Unicameral Update - Winding Down & Ramping Up

A four-day recess was just what everyone who works in and around the Legislature needed.  When senators return tomorrow, they will be in the final days of the session. There are four legislative days left before the 2026 Legislature is expected to adjourn sine die, on the 59^th legislative day. “Expected” is an important word this year in that if things don’t go as expected, we very well may be back for the 60^th legislative day on April 17. In order for us to leave on Friday, the Governor will have to give his word that there won’t be any vetoes after the Legislature has adjourned. Fingers crossed!

There are 80 priority bills that have either passed or are likely to pass before the end of the week. Many of those bills contain other legislation. I’ll have more on that in my session wrap up. There were more than a dozen priority bills that either never made it out of committee or failed to advance once they were debated. Most of these were controversial issues that will likely be reintroduced in future legislatures. 

While the Legislature winds down, focus will shift to the upcoming primary election. Governor Pillen is running unopposed in the Republican primary. More than half (25 seats) of the Legislature is up for election this year. We will see at least 14 new faces next session coming from 11 districts being vacated due to term limits and three from senators that chose not to seek reelection. There are three incumbents guaranteed a return to the Unicameral as they are running unopposed. There are eight incumbents with opponents.  Of those eight, I believe only one or two of them are at risk. We will also see former Senator Patty Pansing Brooks return to represent District 28, so I shouldn’t really count her as a “new face.” 

Justin and I have had the opportunity to meet almost all of the viable candidates. I say viable because there are some that don’t have an active campaign committee and others we don’t think will be able to overcome the incumbent. We will be watching the primary returns closely to see just how accurate our assumptions are. We encourage all of you to get to know the candidates yourself. Attached is a listing of primary legislative candidates as of April 6. Please note that this is work product for our office and will be updated as we receive new information.

Have a great week!   

Korby M. Gilbertson
Radcliffe Gilbertson & Brady