- Arizona rejects renewable energy standard that did not include nuclear as clean option
- Washington state rejects fee on carbon emissions
- Despite Democratic wins, Republicans still hold majority of state seats
On Tuesday, voters in 46 states headed to the polls to fill over 6,000 legislative seats, choose 36 new governors and consider more than 160 ballot measures. Although nuclear energy was not explicitly on the ballot, several state initiatives considered energy issues with an impact on the technology.
NEI Director of State Governmental Affairs and Advocacy Christine Csizmadia, an expert on state legislative affairs, shared her analysis of the midterm elections, and the consequence for energy policy and its impact on statehouses across the country.
Ballot Initiatives
Voters considered over 160 ballot initiatives on Tuesday, including one with the biggest impact for nuclear in Arizona. Voters in that state overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 127, a constitutional amendment that would have required 50 percent of Arizona’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030. The ballot initiative lost by an impressive margin – 70 percent opposed to 30 percent in favor. If it had passed, the proposed amendment would have erroneously excluded the Palo Verde nuclear power plant from its definition of clean energy.
“We've said throughout this campaign there is a better way to create a clean-energy future for Arizona that is also affordable and reliable," Arizona Public Service Chairman, President and CEO Don Brandt said. “As the nation’s largest producer of reliable emission-free energy, Palo Verde is the anchor of Arizona's clean-energy future. Any serious plan to reduce carbon emissions has to include nuclear energy and Palo Verde.”
In Washington State, voters defeated Initiative 1631, a measure that would have imposed a first-of-its-kind “fee” on carbon emissions. 56 percent of voters opposed the initiative, with 44 percent supporting it. This is the third time this policy has failed in Washington.
Governors
Most of the 36 races for governor have been called, with Democrats picking up at least seven governorships. As a result, there are now 23 Democrat and 26 Republican Governors with a contest in Georgia still outstanding.
State Legislatures
State legislatures started the election with 65 Republican-controlled chambers and 31 Democrat-controlled chambers. Six legislative chambers flipped from Republican to Democrat on Tuesday, resulting in 61 Republican-controlled and 37 Democrat-controlled state legislative chambers. NCSL’s State Vote site compares this to previous elections, showing it as “modest” sweep for Democrats. Even with about 350 Democratic seat flips, the Republican still hold the majority of state seats across the country.
Other statistics from the mid-term election include:
- Over 1,425 women won their state legislative seats across the country, with many races still outstanding.
- Nine of the 16 women running for governor won their races.
- Democrats now have a governing trifecta (control of the Governor’s Mansion and both houses of the state legislature) in 14 states.
- Republicans now have a governing trifecta in 22 states.
Photo Editorial credit: Rob Crandall / Shutterstock.com