Ballotpedia’ Daily Brew: Number of contested state legislative primaries is up 41% compared to 2020 Earlier this month, we looked at the number of contested Republican and Democratic state legislative primaries in 14 states this year compared to 2020. At that time, we found the number of state legislative primaries was up 38%. We’ve since then added two more states to the data—Arizona and North Dakota —let’s take a look at the update. The number of contested state legislative primaries is now up 41% this year compared to 2020. This research includes primary election competitiveness data from 16 states that held elections in 2020. These states account for 1,850 of the 6,166 state legislative seats up for election this year (30%). In those 16 states, Democratic primaries are down 6%, while Republican primaries are up 76%. Top-two/four primaries are up 18%. We count primaries as contested when more candidates file to run than nominations available, meaning at least one candidate must lose. Three states in this analysis have Democratic trifectas, 10 have Republican trifectas, and three have divided governments. Of the 16 states in this analysis, 14 are holding partisan primaries. Two states—California and Nebraska—use top-two primaries. The number of Democratic primaries has increased in six states, decreased in six, and remains the same in two. The number of Republican primaries has increased in 13 states and decreased in one. The table below shows partisan statistics for the three states with the largest increases and decreases so far. In addition to a state’s political makeup and party activity, redistricting is another reason for an increase in primary competitiveness. After redistricting, some states—like Arkansas—hold elections for every district, while in other years, fewer districts are up each cycle. This creates more opportunities for primaries to occur. Or, like in West Virginia, redistricting creates new districts and, by extension, more primary opportunities. We’ll continue to update these figures as information becomes available. In addition to this analysis, we collect competitiveness statistics at all levels of government, which you can find here. This data is calculated following candidate filing deadlines and readjusted at the time of the primary to account for any changes to candidate lists. KEEP READING

Ballotpedia’ Daily Brew: Number of contested state legislative primaries is up 41% compared to 2020 Earlier this month, we looked at the number of contested Republican and Democratic state legislative primaries in 14 states this year compared to 2020. At that time, we found the number of state legislative primaries was up 38%. We’ve since then added two more states to the data—Arizona and North Dakota —let’s take a look at the update. The number of contested state legislative primaries is now up 41% this year compared to 2020. This research includes primary election competitiveness data from 16 states that held elections in 2020. These states account for 1,850 of the 6,166 state legislative seats up for election this year (30%). In those 16 states, Democratic primaries are down 6%, while Republican primaries are up 76%. Top-two/four primaries are up 18%. We count primaries as contested when more candidates file to run than nominations available, meaning at least one candidate must lose. Three states in this analysis have Democratic trifectas, 10 have Republican trifectas, and three have divided governments. Of the 16 states in this analysis, 14 are holding partisan primaries. Two states—California and Nebraska—use top-two primaries. The number of Democratic primaries has increased in six states, decreased in six, and remains the same in two. The number of Republican primaries has increased in 13 states and decreased in one. The table below shows partisan statistics for the three states with the largest increases and decreases so far. In addition to a state’s political makeup and party activity, redistricting is another reason for an increase in primary competitiveness. After redistricting, some states—like Arkansas—hold elections for every district, while in other years, fewer districts are up each cycle. This creates more opportunities for primaries to occur. Or, like in West Virginia, redistricting creates new districts and, by extension, more primary opportunities. We’ll continue to update these figures as information becomes available. In addition to this analysis, we collect competitiveness statistics at all levels of government, which you can find here. This data is calculated following candidate filing deadlines and readjusted at the time of the primary to account for any changes to candidate lists. KEEP READING
by Jm Moran

2022-05-18T14:26:12.000Z
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Musk's Twitter Ultimatum Elon Musk said yesterday his $44B deal to buy Twitter can’t move forward unless the company proves that fewer than 5% of total users are fake. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has been vocal about wanting to clean up spam bots and estimates at least 20% of Twitter's 229 million daily active users are spam. Musk, who said his offer is contingent on evidence backing the claim, has also indicated he may eye a lower price for the potential acquisition. The issue over spam bots began Friday, when Musk tweeted the deal was temporarily on hold until Twitter explains how it calculates fake accounts. Twitter made the 5% claim in quarterly filings this month, acknowledging the figure may be higher. On Monday, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal explained the company's approach to fake accounts, reaffirming spam accounts make up fewer than 5% of active users each quarter. Separately, Twitter is losing three more senior employees after two product executives left last week.

Musk's Twitter Ultimatum Elon Musk said yesterday his $44B deal to buy Twitter can’t move forward unless the company proves that fewer than 5% of total users are fake. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has been vocal about wanting to clean up spam bots and estimates at least 20% of Twitter's 229 million daily active users are spam. Musk, who said his offer is contingent on evidence backing the claim, has also indicated he may eye a lower price for the potential acquisition. The issue over spam bots began Friday, when Musk tweeted the deal was temporarily on hold until Twitter explains how it calculates fake accounts. Twitter made the 5% claim in quarterly filings this month, acknowledging the figure may be higher. On Monday, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal explained the company's approach to fake accounts, reaffirming spam accounts make up fewer than 5% of active users each quarter. Separately, Twitter is losing three more senior employees after two product executives left last week.
by Jm Moran

2022-05-18T14:22:12.000Z
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by Jm Moran

2022-05-16T19:09:53.000Z
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A significant outcome of the Blundering Biden Economic Program: Here’s an item-by-item look at how much more expensive your groceries are, due to inflation Published Tue, Apr 5 202212:13 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Apr 6 20221:03 PM EDT thumbnail Mike Winters SDI Productions The cost of groceries keeps rising, and it looks like it’s going to stay that way. Food-at-home prices are expected to increase between 3% and 4% by the end of 2022, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast. This is in addition to the inflated prices you’ve likely noticed already: Grocery prices were 7.9% higher year-over-year as of February 2022, according to the Consumer Price Index’s most recent data. What’s less obvious is which items have become the most expensive, as the rate of year-over-year inflation ranges from 1.1% to nearly 15%, depending on the product. The cost of meat, poultry, fish and eggs is 13% higher since February 2021. Fresh fruit has gone up 10.6% in price in that time, while the price for vegetables has remained much more stable, increasing just 4.3%. The price of pre-packaged cereals and baked goods has increased 7.7%. Here’s a look at how much a sample cart of groceries has increased between February 2021 and February 2022. CNBC Make It used data from price-comparison app Basket to determine the national U.S. average price for each product in Feb. 2022, then used CPI’s most recent inflation data to estimate prices for those products in Feb. 2021. The inflation rate for each item varies based on how supply chains have been affected by the pandemic, as well as consumer demand, weather-related events and worker shortages. As one example, bacon has risen 17% year-over-year. This stems from pandemic-related meatpacking plant closures, worker shortages and shifting consumer demand, as people have been eating more pork because they’re making more meals at home, according to Farm Journal. The big takeaway: Although individual inflation rates may vary, the overall cost of groceries has gone up.

A significant outcome of the Blundering Biden Economic Program: Here’s an item-by-item look at how much more expensive your groceries are, due to inflation Published Tue, Apr 5 202212:13 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Apr 6 20221:03 PM EDT thumbnail Mike Winters SDI Productions The cost of groceries keeps rising, and it looks like it’s going to stay that way. Food-at-home prices are expected to increase between 3% and 4% by the end of 2022, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast. This is in addition to the inflated prices you’ve likely noticed already: Grocery prices were 7.9% higher year-over-year as of February 2022, according to the Consumer Price Index’s most recent data. What’s less obvious is which items have become the most expensive, as the rate of year-over-year inflation ranges from 1.1% to nearly 15%, depending on the product. The cost of meat, poultry, fish and eggs is 13% higher since February 2021. Fresh fruit has gone up 10.6% in price in that time, while the price for vegetables has remained much more stable, increasing just 4.3%. The price of pre-packaged cereals and baked goods has increased 7.7%. Here’s a look at how much a sample cart of groceries has increased between February 2021 and February 2022. CNBC Make It used data from price-comparison app Basket to determine the national U.S. average price for each product in Feb. 2022, then used CPI’s most recent inflation data to estimate prices for those products in Feb. 2021. The inflation rate for each item varies based on how supply chains have been affected by the pandemic, as well as consumer demand, weather-related events and worker shortages. As one example, bacon has risen 17% year-over-year. This stems from pandemic-related meatpacking plant closures, worker shortages and shifting consumer demand, as people have been eating more pork because they’re making more meals at home, according to Farm Journal. The big takeaway: Although individual inflation rates may vary, the overall cost of groceries has gone up.
by Jm Moran

2022-05-16T14:02:38.000Z
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by Jm Moran

2022-05-14T13:05:58.000Z
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2022-05-14T13:05:13.000Z
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by Jm Moran

2022-05-14T13:02:07.000Z
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