Republican Losses From Tuesday Night That Nobody Is Talking About

All eyes were on Michigan this past Tuesday night, regardless of which party you belong to.

But there a couple of big stories from that evening that are getting overshadowed by Abdul El-Sayed’s dramatic Senate primary win.

Major Republican-backed ballot initiatives that were considered crucial and must-wins, that were defeated; and decidedly so. I’m not talking about ballot initiatives in blue states, either. I’m talking deep-red states.

Lets get into it…

Amendment 5 was on Missouri’s ballot on Tuesday and that would have eliminated Missouri’s state income tax. It would have allowed lawmakers to compensate for the lost revenue by increasing sales taxes and could have potentially meant taxes being applied to currently untaxed services in the state. The Republican governor and multiple Republican legislative leaders backed the measure.

Critics argued that not having a state income tax would all but guarantee that the tax burden would shift to middle and lower-income households with the promise of higher sales taxes. They won’t be making more money, but the taxes on everything they already buy and will need to continue buying, will increase dramatically while the top income earners likely won’t notice the jump in sales tax like a lower-earning household would. That’s the inherent problem with having no income tax. It’s regressive.

The people of Missouri weren’t interested, though. It lost with roughly 83% of voters voting “no”. EIGHTY THREE PERCENT. In today’s divisive political arena, 83% on ANY issue is absolutely bonkers.

Now, over in Kansas, the voters got to decide on an amendment to their state constitution on how their state’s Supreme Court justices get selected. So first, let’s get into the current process and then how the amendment would have changed it.

Currently, when a vacancy opens up on the Kansas Supreme Court, a nominating commission made up of 9 people (5 lawyers and 4 non-lawyers) convenes and they review applications, conduct public interviews, and finally they send a list of 3 candidates to the Governor. The Governor must pick one of those 3 finalists to appoint to the bench. Nominees must be at least 30 years old, lawyers admitted to practice in Kansas, and have practiced law in the state for at least 10 years. After their first year on the bench, the newly appointed justice must face a state-wide retention vote where the voters choose either “yes” or "no”. If they win that vote, they serve a 6 year term. Every 6 years, they must win another “yes/no” vote to stay on the bench. It’s a very fair, minimally partisan way of selecting justices.

The Republican politicians in Kansas, understandably don’t like that process very much. Kansas has become an epicenter for abortion rights battles and Republican lawmakers have long raged against the Kansas Supreme Court for upholding those rights; dealing legal blows to Republicans and their agenda of controlling women’s bodies any chance they get. The current selection process is a problem for Republicans because there is very little (if any) opportunity to exert political influence over it.

The amendment to the state’s constitution would have changed that. The amendment would have allowed the voters to directly elect justices to the bench. Direct election sounds nice and democratic, until you remember that direct elections bring campaigns, and campaigns bring money. Too much money. Money from PACs and private billionaire donors that can influence an election simply by buying more TV ads than the other candidate. Then you have a state Supreme Court justice selection process that is no longer based on merit, but rather money.

The voters in Kansas defeated this ballot measure handedly. 62%-38%.

The candidates usually get all of the coverage, all of the air time, and all of the attention on election night and the days following. But oftentimes, if you’re looking for clues as to how plugged in the electorate is; how excited one party is over the other to actually get out the vote, these ballot measures are a great barometer.

As of right now, signs are pointing to a good November for Democrats. But that only happens if we show up. If we do the work.

Check your registration often. Make a plan to vote now. Make a plan to bring a friend with you. Bring five! But make sure we’re doing the work snd taking nothing for granted.

This is too important.

Chat soon,

Joe