Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 57 days left in 2015.
Biskupski appears to have defeated Becker. Transportation tax hike in trouble in Salt Lake County. A judge strikes down part of SB54, but the signature path to the ballot is upheld.
The clock:
- 82 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 89 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
- 97 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
- 128 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 139 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
- 171 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 238 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 370 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Wednesday’s top-10 headlines:
- Jackie Biskupski appears headed to victory in the Salt Lake City mayoral election, but Becker has not yet conceded [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13].
- Prop. 1, which would raise sales taxes for transportation, apparently is headed to defeat in Salt Lake County [Tribune, Deseret News].
- It was a good night nationally for Republicans as Kentucky elects a GOP governor for the first time since 2003 [Roll Call, Politico].
- A judge strikes down a provision in SB54 that requires parties to hold open primary elections, but rules the signature-gathering path to the primary ballot is constitutional [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
- Gov. Gary Herbert will not form a committee to vet potential state school board candidates, meaning anyone who files will be placed on the general election ballot next year. A judge ruled last year that the vetting process for candidates was unconstitutional [Tribune].
- A lawsuit challenging Utah’s adoption of Common Core standards is dismissed [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Millcreek residents vote to incorporate as a city while five other communities in Salt Lake County choose the metro township path [Tribune].
- Ohio voters reject a measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use [Associated Press].
- Voters in Houston overturn that city’s anti-discrimination ordinance that included protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity [New York Times].
- A new poll out of New Hampshire shows Marco Rubio is surging after his performance in the latest GOP debate while Jeb Bush‘s campaign is cratering [WBUR].
On this day in history:
- 1922 – British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen.
- 1924 – Nellie Taylor Ross of Wyoming is elected the first female governor in the United States.
- 1979 – Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking about 90 people hostage, 63 of them Americans.
- 1980 – Ronald Reagan won the White House in a landslide over President Jimmy Carter.
- 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist following a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
- 2008 – Democrat Barak Obama was elected the first black president of the United States.
