their unions.
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Furious labor organizers quickly prioritized placing a veto referendum on the ballot to undo the law, which the head of the state’s firefighters union predicted would make Utah “the most anti-labor state in America.”
The impassioned opposition to HB267 helped Protect Utah Workers, the coalition backing the repeal effort, overcome what the Salt Lake Tribune characterized as the “toughest referendum process” in the country.
HB267’s opponents had just 30 days to gather almost 141,000 valid signatures, but election officials determined that Protect Utah Workers submitted over 250,000—an accomplishment that was by far the most successful signature-collection effort in state history. As a result, the law was automatically placed on hold until voters got the chance to weigh in, with a referendum set to take place in November of 2026.
Now, though, HB267 will never go into effect.
On Sunday, Cox urged lawmakers to use the special session he convened to do away with HB267, which he’d signed this winter even though he’d later claim he “didn’t like” it.
But the governor, who approved HB267 after opponents held a large rally at the state capitol urging him to veto it, wrote this weekend, “I support the repeal, and appreciate the Legislature’s work to refocus this conversation to ensure government is doing its best to support our first responders, educators, and all those who serve our state.”
Both chambers of the legislature voted overwhelmingly to do just that on Tuesday, though one important lawmaker didn’t hide his unhappiness. Rep. Jordan Teuscher, who sponsored both the original law and the repeal bill, nevertheless griped that HB267 “was good policy” that had become “overshadowed by misinformation and unnecessary division.”
The referendum to eliminate HB267 will be automatically voided once the offending law is repealed, though Teuscher hasn’t given up on trying to pass a different plan in the future.
“Moving forward, I appreciate the willingness of Protect Utah Workers to engage in good faith, and I intend to work closely with union leaders, public employees, and Utahns across the state in the coming year to determine the best path forward,” Teuscher wrote Sunday.
The coalition’s leadership, by contrast, was quick to celebrate a major victory in one of the most Republican states in the nation.
“During the session, we did not feel like they were listening to the people,” Utah Education Association President Renee Pinkney said Monday. “And when we called on the governor to veto, we had that huge rally—it just felt like it landed on deaf ears. And so now the people’s voice is in the room.”
David Nir here, publisher of The Downballot! We love sending you this one-of-a-kind newsletter every weekday, but putting it together takes a lot of work. If you’d like to support our efforts to shine a spotlight on overlooked elections and help boost independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription today!
Georgia Democrats didn’t just flip a deep-red seat in a special election on Tuesday. They’ve also sent Republicans into a panic—in the Peach State and across the country. On this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explore Eric Gisler’s massive upset, what it means for next year’s elections in Georgia, and why the GOP may want to slow its roll on mid-decade redistricting.
On that last topic, the Davids also sit down with Richard von Glahn of People Not Politicians Missouri, which just submitted more than 300,000 signatures to put the GOP’s new gerrymander up for a vote next year. Von Glahn gives us the nitty-gritty on how veto referendums work, all the ways Republican officials are trying to thwart the repeal effort, and how organizers are fighting back—in the courts and on the ground.
Redistricting Roundup
MO Redistricting
Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh has rejected a lawsuit brought by opponents of Missouri’s new congressional map, ruling in a brief opinion issued on Tuesday that lawmakers are allowed to engage in mid-decade redistricting because the state Constitution is silent on the matter. An attorney for the plaintiffs says he intends to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
UT Redistricting
Utah’s GOP-dominated legislature passed a bill in a special session this week pushing out the filing deadline for congressional candidates from Jan. 8 to March 13. Candidates will also be able to gather signatures from voters anywhere in the state, not just those who live in the districts they’re seeking to represent.
The delay will give lawmakers more time to appeal a court ruling striking down the state’s previous congressional map and imposing a new one that creates a safely blue seat in the Salt Lake City area. Republicans said last month that they’d file such an appeal but have yet to do so.
Senate
TX-Sen
The National Republican Senatorial Committee waged what one unnamed operative called an “AstroTurf recruitment process” to convince Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett to run for the Senate, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports.
This effort began this summer when the NRSC circulated surveys showing Crockett, whom pollsters had not previously tested, performing well in a hypothetical primary. Gorman adds that Republicans, who are convinced Crockett would be the easiest candidate to defeat, also quietly sent out calls and text messages to Democratic voters in Texas, urging them to contact the congresswoman and ask her to run.
The Republican incumbent that Crockett is now trying to replace, by contrast, openly urged her to take him on.
“Run Jasmine, run!” Sen. John Cornyn tweeted in July after an unknown person registered a pair of “Crockett for Senate” domain names. (Crockett’s team may not have been involved in those purchases, as neither link is currently in use.)
Cornyn reupped that call in October after the congresswoman expressed interest in a Senate bid on the Lurie Daniel Favors Show.
“Every other day there’s a poll that comes out that makes it clear that I can win the primary for the U.S. Senate race in Texas,” she said.
Crockett, for her part, told CNN shortly before Thanksgiving that her internal polling showed she could win if she ran, though she never shared any data publicly. She wound up launching her campaign on Monday, just hours before the candidate filing closed.
Crockett faces state Rep. James Talarico in the March 3 primary, while Cornyn is trying to fend off Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
House
CA-41
Criminal justice advocate Shonique Williams announced Tuesday that she’d challenge Rep. Linda Sanchez, a fellow Democrat, in the June top-two primary for California’s revamped 41st District. Sanchez already faced intraparty opposition from former state Assemblymember Hector De La Torre, who launched a campaign last week.
Williams, a first-time candidate who tells the Los Angeles Daily News she’s “very far left,” was arrested in 2014 for assault and says she spent a year in prison. Williams denies wrongdoing and described herself as “falsely incarcerated” as she launched her campaign.
IL-09
The Illinois AFL-CIO backed Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss on Tuesday in the packed March 17 Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District. The head of the influential labor organization tells the Chicago Tribune that Biss was the only Democrat running in any of the several competitive congressional primaries in the state who obtained the requisite two-thirds majority necessary to obtain an endorsement.
Biss is one of 17 Democrats competing to replace retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is retiring after 14 terms representing a safely blue constituency that includes communities north of Chicago. A Biss internal poll conducted last month showed him outpacing his nearest competitor, political commentator Kat Abughazaleh, 31-17, though other surveys have shown a closer race.
NC-01
Attorney Ashley-Nicole Russell on Tuesday joined the busy Republican field competing to take on Democratic Rep. Don Davis, whom the GOP legislature targeted in its most recent gerrymander. Russell, who does not appear to have run for office before, announced her campaign with just over a week to go before candidate filing closes on Dec. 19.
NJ-12
Millstone Borough Mayor Raymond Heck, who is a member of both the state’s Fire Safety Commission and Police Training Commission, joined the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s reliably blue 12th District on Tuesday. Few voters will have seen Heck’s name on their ballot before, though, as his borough is home to fewer than 500 people.
NY-10
New York City Councilmember Alexa Aviles said Wednesday that she would not challenge Rep. Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary, an announcement that came just hours after City Comptroller Brad Lander launched his campaign against the congressman.
While Aviles did not mention Lander in her statement, she cautioned that “a split field” would make it easier for Goldman to win renomination. Former Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou issued a similar warning the previous day in explaining her own decision not to seek the Democratic nod.
No other prominent figures have expressed interest in taking on Goldman apart from Lander, who has the support of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and other notable names.
VA-02
Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger endorsed former Rep. Elaine Luria on Wednesday in next year’s Democratic primary to reclaim the 2nd District from Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans.
Both Spanberger and Luria were elected to the House in 2018 by unseating GOP incumbents, but Luria narrowly lost reelection to Kiggans four years later. Spanberger, who won a third term in the House that same evening, did not seek reelection in 2024 as she prepared for what would ultimately be a successful statewide campaign.
VA-06
Sen. Tim Kaine has endorsed author Beth Macy, who wrote the 2018 nonfiction bestseller “Dopesick” about the opioid crisis, in the Democratic primary to oppose Republican Rep. Ben Cline. The current incarnation of the 6th District is very red, but that could change if Democratic lawmakers succeed in passing a new congressional map next year.
Poll Pile
ME-Sen: Pan Atlantic Research: Susan Collins (R-inc): 43, Janet Mills (D): 43; Graham Platner (D): 43, Collins (R-inc): 42.
ME-Sen (D): Pan Atlantic: Janet Mills: 47, Graham Platner: 37, David Costello: 1.
SC-Sen: Public Policy Polling (D) for 314 Action (pro-Annie Andrews): Lindsey Graham (R-inc): 42, Annie Andrews (D): 36.
AP-NORC poll gives Trump his lowest approval on handling of the economy ever— 31%. It also finds his overall job approval at 36%. https://apnews.com/article/trump-poll-approval-economy-immigration-inflation-crime-9e5bd096964990e040bc4bacd9fcac21
Ohio Emerson:
Husted 49 Brown 46
Acton 46 Ramaswamy 45
https://emersoncollegepolling.com/ohio-2026-poll-democrats-make-gains-in-races-for-governor-and-us-senate/