Billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker defeated first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, by a margin of 54 percent to 39.3 percent. Less than an hour after polls closed, Rauner conceded his re-election bid, giving Democrats near total control of Illinois’ state government.

“Voting is an act of optimism that the levers of our Democracy still work,” Pritzker told supporters moments after declaring victory. “You embody that optimism. You light the beacon fire on the hill of history that signals from one generation to another that these are the things that we stand and fight for.”

In addressing the exuberant crowd, he reminded them that the first McDonald’s opened here and the ice cream sundae was born here, as well.

“We taught the nation how to debate, how to shuffle to the Super Bowl and how to eat a pizza,” he said.

According to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, “Pritzker did something different in this campaign,” Durbin said. “Here was a Chicagoan, clearly a Chicagoan, who wasted no time getting Downstate. I looked around and thought, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for — a governor who starts off by unifying the whole state.’”

In his concession speech, Rauner stated, “This is a time for us to come together.  This is a time for us to unite. To Mr. Pritzker, I said, Godspeed.  I hope and pray you serve Illinois well.”

Longtime Republican lawmaker and Idaho Lieutenant Governor Brad Little has defeated Democratic challenger Paulette Jordan by a margin of 59.5 percent to 38.4 percent to become Idaho’s next governor.

Jordan, a former state lawmaker and member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was the first woman to earn her party’s nomination in Idaho. Even though there was significant national media attention given to Jordan, Little’s win was predictable in this intensely conservative state.

Little has been lieutenant governor since 2009 and ran on a platform to carry on retiring Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s policies that lead to the state’s recent growth.

“Twenty-four years ago Phil Batt broke a 24-year cycle of Democrats having control of the governor’s office,” Little said during his victory speech Tuesday night before a packed room of cheering supporters.

“This is the 24th anniversary of that and Idaho is still a very red state. I look forward to working with President Trump as we continue to allow Idahoans to be the masters of their own destiny,” he said.

“Idaho has been fairly successful, but we have more work to do in taking back the authority that the federal government over the years has taken, whether it is in the areas of education, transportation, health care, public lands management and all of the areas of regulation.”

The battle to be Georgia’s next governor continues as Democrat Stacey Abrams refuses to concede to Republican Brian Kemp. Kemp holds a small margin of less than 70,000 votes with 99 percent of precincts reporting. Democrats believe there are enough votes submitted by mail still left uncounted to close the gap.

Abrams, a former state legislator, is the first female African-American to be a major party’s nominee for governor. Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Secretary of State, is attempting to break a 20-year slump for Republicans running for governor.

The race took an ugly turn this past weekend as Kemp’s office opened an investigation into the state’s Democratic Party for an alleged attempt to hack the state’s voter registration system. No evidence was cited and the Democrats denied the allegations.

State Republicans are celebrating a victory today following a successful gubernatorial election.

Mike Dunleavy, a former state senator from Wasilla, was elected governor, defeating Democratic candidate Mark Begich and current governor Bill Walker, whose name remained on the ballot despite a late withdrawal from the race.

With 98 percent of the precincts reporting, Dunleavy triumphed over opponent Begich with about 52 percent of the vote.

After four years of having an Independent in office, this is a win for the Alaska Republican Party. The last Republican governor of Alaska was Sean Parnell, who was elected in 2010.

On Wednesday, October 31, State and Federal Communications is hosting its Ninth Annual Halloween Donuts and Cider Sale. All sales will go directly to the United Way of Summit County.

Drop in and say hello from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. and enjoy a delicious treat, or take some of these goodies to your office! We’ll be in the lobby of 80 South Summit St. in Downtown Akron, across from Quaker Square.

The Krispy Kreme regular and chocolate donuts are $1.00 per donut or $7.00 per dozen. The apple cider will be $1.00 per cup or $8.00 per gallon.

To reserve your donuts, you can email Joe May at jmay@stateandfed.com, or call us at 330-761-9960.

On November 15, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) will consider proposed regulations to make biennial cost of living adjustments to campaign contribution and gift limits that will apply from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2020.

The proposed regulations would change the gift limit from $470 to $500 and make increases to campaign contribution limits for candidates. Adjusted contribution limits for gubernatorial candidates would increase from $29,200 to $31,000 per person.

The FPPC is accepting written comments on the proposals until November 13, 2018.

Campaign Finance

National: “Dems Offer Resolution to Force Vote to Overturn IRS Guidance Limiting Donor Disclosure” by Naomi Jagoda for The Hill

Canada: “Vancouver Shows B.C. Is Still the Wild West of Election Advertising” by Frances Bula for The Globe and Mail

Montana: “State Auditor Rosendale Dropped Fines Against Top Campaign Donor” by John Adams (Montana Free Press) for Missoula Current

Ethics

National: “Justice Department Issues Indictment for 2013 Congressional Trip to Azerbaijan” by Katharine Tully-McManus for Roll Call

Missouri: “Clean Missouri Will Be on November Ballot After High Court Refuses to Hear Challenge” by Alison Kite for Kansas City Star

North Carolina: “NC House Speaker Tim Moore’s Legal Contract with Start-Up Raises Questions” by Dan Kane for Raleigh News and Observer

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma Supreme Court Rejects Ethics Commission Request for More Money” by Nolan Clay for The Oklahoman

Legislative Issues

Missouri: “Term Limits Have Been ‘a Disaster’ for Missouri, Say Many State Leaders” by Jason Hancock for Kansas City Star

The Maine Legislature adjourned without day on September 13, 2018.

The special session, called to finish business from the regular session regarding Medicaid expansion and minimum wage increases, began on June 19.

During the final day, Gov. Paul LePage threatened to call the Legislature into another special session if they did not pass a bill aimed at protecting elderly Mainers from foreclosure.

In turn, legislators passed a version of the bill on Thursday evening.

Campaign Finance

National: “Twitter Will Begin Labeling Political Ads About Issues Such as Immigration” by Tony Romm (Washington Post) for Chicago Tribune

Elections

National: “Ex-CIA Officer’s Full Personnel File Released in ‘Human Error,’ Postal Service Admits” by Laura Vozzella (Washington Post) for Chicago Tribune

Texas: “Beto O’Rourke Dreams of One Texas. Ted Cruz Sees Another Clearly.” by Matt Flegenheimer (New York Times) for WRAL

Ethics

Georgia: “Auditor: Ex-Atlanta mayor wasn’t authorized to give bonuses” by Associated Press for WSB

Pennsylvania: “Ex-Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer Guilty on All Counts” by Peter Hall for Allentown Morning Call

Lobbying

National: “Washington Consultant for Ukraine Party Pleads Guilty to Violating Lobbyist Disclosure Law” by Spencer Hsu and Rosalind Helderman (Washington Post) for The News Times

California: “AT&T’s Top California Lobbyist Dodges Gift Ban and Ethics Requirements” by Donald Shaw for Sludge

Texas: “Amid Manafort Scandal, Texas Lawmakers Seek to Require Foreign Lobbying Disclosure” by Edgar Walters for Texas Tribune

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has stated he will call a special election to fill U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter’s term.

Slaughter served as a U.S. Rep. for New York’s 25^th District for over three decades and passed away on March 16, 2018.

The special election will coincide with the general election on November 6, 2018.

Campaign Finance

National: “I.R.S. Will No Longer Force Kochs and Other Groups to Disclose Donors” by Jim Tankersley and Patricia Cohen (New York Times) for WRAL

Connecticut: “Connecticut Democrats Lose Their Gubernatorial Rainmaker” by Mark Pazniokas for Connecticut Mirror

Iowa: “Iowa Ethics Board Says Candidates Can’t Use Campaign Funds for Child Care” by Katarina Sostaric for Iowa Public Radio

North Carolina: “Top State Leaders Fined for Illegal Campaign Contributions from Drug Company” by Colin Campbell for Raleigh News and Observer

Wisconsin: “Questions Raised About Payment Made by Lawyer to Randy Bryce’s Ex-Girlfriend” by Mary Spicuzza for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ethics

New York: “Ex-New York Senator and Son Convicted of Extortion, Bribery” by Tom Hayes for Associated Press

West Virginia: “Employee Lists Concerns About Justices” by Lacie Pierson for Huntington Herald-Dispatch

Lobbying

Canada: “Lobbying Commissioner Rejects Complaints Against Firearms Panel Member” by Jim Bronskill (Canadian Press) for Times Colonist

Virginia: “Watchdog Group Says McGuireWoods Utilized Weak Va. Law by Hiring Former Speaker” by Patrick Wilson for Richmond Times-Dispatch

Campaign Finance

National: “Oaktree Fined $100,000 by SEC Over Conflicted Political Giving” by Jesse Westbrook for Bloomberg.com

California: “More Campaign Money Could Flow to California Legislative Leaders Under New Bill” by Taryn Luna for Sacramento Bee

Maryland: “Baltimore City Council Passes Public Financing Charter Amendment” by Talia Richman for Baltimore Sun

Missouri: “VP Pence’s Top Aide, Tied to Greitens, Targeted in New Missouri Ethics Complaint” by Jack Suntrup and Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Rhode Island: “R.I. Gubernatorial Hopeful Trillo ‘Confused’ by Election Board’s Guidance on Ads” by Katherine Gregg for Providence Journal

Ethics

National: “Why Was a Citizenship Question Put on the Census? ‘Bad Faith,’ a Judge Suggests” by Michael Wines (New York Times) for MSN

Alabama: “Two Years After Sentencing, Hubbard Appeal Still Pending in State Court” by Brian Lyman for Montgomery Advertiser

Kentucky: “Bevin Administration Relents. Kentucky Capitol Opened to Poor People’s Campaign.” by Jack Brammer for Lexington Herald-Leader

Oklahoma: “Rule Change Conceals Statewide Candidates’ Personal Finances” by Trevor Brown for Oklahoma Watch

Lobbying

National: “Ex-Lawmakers See Tough Job Market with Trade Groups” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

Virginia: “Dominion Claims Lobbying Costs Soared to Fight ‘Fake News’” by Alan Sunderman (Associated Press) for The News-Leader

Campaign Finance

National: “Libertarians Can Continue Contribution Limits Challenge” by Kayla Goggin for Courthouse News Service

National: “Russia Investigators Likely Got Access to NRA’s Tax Filings, Secret Donors” by Greg Gordon and Peter Stone for McClatchy DC

National: “Federal Officials Struggle to Drag Political Ad Rules into the Internet Age” by Ashley Balcerzak for Center for Public Integrity

Kansas: “Kansas Candidate’s Father Spends $100,000 in Effort to Get Son Elected to Congress” by Bryan Lowry for Kansas City Star

Elections

National: “Is This the Year Women Break the Rules and Win?” by Kate Zernike for New York Times

Florida: “Where Does She Live? A Miami Lawmaker’s Bizarre Attempt to Reside in Her District” by Sarah Blaskey and David Smiley for Miami Herald

Illinois: “‘I Snookered Them’: Illinois Nazi candidate creates GOP dumpster fire” by Natasha Korecki for Politico

Ethics

New York: “Upcoming SCOTUS Case Could Complicate NY Effort to Close Double Jeopardy ‘Loophole’” by Colby Hamilton and Dan Clark for New York Law Journal

The North Carolina Legislature adjourned on June 29, 2018.

The Republican-controlled General Assembly spent most of the session passing budget adjustments and overrode eight of Gov. Roy Cooper’s 10 vetoes.

Senate Bill 655 was passed and signed by Gov. Cooper last week. The bill changes the date primary elections are held from May to March and is effective January 1, 2019.

The Legislature is sending a voter photo identification mandate to be decided by voters in November.

Lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene on November 27, 2018.