Morning Digest: Organized labor is fighting back in deep-red Utah

A referendum to repeal a GOP bill curbing collective bargaining looks headed to the ballot

Supporters of the campaign to repeal Utah’s curb on collective bargaining (credit: Utah Education Association Facebook)

Leading Off

UT Ballot

A coalition of labor groups called Protect Utah Workers announced Wednesday that it had submitted more than 320,000 signatures to place a referendum on the ballot that would give voters the chance to repeal a new law restricting collective bargaining recently passed by Republicans.

Organizers need at least 140,748 valid signatures—an amount equal to 8% of the state's active voters—to qualify their measure and say they far exceeded their original goal of 200,000 signatures. Election officials now have until June 21 to verify those submissions. Advocates must also hit certain signature targets in at least 15 of Utah's 29 state Senate districts.

If the measure qualifies, the new law would be put on hold until voters decide its fate at the ballot box. The question would be placed on next year's general election ballot unless Republican Gov. Spencer Cox schedules a special election for an earlier date.

Cox signed a bill in February that prohibits unions representing public sector employees, including teachers and emergency service workers, from participating in collective bargaining. This legislation, known as HB267, requires government agencies to hold contract negotiations with individual employees rather than with their unions.

Pluribus' Reid Wilson describes HB267 as "one of the most pointed attacks on organized labor" since then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pushed through legislation to weaken collective bargaining in his state in 2011, a move that set off waves of protests and recall campaigns. Republicans passed a comparable law in Ohio that year, but voters repealed it months later by a wide 62-38 margin.

Labor supporters in the Beehive State were likewise furious, with the head of the state's firefighters predicting, "Utah will become the most anti-labor state in America." Cox himself claimed Thursday he "didn't like the bill" but said he signed off on "lots of bills" he disliked for one reason or another without quite explaining why.

Opponents of HB267 had just 40 days after the end of the legislative session to collect signatures to place a repeal measure on the ballot, but the tight timeframe wasn't the only challenge they faced. The Salt Lake Tribune's Robert Gehrke, citing data from Ballotpedia, explains that Utah requires a "higher signature target relative to the population than any other state," which he says makes it home to the "toughest referendum process" in the country.

Labor groups, however, have had success at the ballot box before in this dark red state. Most notably, the Utah Education Association won an expensive campaign in 2007 to repeal a school voucher bill in a 62-38 landslide. The teachers' union is also part of the new campaign to get rid of HB267, with its president declaring, "We believe that the people should have a voice and should be able to vote to repeal this legislation."

WaPo's Philip Bump nerds out on data

Senate

KY-Sen

Rep. Andy Barr will announce Tuesday that he's entering the Republican primary to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, Austin Horn reports in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

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The far-right Club for Growth greeted the news about Barr's long-awaited kickoff by launching a commercial attacking the congressman as a "Trump-hating, backstabbing liberal." The deep-pocketed group, which also ran ads hammering Barr after chatter about his plans intensified in February, told Horn it would "spend whatever it takes to ensure he is not Kentucky's next U.S. Senator."

NH-Sen

New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan endorsed Rep. Chris Pappas on Friday in the Democratic primary ahead of next year's race to replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Hassan's decision came one day after Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who was the only other major Democrat talking about running for Shaheen's seat, announced that she would back Pappas instead.

Governors

IL-Gov, IL-Sen

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Sen. Dick Durbin are continuing to keep their fellow Illinois Democrats in suspense about when they'll reveal their reelection plans, but one prominent political figure says there's a rough timeline. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who also leads the county's Democratic Party, told Politico she's been informed their decisions would come within "[a] couple months, maybe May, June."

While Durbin looks likely to retire, Pritzker is sending the opposite signals. Lee Enterprises' reporter Brenden Moore writes that "[t]he widespread belief in state political circles" is that the governor will seek reelection.

ME-Gov

Owen McCarthy, who is a member of the University of Maine's Board of Trustees, said Thursday he was "exploring" entering the Republican primary for governor—a comment he made in a slickly produced introductory video.

Attorney Bobby Charles is the only Republican who has announced a campaign to succeed Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is termed out. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, meanwhile, currently has the Democratic primary to herself, but others are likely to join.

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House

AZ-07

Former Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva has released an internal poll from Public Policy Polling that gives her a wide 49-11 lead over former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez in the July 15 Democratic primary ahead of the September special election to replace her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva. This survey, which was first shared by Punchbowl News, is the first poll we've seen of the primary for Arizona's reliably blue 7th District.

Attorneys General

TX-AG

Former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski tells the Austin American-Statesman he'll decide by the end of June if he'll wage a second campaign for Texas attorney general, which makes him the first Democrat to publicly express interest in running for this open post.

Jaworski, who is the grandson of the late Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski, competed in the 2022 primary to take on Republican incumbent Ken Paxton, but he lost the runoff 63-37 to former ACLU attorney Rochelle Garza. Paxton went on to beat Garza 53-44 and is now giving up his office to challenge Sen. John Cornyn for renomination.

Morning Digest: A powerful office is now open for only the third time this century

Mayors & County Leaders

Oakland, CA Mayor

Former Rep. Barbara Lee surged past former City Councilman Loren Taylor on Friday after more ballots were counted for the April 15 special election for mayor of Oakland, and Taylor conceded the following day. Lee, who trailed her fellow Democrat on election night, now holds a 53-47 lead with most votes tabulated.

Lee, who is the first Black woman elected mayor, will be up for a full four-year term in November of 2026.

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Pittsburgh, PA Mayor

A late March internal poll for Allegheny County Controller Corey O'Connor from Lake Research Partners shows him defeating Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey 50-32 in the May 20 Democratic primary to lead this Democratic stronghold.

The survey, which was first reported by WESA, represents an improvement for O'Connor from the 47-35 lead Lake gave him in February. We have not seen any contradictory data from Gainey's side or any unaligned groups.

O'Connor also continues to enjoy a wide financial advantage. The challenger, who has received donations from several major Republicans, finished last month with a $760,000 to $320,000 cash on hand lead over Gainey, whom he also decisively outspent in March.