Incumbent Lt. Gov. and Republican Spencer Cox defeated candidate Chris Peterson 64% to 30% in Utah’s gubernatorial race.

Cox, the top finisher among state Republican convention delegates, beat three GOP candidates in the June 30 party primary.

Those are former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, and former Utah Chairman Thomas Wright.

Peterson, a University of Utah law professor who worked on consumer issues in the Obama administration, won the Democratic nomination outright at his party’s state convention and did not face a primary in his first run for public office.

Cox will succeed Republican Gov. Gary Herbert.

Herbert chose not to run for reelection after more than a decade in office and endorsed Cox in the hotly contested GOP gubernatorial primary.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill moving non-presidential year primaries back to June.

Senate Bill 970 will return California to the traditional midterm primary date.

The bill becomes effective January 1, 2021.

Gov. Ralph Northam has announced the special election for the 29th House of Delegates District will be held on November 3.

The seat became vacant when Delegate Chris Collins resigned on June 28.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has scheduled a special election to replace Rep. April Weaver of House District 49.

Weaver recently announced her resignation to take a position with the Trump Administration.

If necessary, the primary election for the seat will be held on August 4 with a runoff set for September 1.

Additionally, the special general election will be held on November 17.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced today a special primary election will be held August 4.

The purpose will be to fill the vacant seat in House District 4 of former State Rep. Isaac Robinson, who died March 29.

The special election for the seat will be held with the general election on November 3.

Gov. Greg Abbot has postponed the special election for the Austin area Texas Senate District 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The election will replace retiring state Sen. Kirk Watson, an Austin Democrat leaving office at the end of April.

The election has been moved from May 2 to July 14.

It is unclear whether additional action will be taken to delay municipal elections across the state, which are scheduled for May 2.

At the request of Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, and in consultation with the office of the Governor, the Idaho Office of the Secretary of State is extending the February 10 filing deadline for PACs and candidates under the Idaho Sunshine Laws to February 17, 2020.

Being the first report due under the new revisions of the Sunshine Law, various unanticipated issues have made achieving the deadline by midnight unlikely for some candidates and PACs.

The fines stipulated by the new laws will also be pushed back and not be assessed at this time.

Another contributing factor to the delayed deadline is for many in local and special district offices, this report represents their first time ever filing with the Office of the Secretary of State and many were not aware of the steps required to gain access to the state’s campaign finance filing system.

Akasha Lawrence-Spence was selected by the Multnomah County Commissioners in Oregon to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Jennifer Williamson.

Rep. Williamson resigned from the House District 36 seat in late December to run for secretary of state.

The unexpired term ends in January 2021.

Lawrence-Spence will serve through the remainder of the upcoming 2020 legislative session.

Candidates will vie for the District 36 seat in this year’s primary election.

Commissioner Nick Fish passed away on January 2, creating a vacant council seat.

The Portland City Council chose the May 19 municipal primary election date for a special election to fill the vacancy.

Potential candidates would have to wait until March 10 to file for Fish’s position.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters would face each other in a runoff election on November 3.

On June 16, a special election will be held to fill the seat vacated by Ward 2 D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans.

Evans resigned on January 7 to avoid a council vote on his removal based on alleged conflicts of interests.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Evan’s term, which ends in January 2021, according to WAMU. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has scheduled a special election to be held on March 24 for Queens borough president.

The seat became vacant when President Melinda Katz, a Democrat from Forest Hills, resigned to become Queens District Attorney.

The Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, announced a special election for February 4 for Senate District 13.

The seat is vacant after Sen. Greg Kirk died in December after a battle with cancer.

A runoff election is scheduled for March 3 if no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the special election.

On December 2, a provincial by-election will be held in the Capitale-Nationale riding of Jean-Talon for the Quebec National Assembly.

The election will be held to fill the vacant seat of former Member of the National Assembly Sébastien Proulx, who resigned in August to return to private life.

The election was announced by Premier François Legault on October 27

State Senator Viriato deMacedo announced he will resign from office within the next few weeks.

Sen. deMacedo will begin employment as the Director of Regional Partnerships with Bridgewater State University.

Sen. deMacedo, who has been serving in the Senate for the Plymouth and Barnstable District since 2015, was first elected to the state legislature as a representative in 1998. He held that seat until his move to the Senate.

“I’ve done this for 21 years and it’s been phenomenal, but everything has a season,” deMacedo told the Cape Cod Times.

A date for a special election to fill the upcoming vacancy has not yet been determined.