• Voters in more than 30 states will get to weigh in on elections for their state supreme courts this November, with 82 seats up for grabs. While state judicial races often get overshadowed in a presidential election year, the outcomes of these races have massive consequences on people’s lives. It’s often state supreme courts that get the final say on local abortion restrictions, redistricting and gerrymandering cases, laws that target the LGBTQ community, and tons of other important issues. Daniel Nichanian, founder and editor of Bolts magazine, breaks down which states have big Supreme Court elections coming up and where the stakes are highest.
• And in headlines: The interim head of the Secret Service said the man suspected of planning a second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump did not fire his rifle or have a sightline on Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris met with leaders from the Teamsters in an attempt to win their endorsement, and Boar’s Head is shutting down the Virginia meat production facility at the center of a listeria outbreak.

• Check out the races on Bolts – https://boltsmag.org/
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TRANSCRIPT

Jane Coaston: It’s Tuesday, September 17th. I’m Jane Coaston. 

Josie Duffy Rice: And I’m Josie Duffy Rice and this is What a Day. The show where we don’t necessarily condone the choice of the eight year old girl in Ohio who police say drove to Target on her own to go shopping. But we get the impulse. 

Jane Coaston: She shouldn’t be driving. But actually, why can’t eight year olds drive? She safely got to Target. 

Jane Coaston: Correct. 

Jane Coaston: Clearly, she was ready to drive more. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Yeah, I’m actually confident she’s a better driver than me. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah. Same. Same.

Josie Duffy Rice: I think she can have my driver’s license. 

Jane Coaston: Absolutely. Let’s start with today’s news. [music break]

[clip of Ronald Rowe] The projected methodologies of the Secret Service were effective yesterday. The former president’s protective apparatus allowed for the early identification of the threat and led to a safe evacuation. 

Jane Coaston: Okay, So there is a lot to update you on about the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. We’re learning more about the man who federal officials say planned the attempt and the events that led up to the man’s confrontation with Trump’s security detail on Sunday. During a press briefing on Monday. Interim Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said the security measures surrounding Trump worked and that the suspect fired no shots. 

[clip of Ronald Rowe] The subject, who did not have line of sight to the former president, fled the scene. He did not fire or get off any shots at our agent. 

Jane Coaston: The suspect has been identified as 58 year old Ryan Routh. Officials say he waited near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course for 12 hours, 12 hours before being spotted by Secret Service agents. He was arrested after fleeing the scene and so far faces two federal gun charges, including possessing a firearm as a felon. Back in 2002, Routh was convicted of, quote, “possessing a weapon of mass death and destruction” after he reportedly barricaded himself inside a building in Greensboro, South Carolina, with an automatic weapon. According to the officer that charged him at the time, Routh was well known for getting into armed standoffs with police. Yes, you heard that correctly. He was well known for getting into armed standoffs with police. You know, a thing people can be well known for. During the press briefing on Monday, the FBI’s top agent in Miami said the agency received a tip in 2019 that Routh may have been illegally in possession of a firearm at the time, but that the case was ultimately closed. Sunday’s assassination attempt was the second against Trump in roughly 60 days, raising serious questions about the Secret Service’s preparedness. Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have condemned the assassination attempt. And on Monday, Biden said the Secret Service, quote, “needs more help.” 

[clip of President Joe Biden] And I think the Congress should respond to their needs. If they in fact need more service [?]. 

Jane Coaston: For Trump’s part, he took to social media Monday to blame Democrats and their, quote, “communist left rhetoric” for the attempt. 

[clip of unidentified speaker from TikTok federal court hearing] For the first time in history, Congress has expressly targeted a specific U.S. speaker banning its speech and the speech of 170 million Americans. 

Jane Coaston: Yesterday, we told you about a federal court hearing that could determine the fate of TikTok. Everyone’s favorite place to learn about people we hope we never actually meet in our actual lives. More specifically, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is determining whether a bill signed by President Biden forcing TikTok to either be sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance or risk a ban from app stores violates the First Amendment. And it did not appear to go very well for TikTok. One judge said that the company’s arguments presented, quote, “a very strange framework for thinking about congressional oversight.” When a judge says something you do is very strange. That’s not good. The case has attracted a ton of attention from free speech groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, all of which argue that forcing a TikTok sale violates the free speech rights of all of the platform’s users. Stay tuned. Vice President Kamala Harris met with leaders from the Teamsters on Monday in an attempt to win their endorsement. According to The New York Times, Harris answered questions on issues including the rail strike that President Biden prevented back in 2022. And she also emphasized Donald Trump’s weaknesses on labor. Last month, in a conversation with Elon Musk, Trump supported firing striking workers, which is illegal. After the meeting with Harris ended, the Teamsters president, Sean O’Brien said his union can endorse the candidate as early as Wednesday, but that they might not endorse anyone in this election. Here’s O’Brien speaking with reporters. 

[clip of Sean O’Brien] She recognized the diversity of of our membership as it relates to political affiliation. So we had some discussion on that. And uh overall, it’s been consistent with every other candidate on the same questions and answers. 

Jane Coaston: O’Brien angered many of his union’s members when he spoke at the RNC in July. The Teamsters National Black Caucus endorsed Vice President Harris last month on their own, and the Harris Walz campaign has already earned the endorsements of every major union other than the Teamsters. Boar’s Head is shutting down the Virginia meat production facility at the center of a listeria outbreak that started in July. The company is also discontinuing liverwurst. The product, it says, was to blame for the outbreak, which, if you’ve ever seen liverwurst, checks out. Nine people died and dozens more were hospitalized as a result of the outbreak. Over the past year, federal inspectors had found instances of liquid dripping from the ceiling on to products at the facility. Insects and mold were also an issue. Eew. In a statement announcing the plant closure, Boar’s Head called the outbreak a, quote, “dark moment in our company’s history.” They also announced that they have created a food safety council and will be hiring an executive to oversee food safety at the company. Food safety, what a concept. And that’s the news. 

Josie Duffy Rice: So. Jane. 

Jane Coaston: Hi. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Hi. I know we’ve been spending a ton of time talking about the upcoming presidential election. And uh for good reason, of course, it’s the big one. Most people are excited about it. Lot’s at stake. But I do want to take a short break from the top of the ticket for a little bit and look way, way, way, way further down the ballot at a group of state races that aren’t getting a ton of attention. 

Jane Coaston: Let’s do it. What are we talking? School boards, city council, county seats? 

Josie Duffy Rice: Close. So this year, voters in more than 30 states will get to weigh in on elections for their state supreme court. Yay. [soft clapping] Around 80 seats are up for grabs. That is a lot of seats. 

Jane Coaston: Right. So unlike the U.S. Supreme Court where justices get lifetime appointments. Voters in these states actually get a say in who sits on the high court bench. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Yeah, that’s exactly right. And while state judicial races don’t often get a ton of attention, to say the least, the outcomes of these races have massive consequences on people’s lives. Honestly, sometimes more than the Supreme Court or Congress. Right? Because it’s often state supreme courts that get the final say on abortion restrictions or redistricting and gerrymandering cases or laws that target the LGBTQ community and tons of other important issues. So for more about which states have big Supreme Court elections coming up and where the stakes are highest, I spoke with Daniel Nichanian he is the founder and editor of Bolts magazine, which reports on these kind of local and state elections that often get overlooked. Here’s our conversation. Daniel, welcome to What a Day. 

Daniel Nichanian: It’s so much fun to join you. 

Josie Duffy Rice: So let’s start with the numbers. How many state Supreme Court seats are up for election this year? 

Daniel Nichanian: So this year, in 2024, there’s 82 Supreme Court seats. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Ok. 

Daniel Nichanian: Across the country. Not every state has elections for its state courts, but most do so. And overall, there’s 82 seats to be watching this year. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Okay. And so can you talk a little bit about why these elections are so important? Like, obviously, not everybody pays attention to who is serving on their local courts, but these elections have um a pretty big impact. So talk to us about that. 

Daniel Nichanian: I’m going to guess that anyone who is going to watch this or listen to this knows how important the US courts are, the federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court. And yet very few people, even within a state, could say who is on their state Supreme Court could say who has the majority. Could say how any retirement vacancy appointment death would affect anything. When we look at abortion rights since. Dobbs since 2022, when we look at voting rights, since Shelby and before. When we look at criminal justice issues and what counts, for instance, as a cruel and unusual punishment at the state level, all of that is playing out right now in state courts, in state jurisprudence. And I would say, especially since progressive attorneys, progressive groups have realized what they’re up against at the federal level and the odds of success having gone down since Trump got his three appointments. A lot of people–

Josie Duffy Rice: Right. 

Daniel Nichanian: –are looking at state courts, are filing cases at the state level. And so these are extremely important seats. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Yeah. So tell us a little bit about what states have elections this year and like which seats you’re particularly watching, which states you think the stakes are the highest? 

Daniel Nichanian: The easiest place to start is that the majority of the court, Democrat and Republican, is on the ballot in Michigan and Ohio. So those are the two big states where the partisan majority is on the ballot. Now, there’s been lots of examples just in the past few years in both states. But why this matters? Michigan’s court just a few weeks ago issued a 4-3 party line decision on um whether lawmakers are allowed to gut a ballot initiative, with the four Democrats siding with the, he had no, you can’t just ignore a ballot initiative. Um. In Ohio, the redistricting in the past few years kept going to the state Supreme Court. And conservatives, you know, really cemented a 4-3 majority in 2022. Those are now both on the line this year with elections. Possibly the most prominent example. Let’s pick Arizona and Florida. They are in both of these cases. The state Supreme Court issued rulings this year this spring to uphold extremely strict abortion bans in each state. There are two justices who sided with the abortion ban, who voted to uphold the abortion ban, who are up for retention this year. So voters are have the chance to decide whether to keep them or oust them. You know, those are just a few examples of what’s happening. This is so important, Josie. Republicans have put a ballot measure on the ballot in Arizona to cancel elections for judges in November. And that initiative would apply to the elections happening on the same day. So if that measure passes, the elections happening on the same day would be retroactively canceled. That’s how important everyone who actually is following this knows these things are. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Yeah, you’re pointing out like that there’s obviously a lot of interest from special interest groups, especially on the right in these elections, and they’ve kind of been investing in state supreme courts for years now. How has that affected the courts overall? 

Daniel Nichanian: Well, that’s a great question and maybe an uncomfortable one for some people who want to like shed more light on state supreme courts for the sake of information. Because when you talk to groups in smaller red states where the courts have not drifted as far to the right as the other institutions, they’re hoping to sort of be under the radar. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Right. Right. 

Daniel Nichanian: One thing maybe gets to your question, I think that the right has done in some states like Ohio is add party affiliations on the ballot because they think that it’s going to better match the way people are voting on other offices in Ohio. Up until a couple of years ago, there was no party affiliation on the ballot that had helped more centrist justices or justices that were Democrats or Independents win seats on the court, 2022 had party affiliations and Republicans swept the seats. In a lot of blue leaning states, sometimes there aren’t elections because they’re just appointments. That’s a place where a lot of progressives, a lot of people who care about criminal justice reform, for instance, have said governors have to pay a lot more attention to who they’re appointing. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Okay. Let’s take a break. More with Daniel Nichanian, editor and chief of Bolts, a nonprofit news publication covering states and local elections. But if you like our show, make sure to subscribe. Check us out on YouTube and share with your friends. We’ll be back after some ads. [music break]

[AD BREAK]

Josie Duffy Rice: Okay. Let’s get back to our conversation with Daniel Nichanian. You brought up the fact that, like, when we actually put party affiliations on the ballot, these races become a lot more predictable by state make up rate. And we’ve talked about many times the kind of complication between having a nonpartisan race and a partisan race and what that means for people going to the polls. So can you talk a little bit about how judicial races becoming Partisan versus just listing candidates without their party affiliation, how that shifts the stakes of the election and also how the justices behave on the bench? 

Daniel Nichanian: I’ll take the easy way out and say it really depends on what the culture of the benches in general and outside interests, how money is also coming in and who’s running. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Right. 

Daniel Nichanian: In Wisconsin, which is a nonpartisan ballot, but possibly the most partisan Supreme Court in the country, the one that draws the most attention, the one that draws the most headlines. It’s technically nonpartisan, but very clear fault lines there of who supports whom. How the justices emerge from their careers. You can also get places with partisan elections where no one runs for office. I said earlier there were 82 seats on the ballot, but so many of these races don’t have anyone running. In Oregon, there are five seats on the ballot, and no one is running at all against incumbents. I think what what is more predictable is the behavior of voters when they see a party affiliation, because then it becomes much harder for candidates to escape the gravity of whatever else– 

Josie Duffy Rice: Yes. 

Daniel Nichanian: –is happening in the state. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Right. You brought up some of the things that state supreme courts can have an effect on. So reproductive health is one of them. We’ve seen, like a lot of, like you said, really impactful decisions come down from the court. Can you talk a little bit about the impact that courts can have on the democratic process in these states? 

Daniel Nichanian: That entire area, right of voting rights is one where we all know the federal courts are not going to be very friendly any more with Justice Roberts and his court at the end of the process. And so what, as we’re saying, a lot of people, a lot of groups, a lot of attorneys have done is look within state constitutions and look for language there that affirms a right to vote, affirms a right for people to have a ballot, to have sometimes access to an initiative process, which in many state constitutions is written down. And we’re seeing state courts affirm that in ways that are a lot more robust and protective of what it means to have a right to vote and a right to access democracy than, you know, by a mile compared to anything at the federal level. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Mm hnn, Daniel, can you just tell everybody listening or watching right now how to learn more about their state Supreme Court and what they should make sure they do before Election Day? 

Daniel Nichanian: We at Bolts uh have a state Supreme court guide for every election on the ballot, state by state, so you can see who’s up for retention and you can also just find out what’s going on in other states that you might be interested in. So I think the easiest way to find it might be just go to Google and type Bolts state Supreme Court 2024. I’m sure you’ll find it. But we also have other resources to learn about state courts on Bolts. It’s not just state Supreme Courts. We could talk another hour, right, Josie, about other judges on the ballot. There’s like trial court judges, civil court judges, depending on where you are. And it can be very hard to understand what’s going on there. So I think I would say just make sure that you have time to look at your ballot, try and see what these people are. If they’re saying anything. Often judges don’t want to say anything when they run, even though–

Josie Duffy Rice: Right. 

Daniel Nichanian: They have so much authority and power and it’s so important to understand what they want. And yeah, as much research as exists, where you are. 

Josie Duffy Rice: Thank you, Daniel, so much. I have to say, I, as you know, love the state Supreme court guide every year on Bolts. And this is like my fantasy draft. I guess other people do fantasy football. And I look at the state Supreme Court guide on Bolts, so I cannot recommend it enough. And I’m so glad you joined us. 

Daniel Nichanian: Thanks so much for the invite and the conversation. 

Josie Duffy Rice: That was my conversation with Daniel Nichanian, editor and chief of Bolts, a nonprofit news publication that covers state and local elections. [music break]

Jane Coaston: The Associated Press is reporting that a shadowy group with ties to democratic consulting firms is recruiting Trump supporters to run as third party candidates in races in swing districts across the country. According to the AP, the group the Patriots run project seems to be trying to, quote, “siphon off votes” for Republicans to ensure Democrats win and keep the House. This is a bad idea. Let me take you back to 2022. The Rams won the Super Bowl. Argentina won the World Cup. And a lot of other stuff happened that I apparently do not remember because a lot of my brain is reserved for the plots of old episodes of Law and Order. But I do remember that Doug Mastriano ran for governor in Pennsylvania. Doug Mastriano, an election denier who wanted an abortion ban with absolutely no exceptions, even saying that women who violated his proposed ten week abortion ban would be charged with murder. He was so far right that he was having trouble getting support and money from the Republican Governors Association. But one group did give him a helping hand. Democrats. In May of 2022, then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s campaign ran an ad for Doug Mastriano aimed at Republicans, which said in part, if Mastriano wins, it’s a win for what Donald Trump stands for. Shapiro and other Democrats probably figured that Doug Mastriano was so extreme that if he won the GOP primary, the general election would be easy to win. And it worked. Josh Shapiro did win the governor’s mansion by about 15 points, but the race was much tighter than Democrats ever expected. See, the idea of supporting the opposing candidates you think will be easiest to beat or throwing in another candidate altogether to siphon off votes isn’t new, And it’s definitely not just for Democrats. The biggest supporters of RFK Junior’s campaign? Republicans. The people fighting hardest to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the ballot in swing states? Republicans. Hey, remember when Kanye West ran for president back in 2020? Yeah, that effort was paid for in part with millions of dollars from Republican operatives. But the problems here seem pretty obvious to me. First, in a world with limited resources, why help someone you wouldn’t want to see elected. And secondly, what if that crazy weirdo you’re supporting to help your candidate win, wins? Like, remember when Trump first ran in 2016 and some pundits thought it was a great idea for Democrats to support him in open primaries to knock out other potentially tougher opponents like Ted Cruz. How did that work out again? I get it. Politics is wild and people are going to do everything they can to help their team win. But in sports, there’s this idea called getting too cute. Like, you don’t need to run some complicated play when you could just throw the ball and supporting some of the worst people around to help your guy is the very definition of getting too cute. [music break] One more thing before we go. Next Tuesday, September 24th, join me on the Friends of the Pod Discord community for a round of Ask me Anything. It’s only fair that you get to learn a little more about the person talking into your ear five days a week. So hop on and ask me anything, except how I feel about Michigan football’s passing game this year. No questions about that. Join Friends of the pod at crooked.com/friends for access. [music break] That’s all for today. If you liked the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a review. Take a break from liverwurst this week and tell your friends to listen. 

Josie Duffy Rice: And if you’re into reading and not just the profiles of your state’s judicial nominees like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. So check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Josie Duffy Rice.

Jane Coaston: I’m Jane Coaston. 

[spoken together] And thanks for listening. 

Jane Coaston: What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded by Jerik Centeno and mixed by Bill Lancz. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. Our producer is Michell Eloy. We had production help today from Ethan Oberman, Tyler Hill, JoHanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters and Julia Claire. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our executive producer is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Collin Gilliard and Kashaka.