Election results, 2015
The 2015 general election took place on November 3, 2015.
From a game-changing set of recall elections in Colorado's second-largest school district to San Francisco's AirBnB Initiative; from the riveting contest over majority control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to what ended up being two Republicans duking it out for the office of attorney general of Louisiana, Ballotpedia's staff provided comprehensive coverage of the 2015 elections.
These elections provided a barometer of the public’s general attitudes towards parties and policies and will inform and instruct both electoral and ballot campaigns at all levels as we head into 2016.
For a complete directory of the coverage that Ballotpedia offers, visit this page.
What were the big questions?
| Frequent Ballotpedia contributor and senior fellow at AEI, Karlyn Bowman, moderates a discussion about the impacts of 2015 on Republicans. |
- How many state executive offices changed hands?
- Did any state legislatures change partisan control?
- Which party claimed a majority on Pennsylvania's supreme court?
- Which statewide ballot measures were controversial?
- Did Airbnb stop Prop. F in San Francisco?
- Who came out on top in Houston's 13-candidate mayoral contest?
- Did recall activists take down the board majority in Jeffco schools?
State executives
How many state executive offices changed hands?
Kentucky and Mississippi held their general elections on November 3, 2015, following primaries earlier in the year. Louisiana held a blanket primary on October 24, 2015, and a runoff election on November 21, 2015, in races where candidates did not receive 50 percent of the vote. In a runoff election, the top two candidates advance from the primary to determine a winner.
In Kentucky, Republican Matt Bevin won with a surprising margin of victory; most polls before the election had shown him behind Democratic candidate Jack Conway. In Mississippi, the incumbent Phil Bryant retained his office. In Louisiana, Democrat John Edwards defeated his Republican rival, handing the governor's mansion to a Democrat in the traditionally Republican state.
Overall, there was no change in the number of gubernatorial offices held by either party, leaving Republicans with 31 and Democrats with 18. One is held by an Independent.
Louisiana governor
The general election for Louisiana governor between David Vitter (R) and John Bel Edwards (D) was held on November 21, 2015. Edwards defeated his Republican opponent.
| Governor of Louisiana, Run-off election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Bel Edwards |
56.1% | 646,860 | |
| Republican | David Vitter | 43.9% | 505,929 | |
| Total Votes | 1,152,789 | |||
| Election Results via the Louisiana Secretary of State. | ||||
Kentucky governor
Republican Matt Bevin and his running mate, Jenean M. Hampton, defeated Attorney General Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis.[1]
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Matt Bevin/Jenean M. Hampton |
52.5% | 511,771 | |
| Democrat | Jack Conway/Sannie Overly | 43.8% | 426,827 | |
| Independent | Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis | 3.7% | 35,627 | |
| Total Votes | 974,225 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Mississippi governor
| Governor of Mississippi, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Robert Gray | 32.4% | 234,858 | |
| Republican | Phil Bryant Incumbent |
66.2% | 480,399 | |
| Reform | Shawn O'Hara | 1.4% | 9,950 | |
| Total Votes | 725,207 | |||
| Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State | ||||
State legislatures
Did any state legislatures change partisan control?
Of the legislative chambers with elections in 2015, the Virginia State Senate featured the smallest gap in partisan balance between parties, with 19 seats held by Democrats and 21 held by Republicans. Democrats needed to win a net gain of one seat to effectively wrest power away from Republicans; as Senate President, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam would have presumably served as the tiebreaker in party line votes of 20-20.[2] The election ended in a stalemate, with Republicans maintaining their 21 to 19 seat advantage. The Republican State Leadership Committee targeted the Senate in light of Virginia, according to committee president Matt Walter, "[becoming] an increasingly important battleground state in presidential years."[3] Seven legislative chambers chambers were up for election in 2015. Louisiana held its general elections on November 21. Republicans maintained control over the majority of state legislatures at the time of the election. Sixty-eight chambers were held by Republicans, while Democrats controlled 30 chambers. Although technically nonpartisan, the Nebraska State Senate was controlled by a Republican majority. |
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State courts
- See also: Judicial elections, 2015
Supreme Courts
Three states held supreme court elections in 2015. In April, Ann Walsh Bradley was reelected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In November, Pennsylvania elected three justices and Kentucky elected one.
Elections in Wisconsin and Kentucky are nonpartisan. The race in Pennsylvania was not only partisan, but hotly contested between Republicans and Democrats.
Which party claimed a majority on Pennsylvania's court?
Seven candidates vied for three open seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court: two vacancies created by retirements, and one vacancy created by an incumbent's primary loss. This was the most competitive supreme court race the commonwealth had seen since 2009 when Joan Orie Melvin (R) was elected to the high court.[4] Court elections in 2011 and 2013 were uncontested retention elections for incumbent justices.
Democrats won three seats, which flipped the partisan balance in their favor. The lone incumbent on the 2015 primary ballot, Correale Stevens (R), was appointed to the court in 2013 and sought election to a full 10-year term. Stevens was defeated in the Republican primary on May 19.[5][6]
Last minute campaign advertising on behalf of both parties made the Pennsylvania race the most expensive supreme court race in American history.[7][8]
| 2015 State Supreme Court elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Open seats | Winners | Partisan majority | |
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court | 3 | David N. Wecht • Christine Donohue • Kevin M. Dougherty | Democrats | |
State courts
For comprehensive coverage of all the local court elections that occurred on November 3, 2015, visit our state court elections page.
The following table lists the local court elections by type of court:
| 2015 State court elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Court type | Open seats | Winner |
| Pennsylvania | Superior Court | 1 | Alice B. Dubow |
| Pennsylvania | Commonwealth Court | 1 | Michael Wojcik |
| Washington | Court of Appeals | 1 | James Verellen |
State ballot measures
Which statewide ballot measures were controversial?
Ohio Issue 3
The measure would have legalized the limited sale and use of marijuana and created 10 facilities with exclusive commercial rights to grow the drug. Anyone 21 years or older with a license purchased from the Ohio Marijuana Control Commission, similar to a fishing license, would have been able to use, possess, grow, cultivate and share up to eight ounces of homegrown marijuana and four flowering marijuana plants. Anyone 21 years or older (with or without a license) would have been able to purchase, possess, transport, use and share up to one ounce of marijuana. Anyone with a certified debilitating medical condition would have been able to use medicinal marijuana.
| Ohio Issue 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 2042902 | 63.65% | |||
| Yes | 1166692 | 36.35% | ||
Election results via: Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio Issue 2
While Issue 3 supporters were collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot, the Ohio Legislature referred a constitutional amendment, Issue 2, to the ballot in June 2015. Lawmakers were concerned Issue 3 would create a monopoly because under the proposal, 10 facilities would have exclusive rights to commercially grow marijuana. The Initiated Monopolies Amendment requires the Ohio Ballot Board to determine whether an initiative would create an economic monopoly or special privilege for any nonpublic entity, including individuals, corporations and organizations. If Issue 3 had passed, Issue 2 would have invalidated it.
| Ohio Issue 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 1621329 | 51.33% | |||
| No | 1537261 | 48.67% | ||
Election results via: Ohio Secretary of State
Local ballot measures
Did Airbnb stop Prop. F in San Francisco?
- See also: Local ballot measure elections in 2015
For comprehensive coverage of notable local measures across the nation and all of the local measures that appeared on the ballot in California, visit our local ballot measures page.
We selected the following ballot measures for more extensive coverage:
- Houston, Proposition 1: Houston electors gave an up or down vote on the city council's anti-discrimination ordinance known as HERO, which drew national attention during a lawsuit over the veto referendum signatures.
- San Francisco, Proposition F: Proposition F gave San Franciscans the power to approve or reject a new set of restrictions on short-term rentals and short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb. Airbnb spent over $8 million on the campaign against Prop. F, making it the most expensive ballot battle in the city this year.
- Tacoma, Initiative No. 1: Voters in Tacoma were the next to decide whether or not to increase the city's minimum wage to $15 per hour.
- Tacoma, Initiative No. 1B: The city council also put a $12 per hour alternative on the ballot as Initiative No. 1B.
The following table lists the results for the nation's most notable local ballot measures:
| 2015 Local Ballot Measure Elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Topic | Official title | "Yes" percent | "No" percent | Outcome |
| Houston, Texas | LGBT | Proposition 1 | 39.03% | 60.97% | |
| San Francisco, Calif. | Housing | Proposition F | 44.41% | 55.59% | |
| San Francisco, Calif. | Housing and development | Proposition D | 74.04% | 25.96% | |
| San Francisco, Calif. | Housing and development | Proposition I | 42.8% | 57.2% | |
| Tacoma, Wash. | Minimum wage | Initiative No. 1 and 1B: Question 1 | 58.78% | 41.22% | Initiative No. 1B |
| Tacoma, Wash. | Minimum wage | Initiative No. 1 and 1B: Question 2 | No. 1: 28.60% | No. 1B: 71.40% | Initiative No. 1B |
| Portland, Maine | Minimum wage | Question 1 | 41.89% | 58.11% | |
| Portage, Mich. | Marijuana | Decriminalization proposal | 50.64% | 49.36% | |
| Youngstown, Ohio | Fracking | Charter amendment | 48.75% | 51.25% | |
City government
Who came out on top in Houston's 13-candidate mayoral contest?
- See also: United States municipal elections, 2015
For comprehensive coverage of all the city government elections that occurred in the nation's largest cities, visit our city government elections page.
We selected the following three cities for more extensive coverage:
- Houston - Voters in America's fourth-largest city voted for a mayor and 16 city council members. Current Mayor Annise Parker was term-limited, and 13 candidates vied to succeed her. No candidate in this race appeared likely to claim a majority. Since none did, the top two vote-getters advanced to a runoff election on December 12, 2015. Debates over public pensions, local control and an anti-discrimination referendum were the most talked-about issues in this election.
- San Francisco - Although the mayor's seat was also up for election, the race for a seat on the city's board of supervisors dominated this election cycle. Two candidates in particular, incumbent Julie Christensen and challenger Aaron Peskin, garnered the most attention because they could have impacted the board's balance of power between moderate and liberal Democrats. Questions related to housing policy were the main point of contention between the candidates.
- Seattle - In 2013, Seattle voters approved a charter amendment to transition the city council from being elected entirely at-large to mostly elected by individual districts. This was the first year those districts were used in elections. Only five of nine current incumbents competed in the general election, so at least four members of the next council were newcomers. Housing and transportation issues were the key talking points in this election cycle.
The following table lists city council election results in these three cities:
| 2015 City Council Elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | State | Seats up for election | Total seats | Winners |
| Houston | Texas | 16 | 16 | Winner Brenda Stardig (i), Jerry Davis (i), Ellen Cohen (i), Dwight Boykins (i), Dave Martin (i), Greg Travis, Robert Gallegos (i), Larry Green (i), Michael Kubosh (i) Advanced to runoff Steve Le, Richard Nguyen, Karla Cisneros, Jason Cisneroz, Mike Laster (i), Jim Bigham, Mike Knox, Georgia Provost, David W. Robinson (i), Willie R. Davis, Amanda Edwards, Roy Morales, Jack Christie (i), Sharon Moses |
| San Francisco | California | 1 | 11 | Aaron Peskin |
| Seattle | Washington | 9 | 9 | Lisa Herbold, Bruce Harrell (i), Kshama Sawant (i), Rob Johnson, Debora Juarez, Mike O'Brien (i), Sally Bagshaw (i), Tim Burgess (i), M. Lorena González |
The following table lists mayoral election results in all 14 of the nation's largest cities that held those elections:
School boards
Did recall activists take down the board majority in Jeffco schools?
- See also: School board elections, 2015
For comprehensive coverage of all the school board elections that occurred in the nation's largest school districts, visit our school board elections page.
We selected the following five districts for more extensive coverage:
- Jeffco Public Schools: Two elections took place simultaneously in Colorado's Jeffco Public Schools: a regular school board election for two seats and a special recall election for the other three seats. In the year leading up to the election, the school district was rocked with controversy and national attention due to the implementation of teacher merit pay and accusations of curriculum censorship, wasteful spending and a lack of transparency by the school board. All five seats on the board were up for grabs between the two elections.
- Norwalk Public Schools: The school board election in Connecticut's Norwalk Public Schools featured a contentious nominating process in which the candidate recommended made by the Norwalk District A Democrats, Yvel Crevecoeur, was rejected by the Democratic Norwalk Common Council in favor its own candidate for the District A seat, Nicol Ayers. However, Crevecoeur defeated Ayers in September's Democratic primary election. An automatic recount was conducted since just 14 votes separated the two candidates, but the result stood. Two Democrats ran unopposed for the District B and District E seats, but the other three races featured contested races between Democratic and Republican candidates. Crevecoeur, who also received the Working Families Party nomination, was the only cross-filed candidate in the election.
- Rochester City School District: Four of the seven seats on the Rochester City School District's Board of School Commissioners in New York were up for election. A total of 15 district schools, fourth-highest of any district in the state, were considered failing as of the 2015-2016 school year according to an education law passed by the state government earlier in 2015. Four of the schools could consequently be subject to state takeover for the 2016-2017 school year.
- Seattle Public Schools: Four of seven seats were up for election in Seattle's school board election, which was impacted by a series of state education funding disputes between state legislators and local teachers, as well as a potential move toward a partially-appointed school board. Since only the District 6 race featured an incumbent, Marty McLaren, three seats on the board were guaranteed to be won by newcomers.
- Spokane Public Schools: The Position 3 and Position 4 seats were up for election in Washington's Spokane Public Schools. The district was rocked by the same battle between its local teachers and the state legislature as Seattle. Spokane administrators also confronted a financial challenge after the Washington Supreme Court ruled in September 2015 that charter schools were not eligible for public funding.
The following table lists the results for these featured school board elections:
| 2015 School Board Elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | State | Seats up for election | Total board seats | Winners |
| Jeffco Public Schools (regular election) |
Colorado | 2 | 5 | Ali Lasell and Amanda Stevens |
| Jeffco Public Schools (recall election) |
Colorado | 3 | 5 | Brad Rupert, Susan Harmon and Ron Mitchell |
| Norwalk Public Schools | Connecticut | 5 | 9 | Yvel Crevecoeur (cross-filed), Erik Anderson (D), Michael Lyons (i, R), Bryan Meek (i, R) and Michael Barbis (i, D) |
| Rochester City School District | New York | 4 | 7 | Mary Adams (i, cross-filed), Malik Evans (i, cross-filed), Elizabeth Hallmark (cross-filed) and Willa Powell (i, cross-filed) |
| Seattle Public Schools | Washington | 4 | 7 | Scott Pinkham, Rick Burke, Jill Geary and Leslie Harris |
| Spokane Public Schools | Washington | 2 | 5 | Jerrall Haynes and Paul Schneider |
Local courts
- See also: Judicial elections, 2015
For comprehensive coverage of all the local court elections that occurred on November 3, 2015, visit our local court elections page.
The following table lists the local court elections by type of court:
| 2015 Local Court Elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Court type | Jurisdiction | Open seats |
| Kentucky | District Court | Limited | 1 |
| Mississippi | Circuit Court | General | 4 |
| Mississippi | Chancery Court | Limited | 3 |
| New York | Supreme Court | General | 37 |
| New York | County Court | Limited | 7 |
| New York | Family Court | Limited | 7 |
| New York | Surrogate Court | Limited | 3 |
| New York | Surrogate and Family Court | Limited | 1 |
| New York | District Court | Limited | 5 |
| New York | City Civil Court | Limited | 14 |
| Pennsylvania | Court of Common Pleas | General | 52 |
| Pennsylvania | Magisterial Court | Limited | 156 |
| Washington | Superior Court | General | 13 |
See also
- Elections portal
- Links to all election results, 2015
- State executive official elections, 2015
- State legislative elections, 2015
- Judicial elections, 2015
- Statewide ballot measure elections, 2015
- Local ballot measure elections, 2015
- United States municipal elections, 2015
- School board elections, 2015
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, "A few Va. Senate races expected to have wide-ranging impact," April 26, 2015
- ↑ Republican State Leadership Committee, "RSLC Announces State Legislative Election Targets for 2015-2016," July 30, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2009 Municipal Election," accessed April 14, 2015
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Fact Sheet on Judicial Selection Methods in the States," accessed April 14, 2015
- ↑ NEPA Buzz, "Pa. Supreme Court Justice Correale Stevens concedes race to retain seat on bench," May 19, 2015
- ↑ Eric Holmberg, PublicSource, "Republican group to spend $1 million on PA Supreme Court race," October 21, 2015
- ↑ Joe Palazzolo, Wall Street Journal, "Race for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Breaks Spending Record," November 3, 2015
