Morning Digest, sponsored by 314 Action: North Carolina's top court opens door to overturning election won by Democrat

Republicans could retroactively invalidate tens of thousands of lawful votes

Jefferson Griffin, the Republican nominee for North Carolina Supreme Court, in a tobacco field at his family’s farm (credit: Jefferson Griffin campaign Facebook)

Leading Off

NC Supreme Court

North Carolina's Republican-dominated Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state Board of Elections not to certify the results of last month's election for the state's highest court, opening a door for the majority to declare Republican Jefferson Griffin the winner even though Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs won more votes.

The move came one day after a federal judge, Richard Myers, returned Griffin's efforts to invalidate more than 60,000 votes to the state court system, ruling that none of Griffin's claims "necessarily raise an issue of federal law." The Board, which last month rejected Griffin's challenges, had sought to have Griffin's various state-court lawsuits instead heard in federal court, but Myers determined he was obligated to "abstain" in favor of the state judiciary.

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The Board, which is made up of a majority of Democratic appointees, immediately appealed Myers' decision. It asked the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Myers' ruling and direct him to "retrieve" the matter from the state courts so that its appeal can be adjudicated before it becomes moot.

In its brief, the Board argues that "abstention is inappropriate when state court proceedings threaten civil rights protected by federal law." It further charges that accepting Griffin's challenges would amount to "retroactively throwing away tens of thousands of votes by lawfully eligible voters who complied with the voting rules in place at the time of the election."

Even though Myers is an appointee of Donald Trump, Democrats would prefer to have the dispute resolved federally. They've vocally warned that Republicans on the state Supreme Court—who've greenlit multiple GOP power grabs—could try to seat Griffin despite the fact that two recounts have confirmed Riggs as the victor by 734 votes.

The Supreme Court may not actually have the power to do so, but whether it adheres to the law is another question. State constitutional law expert Quinn Yeargain, a contributor to The Downballot, notes that even if the justices were to rule that the Board was wrong to reject Griffin's challenges, it would not be empowered to name him as the winner. Instead, it could at most order a new election be held.

All that is predicated, however, on whether the Fourth Circuit allows the matter to remain before the state, or whether the federal courts reassert jurisdiction. The appeals court ordered accelerated briefing, directing Griffin to respond to the Board's request for a stay by noon Eastern today, while briefing before the Supreme Court is not set to conclude until Jan. 24.

Election Results

VA State Senate & State House

Democrats hung on to their one-seat majorities in both chambers of the Virginia legislature by winning two special elections on Tuesday night in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Republicans prevailed in a third race outside of Richmond, but the outcome did not affect the overall math.

In the battle for the state Senate, Democrat Kannan Srinivasan, who stepped down late last year as a member of the House of Delegates, defeated Republican Tumay Harding, a former teacher, by a 61-39 margin in Northern Virginia's 32nd District.

Meanwhile, in the 10th District in the central part of the state, businessman Luther Cifers, the GOP nominee, held off Democrat Jack Trammell, a sociology professor, 59-41.

Finally, in the 26th House District, Democrat JJ Singh, a hotel developer, beat Republican consultant Ram Venkatachalam, winning 61-38. Both Democrats ran about 1 point ahead of Kamala Harris while Cifers underperformed Donald Trump by 9 points.

As a result of their victories, Democrats will retain their 21-19 advantage in the Senate—a slim but crucial edge, because Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears would be able to break ties in an evenly divided chamber. They'll also maintain their 51-49 majority in the House. All 100 seats in the House will be up again in November, while members of the Senate will not face voters until 2027.

You can stay on top of every special election by bookmarking our new tracker, updated for the 2025-26 election cycle.

Senate

ID-Sen

Republican Jim Risch has yet to say whether he'll seek a fourth term next year, notes Roll Call in a new piece on the Senate playing field, pointing out that the 81-year-old senator "has been in elective office since the Nixon administration."

That career, which began with a successful bid for Ada County prosecuting attorney in 1970, was briefly interrupted in 1988 when Risch lost reelection to the state Senate against Democrat Mike Burkett in an upset. He returned to the Idaho legislature in 1995, though, and has held various posts ever since.

NH-Sen

Outgoing Republican Gov. Chris Sununu tells CNN he won't challenge Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Sununu was a top target for GOP Senate recruiters in 2020 and 2022, but he disappointed national Republicans by seeking reelection both times.

Governors

MD-Gov

A new poll from Gonzales Research shows Democratic Gov. Wes Moore beating his predecessor, Republican Larry Hogan, by a 52-38 margin in a hypothetical matchup, though Hogan has not publicly said whether he might be interested in trying to reclaim his old job. Hogan, 68, lost a Senate bid last year to Democrat Angela Alsobrooks 55-43.

NJ-Gov

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop just became the first Democratic candidate for governor to go up on TV ahead of the June 10 primary, beginning what the New Jersey Globe calls a "seven-figure" ad buy.

One of Fulop's inaugural spots details his background, noting that he volunteered for the Marines after 9/11, then "took on developers, Bob Menendez, and the political machine" as mayor. The other focuses on his support for education.

The Globe also notes that Fulop has qualified for the maximum amount of public financing for the primary allowed under New Jersey law, which gives campaigns a 2-for-1 match as long as they agree to cap their spending at $8.7 million. For the general election, that figure is $18.5 million.

OH-Gov

Former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton, who rose to prominence during the early months of the COVID pandemic, became the first notable Democrat to announce a bid for governor on Tuesday. Acton is campaigning to succeed her former boss, termed-out Republican Mike DeWine, in a former swing state that's moved sharply to the right over the last decade.

Acton, who is running for office for the first time, became a ubiquitous presence in 2020 during DeWine's TV briefings. Her high-profile role also made Acton, who is Jewish, a target of vitriol from conservatives who opposed the state's public health directives, which included many antisemitic attacks.

After Acton stepped down in June of 2020, DeWine offered glowing praise on her way out.

"It’s true not all heroes wear capes," the governor said. "Some of them do, in fact, wear a white coat, and this particular hero’s white coat is embossed with the name Dr. Amy Acton."

Acton, though, launched her bid for DeWine's job by arguing that Ohio's Republican-dominated government had failed its citizens.

"It’s not OK with me that Ohioans don’t live as long as people do in other states," she told the Associated Press. "It’s not OK with me to watch what used to be a top education system, state-of-the-art education system, begin to fall year after year after year."

House

WA-04

Former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler says he's preparing a third bid for Washington's conservative 4th District after losing an all-Republican general election to Rep. Dan Newhouse by a 52-46 margin last year.

Boosted by Donald Trump's endorsement, Sessler led Newhouse 33-23 in the August top-two primary. But Newhouse, one of just two Republicans left in the House who voted to impeach Donald Trump, prevailed in the general election thanks to the votes of Democrats, who did not have a candidate of their own to support. Sessler also ran in 2022 but finished fourth in the primary with just 12%.

Mayors & County Leaders

Westchester County, NY Executive & Baltimore County, MD Executive

County legislatures in two populous communities this week selected new executives to replace Democrats who were elected to the U.S. House last fall.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators chose Deputy Executive Ken Jenkins on Monday to replace his old boss, New York Rep. George Latimer. Jenkins, a Democrat who is the county's first Black leader, will need to defend his new job in a Feb. 11 special election, though no opponents have surfaced yet. The winner will be up for a full four-year term in November in this reliably blue county just north of New York City that backed Kamala Harris 63-37.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore County Council picked Democratic state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier to succeed Johnny Olszewski the following day, which makes her the first woman to hold this post. (Baltimore County, which is the third-most populous in Maryland, and the neighboring city of Baltimore have been separate jurisdictions since the 1850s.)

Klausmeier won't have to contend with a special election, but she's pledged not to run for a full term in 2026—a promise the other four finalists for the appointment also made. Three members of the County Legislature are already running in next year's contest to run the county, which favored Harris 61-36.

Prosecutors & Sheriffs

2025 Elections

Over 150 counties will elect sheriffs or prosecutors this year, and Bolts has put together a list of these contests. All of these races, with one exception, are concentrated in just four states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The lone outlier is Orleans Parish, Louisiana, where Sheriff Susan Hutson is on the ballot.

Daniel Nichanian also takes a look at some of the themes to watch as the year unfolds, including whether progressive prosecutors will be able to survive tough challenges and whether criminal justice reformers can add to their numbers.