All posts by Teri

My Stolen Diaries – Chapter 15: Roberto, Roberto, Roberto

CHAPTER 15

ROBERTO, ROBERTO, ROBERTO

June 1964

Since Roberto doesn’t know I exist, I almost never look out the window when he picks up Mom because I don’t want to ruin her chances with him, even though I wish she would choose Nick.

She keeps telling Mem and Mere Germaine that she loves Roberto, but their answer to her is that it would be better if she finds a guy who loves her more than she loves him. It sounds to me like Mem and Mere Germaine both think that Roberto might not love her as much as Nick does.

I’m not sure Roberto even likes her. Mom is always coming into the apartment after their dates crying, and Mem always tries to calm her down.

If Mem is asleep when Mom comes home from her stupid dates with Roberto, she sits at the kitchen table in the dark for hours, smoking cigarettes. Mom never comes home crying or upset when she goes out with Nick.

Mem keeps saying that just because Roberto is rich and lives in some fancy town called Westport doesn’t mean he can treat Mom like she’s lower than him. Mere Germaine keeps telling Mom that with her beauty, she can get any man she wants.

“You look out that window when Roberto drops me off, and I’ll kill you,” Mom always says, so I’ve been careful about when and how I look.

Since Roberto always makes Mom cry, I wish I could get up the courage to stick my head out the window and show him once and for all that Mom has a kid, but I don’t dare. Not yet, anyway.

And I still can’t figure out why Mom doesn’t love Nick. Why does she waste her time with Roberto when Nick adores her? Plus, Nick knows I exist, and he’s okay with it. More than okay with it. He told me he loves me!

I sort of understand why Mem and Mom needed to lie to St. Ambrose about me being Mem’s daughter, but at least at school and church, Tony is a human being who belongs to somebody.

Roberto thinks it’s Mem, Mom, and Mere Germaine. That’s it. No Tony at all because he has no idea that Tony exists. Why can’t Mom tell him about me? Why would a mother lie about being a mother to the man she loves and who supposedly loves her?

Mem told Mere Germaine that Mom hiding me from Roberto was proof that he wants Mom to be someone she isn’t and that she would be better off being with someone who loves her for all of her. Mere Germaine agreed.

I’m also hoping Mom gets rid of him, but only if she chooses Nick because I’d hate to see Mom sad, and I don’t want her to be alone, even though she might ruin my life.

Click here for Chapter 16: In Over My Head

My Stolen Diaries – Chapter 14: Almost in the Nick of Time

CHAPTER 14

ALMOST IN THE NICK OF TIME

May 1964

Let me tell you about Nick.

He’s tall, handsome, and the best thing that has happened to Mom in a long time, maybe even ever. And even though Mom says Nick has his selfish reasons, he likes me!

Last week, when Nick came to pick up Mom to take her to Seaside Park, I screamed out the back window for her to take me with them, which I could see made her furious.

Mem yanked me away from the window and made me sit facing the wall in the living room for fifteen minutes. I thought they had left, but then Mom came upstairs and said Nick felt awful that I was begging out the window and insisted I go with them.

When I yelled to Mem that I needed to come off the wall because Nick was waiting for me to go to the beach, mean Mom told me Nick could care less about me. “He only told me to let you come with us because you screamed out the window like a nincompoop. You’re a pathetic beggar, and he feels sorry for you.”

Mem asked Mom why she had to say such hurtful things to me, but I didn’t care because I was just happy to be going to the beach.

I thanked Nick later, and he told me it was no big deal since he’s Mom’s boyfriend now and wants us to be friends. Nick should only know the truth—that Mom has another boyfriend.

Mom is also dating a guy named Roberto. I’ve never met him, but I’ve seen him from Mem’s window a few times. I’m forbidden to look out the window when Roberto shows up, so I am as careful as all get out.

Mom told me if she ever catches me spying on them, she’ll give me the strap, which is way worse than the wall.

I know Roberto doesn’t know I exist because, according to what Mom tells Mem and Mere Germaine, she’s afraid to tell him she has a kid.

I was going to let Nick know that he isn’t Mom’s only boyfriend, but he was so nice to me, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and at least Mom told him about me. And unless Nick is good at hiding his true feelings, it seems like he’s okay that I exist.

Mom was reading a book on the blanket while the two of us dug for clams. We talked about White Street and what it was like living there. I told him about the rat traps, but he already knew. He asked me if I was afraid like Mom, and I lied and said no.

He seems to care about what I think, and I like him a lot. He calls me Kiddo, and I like that too.

When we got home that night, Mom stayed in the car with Nick while I went upstairs. I tried to look out the window to see if they were making out, but Mem pulled me away and yelled for me to give them some privacy or she’d put me on the wall again.

I pretended to go to bed and took one more peek out the window. Mom wasn’t kissing Nick, and it was obvious that he was upset about something because he had his head in his hands, and she was patting him on the back, which I took as a bad, bad sign.

Click here for Chapter 15: Roberto, Roberto, Roberto

U.S. Senate Seats Up for Reelection

[This blog post was updated on March 6, 2024]

Of the current 100 Senators, 48 are Democrats, 49 are Republicans, and 3 are Independents.

If we’ve learned anything from the 2022 elections, it’s that one senator can make a significant difference on some extremely consequential issues, especially if the party control of the Senate is close.

It’s never too early for reelection vision time. The time to start organizing is now.

There are a total of 535 Members of Congress. 100 serve in the U.S. Senate, and 435 serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Each state sends two Senators to represent their state in the U.S. Senate. In the Senate, the majority has the power to schedule when various bills come to the floor for voting, but a single Senator can slow legislation from coming to the floor for a vote.

Since debate in the Senate is not concluded until 60 Senators vote for a cloture motion to approve a bill for consideration, the majority must also coordinate with the minority party to set the rules for debate on legislation.

Under this system, legislation can be debated for one or two weeks on the Senate floor alone.

Senators serve a six-year term, and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years so that approximately 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection during any election.

To contact your Senator, click here.

Below are the Senate seats up for reelection in alphabetical order by political party, reelection year, and state.

Democrats up for reelection in 2024:

California: Laphonza Butler (Not running for re-election)

Connecticut: Chris Murphy

Delaware: Tom Carper (Retiring)

Hawaii: Mazie Hirono

Maryland: Ben Cardin (Retiring)

Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren

Michigan: Debbie Stabenow (Retiring)

Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar

Montana: Jon Tester

Nevada: Jacky Rosen

New Jersey: Bob Menendez

New Mexico: Martin Heinrich

New York: Kirsten Gillibrand

Ohio: Sherrod Brown

Pennsylvania: Bob Casey Jr.

Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse

Virginia: Tim Kaine

Washington: Maria Cantwell

West Virginia: Joe Manchin (Retiring)

Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin

Independents up for reelection in 2024:

Arizona: Kyrsten Sinema (Retiring)

Maine: Angus King

Vermont: Bernie Sanders

Republicans up for reelection in 2024:

Florida: Rick Scott

Indiana: Mike Braun (Braun is running for Governor in 2024. Representative Jim Banks announced he will run for Braun’s Senate seat.)

Mississippi: Roger Wicker

Missouri: Josh Hawley

Nebraska: Deb Fischer

North Dakota: Kevin Cramer

Oklahoma: Markwayne Mullin

Tennessee: Marsha Blackburn

Texas: Ted Cruz

Utah: Mitt Romney (Retiring)

Wyoming: John Barrasso

Democrats up for reelection in 2026:

Colorado: John Hickenlooper

Delaware: Chris Coons

Georgia: Jon Ossoff

Illinois: Dick Durbin

Massachusetts: Ed Markey

Michigan: Gary Peters

Minnesota: Tina Smith

New Hampshire: Jeanne Shaheen

New Jersey: Cory Booker

New Mexico: Ben Ray Lujan

Oregon: Jeff Merkley

Rhode Island: Jack Reed

Virginia: Mark Warner

Republicans up for reelection in 2026:

Alabama: Tommy Tuberville

Alaska: Dan Sullivan

Arkansas: Tom Cotton

Idaho: James Risch

Iowa: Joni Ernst

Kansas: Roger Marshall

Kentucky: Mitch McConnell

Louisiana: Bill Cassidy

Maine: Susan Collins

Mississippi: Cindy Hyde-Smith

Montana: Steve Daines

Nebraska: Ben Sasse

North Carolina: Thom Tillis

South Carolina: Lindsey Graham

South Dakota: Mike Rounds

Tennessee: Bill Hagerty

Texas: John Cornyn

West Virginia: Shelley Moore Capito

Wyoming: Cynthia Lummis

Democrats up for reelection in 2028:

Arizona: Mark Kelly

California: Alex Padilla

Colorado: Michael Bennet

Connecticut: Richard Blumenthal

Georgia: Raphael Warnock

Hawaii: Brian Schatz

Illinois: Tammy Duckworth

Maryland: Chris Van Hollen

Nevada: Catherine Cortez Masto

New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan

New York: Chuck Schumer

Oregon: Ron Wyden

Pennsylvania: John Fetterman

Vermont: Peter Welch

Washington: Patty Murray

Republicans up for reelection in 2028:

Alabama: Katie Britt

Alaska: Lisa Murkowski

Arkansas: John Boozman

Florida: Marco Rubio

Idaho: Mike Crapo

Indiana: Todd Young

Iowa: Chuck Grassley

Kansas: Jerry Moran

Kentucky: Rand Paul

Louisiana: John N. Kennedy

Missouri: Eric Schmitt

North Carolina: Ted Budd

North Dakota:  John Hoeven

Ohio: JD Vance

Oklahoma: James Lankford

South Carolina: Tim Scott

South Dakota: John Thune

Utah: Mike Lee

Wisconsin: Ron Johnson

The Teri Tome–My Top Five 2022 Posts

According to Grammarly, a cloud-based typing assistant, I have used their program to word-check 1.2 million words in 2022.

And the total number of words Grammarly has word-checked since I started my blog “The Teri Tome” in 2015 is a whopping 5.9 million. That’s a sh*tload of words, but in the end, what purpose does all that writing serve?

For as long as I can remember, stories and miscellanea visions brewed around in my head. Free-flowing words and phrases were stuck inside my kiddie brain, begging to come out—the only proof of them was hidden in the pages of my mind or laid out in secret code in my diaries and journals.

I’ve spent a ton of time thinking about why I obsessively head-write and how I have managed to successfully transcribe those thoughts to paper.

To be honest, there is no rhyme or reason to my literary artistry, primarily because the words just spill out, and the stories tend to write themselves. So much for talent.

The writing is literally and literarily out of my control. It happens all day and all night—every day and every night. It never stops. The scribbling on scraps of paper, the pocket notepads always at the ready, my prowess at writing in the dark.

Countless words erratically squiggled right side up, sideways, and even upside down. Sometimes I try to piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle—a montage of edited and unedited thoughts, feelings, and dreams.

Reams of notes cover my desk, bedside table, kitchen counter, and my car’s center console. I keep paper and pencil with me at all times.

My writing element of choice is a PaperMate Sharpwriter #2 pencil. Even as a child, I never liked using pens—I always found them way too permanent.

To this day, a pencil is the only writing element I use.

WRITE – ERASE – WRITE – ERASE. That’s how I write it out.

And I write it out because my brain is hard-wired to spill and spell it all out. Or maybe it’s not my brain, but something deep inside my heart.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I am nothing, if not transparent—an open book. Maybe too open. But why?

Perhaps I feel compelled to write it all out because I was hidden in plain sight as a child. Sort of seen but never heard, and mostly invisible. My very existence was always carefully guarded and monitored by those in charge of me.

You probably think, “enough about the how and the why of your words; just give me your top five blog posts already.”

But sorry, not sorry, I can’t stop thinking about why I feel compelled to write it all down before it’s too late, or how my words will play into the memory of me, and what my written purpose is.

But the endless self-examination always brings me back to the same old place: A written, frequently uncensored record of my subconscious self.

In 2022, I wrote 24 blog posts, which collectively comprised about 72,000 page views.

The total number of page views for my blog was over 600,000 in 2022, up slightly from last year, so I’m thankful.

Okay, so finally, here are my top five best-performing blog posts from 2022.

And since many of the older posts brought in most of my page views, I’ve included the #1 hit of all Teri Tome time (2015-2022).

#1 HIT IN 2022


This Poem Is for You: I feel humbled by the massive number of views this poem received. I love to write poetry, but I’m not much of a rhymer, so I have little confidence in the poesy department. I’d like to think this poem got so many hits because everyone can relate to love’s ebbs and flows.

#2 HIT IN 2022


My Stolen Diaries – Chapter 9: Father Panik Village: I wrote this chapter almost thirty years ago. The thousands of hits this post accumulated keep me confident that uploading chapters of my novel My Stolen Dairies onto my blog is the right thing to do. To date, I have posted thirteen chapters, consisting of 51 pages, onto The Teri Tome. That leaves 101 pages of my novel left to post, so stay tuned.

#3 HIT IN 2022


What About the Sanctity of the Born?:

I’m happy this post got thousands of page views, but I’m also horrified and disgusted that women’s rights have been so cavalierly taken away. As a wordsmith, I chose the word cavalierly with purpose. During the English Civil War, the word cavalier was a negative label used to describe the wealthy, primarily male, royal loyalists and fervent supporters of King Charles I until his beheading in 1649. I’m not recommending any beheadings but get those creepy cavaliers out of our bedrooms!

#4 HIT IN 2022


Are You Reading This Poem?: Wow. Another poem. I can only hope that the person I wrote this poem for was one of the many thousands who viewed it. And I still have faith that one day we will reunite.

#5 HIT IN 2022


The Hourglass: Yet another poem! That makes three poems in the top five! I am both amazed and flattered that this poem about fragility on Mother’s Day reached so many people. And it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Thank God for my precious grandchildren.

#1 HIT OF ALL TERI TOME TIME (2015-2022)


Wedding Centerpieces that Can Save the World: My #1 blog post of all time (2015-2022) is a repeat of last year. This post, which has garnered over 420,000 page views, is about making charitable contributions in lieu of wasteful and costly wedding centerpieces. I wonder how many brides actually took my advice?

My 2023 New Year’s resolution is all about closure, and although I am skeptical, I remain ever hopeful for the elusive to finally come to an end.

Lastly, I wish my readers a happy, healthy, and fortunate New Year. And I hope that 2023 brings freedom, equality, justice, and political peace to not just some of us but all of us.

My Stolen Diaries – Chapter 13: Is My Dad in the Mafia?

CHAPTER 13

IS MY DAD IN THE MAFIA?

December 1963

Like any kid, I wish I knew more about my father and would like to see him again, but I know it’s not possible, especially now that Mom thinks he’s in the mafia.

Mom refuses to talk about him, so we never do. I can sometimes get Mem to talk about him, but not very often. She mostly tells me, “Go ask your mother.” When I do as Mem says, Mom gets ugly in the face and tells me to “Shut my trap.”

I know I’m French on Mom and Mem’s side, but I don’t know what I am on my father’s side. Before my Catholic baptism, I was Greek Orthodox, so maybe I’m Greek?

But when I ask Mem and Mom if I’m Greek, they both respond with, “Don’t start that up again.”

But I can’t help myself. I try not to start up or cause trouble, but every time I look in the mirror, I’m reminded over and over of all the things I don’t know about myself or my dad.

When Mom gets mad at me, she yells that I’m just like my father. I want to ask her why, but I don’t dare because I’m not an idiot.  And I sure hope I’m not just like my father because everyone in my family hates him.

I tried to ask Adam some more mafia questions, but he must have told Mem I was snooping around because he said he wasn’t allowed to talk about that with me anymore. When I asked him what could be worse than getting killed, he made believe he didn’t hear my question and changed the subject.

That made me angry at Adam, so to get back at him, I said that Steve was buying us a television set for Christmas, which I could see bothered him a lot.

Three days later, Adam had a television set delivered to our apartment, which made Steve furious, but he never said a word about how he felt to Mem. Steve asked me if I had anything to do with Adam buying us a television set, and I lied and said no.

I also lied and told Steve that Adam told me plenty about my dad and asked him what he knew. He said he knew nothing about my dad, but I could tell he was a liar, just like me. Plus, when I asked Steve if he thought I looked like my dad, he said “a little,” so he must know something about him.

Even though I tried, I couldn’t get Steve to say anything more except that kids are better seen than heard and that I should give up getting any family secrets from him.

So, I listened to Steve and gave up until the other night when I caught Mem and Mom whispering together about a newspaper article Mom had in her shaking hand.

They spoke French, but my understanding of the language is getting better by the day.

Whatever they were talking about, as far as I could figure, had something to do with my father running naked out of a swamp with his hands up over his head! His friend Anthony, who It sounded like Mom knew, was shot and killed, but the police couldn’t kill my dad because he wasn’t wearing any clothes and his hands were in the air.

Mom also told Mem that the article said my dad’s problems with the law had something to do with a bunch of arrests against some of the hitmen connected to the Gambino family.

Mem hugged Mom, who kept saying she was afraid someone in the mafia would try to hurt me to get back at my dad.

Why would anyone want to hurt me? And who was the Gambino family?

Then she hid the newspaper article on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet over the sink.

In the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep, I snuck out of bed and tiptoed to the kitchen even though I was scared to death of the cockroaches and rats. But I had to read the newspaper for myself, so I took my chances.

I didn’t turn on the light, so the cockroaches on the wall didn’t move much.

I dragged a kitchen chair to the sink, climbed up to the cabinet, and discovered a pile of newspapers, so I pulled them all down.

The article on the top said: BRIDGEPORT MAN ARRESTED IN SHOOTOUT

And there in the newspaper was my dad’s name and address. It said that investigators from the State Organized Crime Task Force arrested Mick Michaels for assaulting a State Trooper. The guy Anthony, who was with my dad, got shot in the head. The police said Anthony, who had ties to Billy Batts and the Gambino Family, committed suicide. My dad was charged with assault and carrying a dangerous weapon, which I’m sure had to be a gun. They also charged him with violating probation, whatever that is. And he paid $25,000 to stay out of jail until his court date.

My heart was pounding as I read through the newspaper articles and wrote down as many headings as possible so I could read them later.

ORGANIZED CRIME INVESTIGATORS ARREST GAMBLING CLUB OWNER * BRIDGEPORT MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT * JAIL TERM GIVEN IN GAMING CASE * U.S. PRISON TERMS GIVEN TO TWO IN AREA * DRIVER IS JAILED IN CAR GUN CASE * COURT CHARGES TWO IN STOLEN GOODS * THREE FROM CITY INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES * JAIL TERM GIVEN TO BRIDGEPORT MAN IN GAMBLING RAID * MAN ARRESTED IN LIQUOR AND MAIL THEFTS * TWO MEN JAILED IN AFTERMATH OF NEWSROOM RAID * TWO NABBED IN GAMING RAID * BRIDGEPORT MAN HELD FOR GUN FOUND IN AUTO * FIVE IN BOOKIE RING GIVEN JAIL * MAN ARRESTED AFTER GANG FIGHT ON BEACH * DIVORCE GRANTED BASED ON INTOLERABLE CRUELTY * 34 ARE CHARGED ON AUTO TAG LIST * RAID ON BRIDGEPORT HOUSE RIPS BIG BET BUSINESS * CLOVER CLUB OWNER CHARGED ON INCOME TAX VIOLATION * LOCAL MAN INDICTED FOR DISTRIBUTING HEROIN AND COCAINE *

I went back to bed but couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was that my dad was a thief, a thug, a criminal, a dangerous man, and probably in the mafia.

The next day I asked Sister Regina Mary if $25,000 was a lot of money, and she told me it was almost one-quarter of a million dollars! I also asked her if she knew anything about the Gambino family, and she said they were mafia murderers.

Now I know that Mom is right, and my dad is in the mafia, but at least he’s not in jail. Not yet, anyway. And I pray he’s not a hitman.

So now, like Mom, I’m worried that the mafia might be coming for me, which makes me really angry at my dad. Doesn’t he know I could get killed or worse? Doesn’t he know I’m already living a scary life?

And since he came up with so much money, my dad must be rich, so why are we so poor?

Click here for Chapter 14: Almost in the Nick of Time

Secretaries of State – a State-by-State Breakdown

[This article was updated 11/30/23]

Secretaries of state can’t single-handedly change an election’s results, but they can undermine and disrupt the process and the system in undemocratic ways.

Knowing your secretaries of state can help you better understand your state’s election procedures and make you a more informed voter. And keeping up with your secretary of state’s policy actions, especially election-related ones, can help ensure accountability.

The secretary of state is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States.

In three states, there is no secretary of state, so the lieutenant governors perform those duties: Alaska (Republican, Kevin Meyer), Hawaii (Democrat, Sylvia Luke), and Utah (Republican, Deidre Henderson).

Of the 50 current Secretaries of State, or Lt. Governors, 28 are Republican, and 22 are Democrats.

In 35 states, the secretary of state is elected by the people and serves a four-year term, except for Vermont, which serves a two-year term.

In the other 12 states, the secretary of state is appointed by either the governor or the state legislature. Maine and New Hampshire General Courts select their secretaries of state for two-year terms.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of secretaries of state by voter elected or governor/legislator appointed, political party, state, and reelection year where applicable:

DEMOCRATS UP FOR REELECTION IN 2024

North Carolina (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Elaine Marshall: Won by 51.2%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Oregon (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Shemia Fagan: Won by 50.3%
Four-year term
Term limit: Eight years in a 12-year period

Vermont (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Sarah Copeland Hanzas: Won by 64.9%
Two-year term
Term limit: None

Washington (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Steve Hobbs: Won by 49.8%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

DEMOCRATS UP FOR REELECTION IN 2026

Arizona (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Adrian Fontes: Won by 52.8%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

California (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026 (Can’t run due to term limits)
Shirley Weber: Won by 57.7%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms

Colorado (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026 (Can’t run due to term limits)
Jena Griswold: Won by 53.6%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

Connecticut: (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Stephanie Thomas: Won by 54.9%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Illinois (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Alexi Giannoulias: Won by 53.8%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Massachusetts (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
William Galvin: Won by 67.5%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Michigan (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026 (Can’t run due to term limits)
Jocelyn Benson: Won by 50.8%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms

Minnesota (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Steve Simon: Won by 54.5%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Nevada: (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Cisco Aguilar: Won by 48.9%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms

New Mexico: (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Maggie Toulouse Oliver: Won by 54.5%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

Rhode Island (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Gregg Amore: won by 59.4%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

Wisconsin (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Douglas La Follette: Won by 48.3%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

REPUBLICANS UP FOR REELECTION IN 2024

Missouri (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Jay Ashcroft: Won by 60.5%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Montana (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Christi Jacobsen: Won by 59.6%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two terms in a 16-year period

West Virginia (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2024
Mac Warner: Won by 58.3%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

REPUBLICANS UP FOR REELECTION IN 2026

Alabama (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026  
Wes Allen: Won by 66.3%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

Arkansas (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026 (Can’t run due to term limits)
John Thurston: Won by 67.2%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms

Georgia (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Brad Raffensperger: Won by 53.3%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Idaho (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Phil McGrane: Won by 72.4%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Indiana (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Diego Morales: Won by 57.4%
Four-year term
Term limit: Eight out of twelve years

Iowa (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Paul Pate: Won by 60.4%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Kansas (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Scott Schwab: Won by 58.8%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Nebraska (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Bob Evnen: Won by 100%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

North Dakota (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Michael Howe: Won by 63.2%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Ohio (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026 (Can’t run due to term limits)
Frank LaRose: Won by 59.6%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

South Carolina (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Mark Hammond: Won by 63.3%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

South Dakota (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Monae Johnson: Won by 64.5%
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

Wyoming (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2026
Chuck Gray: Won by 91.6%
Four-year term
Term limit: None

REPUBLICANS UP FOR REELECTION IN 2027

Kentucky (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2027 (Can’t run due to term limits)
Michael Adams
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms

Louisiana (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2027
Nancy Landry
Four-year term
Term limit: None

Mississippi (Voter Elected): Up for reelection in 2027
Michael D. Watson, Jr
Four-year term
Term limit: None

DEMOCRAT SECRETARIES OF STATE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR OR STATE LEGISLATURE

Delaware (Governor Elected)
Jeffrey W. Bullock: Assumed Office on 1/21/09
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None

Maine (Legislator Elected)
Shenna Bellows: Assumed Office on 1/4/21
Length of Term: Two Years
Term limit: Four Consecutive Terms

New Jersey (Governor Elected)
Tahesha Way: Assumed Office on 6/1/18
Length of Term: Serves a term coterminous with the Governor
Term limit: None

New York (Governor Elected)
Robert Rodriguez: Assumed Office on 12/20/21
Length of Term: Until the end of the term of the governor by whom s/he was appointed and until his or her successor is appointed and has qualified
Term limit: None

Pennsylvania (Governor Elected)
Leigh Chapman: Assumed Office on 1/8/22
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None

REPUBLICAN SECRETARIES OF STATE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR OR STATE LEGISLATURE
Florida (Governor Elected)
Cord Byrd: Assumed Office on 5/17/22
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None

Maryland (Governor Elected)
John C. Wobensmith: Assumed Office on 1/21/15
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None

New Hampshire (Legislator Elected)
David Scanlan: Assumed Office on 1/10/22
Length of Term: Two Years
Term limit: None

Oklahoma (Governor Elected)
Brian Bingman: Assumed Office on 2020
Length of Term: Four Years
Term limit: None

Tennessee (Legislator Elected)
Tre Hargett: Assumed Office on 1/15/09
Length of Term: Four Years
Term limit: None

Texas (Governor Elected)
John Scott: Assumed Office on 10/21/21
Length of Term: Serves concurrent with the appointing Governor
Term limit: None

Virginia (Governor Elected)
Kay Coles James: Assumed Office on 1/24/22
Length of Term: Four years
Term limit: None

Governors up for Reelection

[This blog post was updated on 11/8/23]

Of the fifty current Governors, 26 are Republicans, and 24 are Democrats.

In politics, it’s never too early to start planning.

Governors are the chief executive officers of their state government and control the day-to-day governmental business. A majority of governors also have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, so your vote for Governor is as important as your vote for President.

All but two of the fifty Governors serve four-year terms — the governors of New Hampshire and Vermont serve two-year terms.

To contact your Governor, click here.

Below are the Governors up for reelection in alphabetical order by political party, reelection year, and state.

Democrats up for reelection in 2024:

Delaware: John Carney (Not running due to term limits)

Louisiana: John Bel Edwards (Not running due to term limits)

North Carolina: Roy Cooper (Not running due to term limits)

Washington: Jay Inslee (Retiring)

Republicans up for reelection in 2024:

Indiana: Eric Holcomb (Not running due to term limits) Eric Doden is running for the Republican nomination.

Missouri: Mike Parson (Not running due to term limits) Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe is running for the Republican nomination.

Montana: Greg Gianforte 

New Hampshire: Chris Sununu (Retiring)

North Dakota: Doug Burgum 

Utah: Spencer Cox 

Vermont: Phil Scott

West Virginia: Jim Justice (Not running due to term limits) Chris Miller is running for the Republican nomination.

Democrats up for reelection in 2025:

New Jersey: Phil Murphy 

There are no Republicans up for re-election in 2025

Democrats up for reelection in 2026:

Arizona: Katie Hobbs

California: Gavin Newsom 

Colorado: Jared Polis 

Connecticut: Ned Lamont 

Hawaii: Josh Green

Illinois: J.B. Pritzker 

Kansas: Laura Kelly 

Maine: Janet Mills 

Maryland: Wes Moore

Massachusetts: Maura Healey

Michigan: Gretchen Whitmer 

Minnesota: Tim Walz 

New Mexico: Michelle Lujan Grisham 

New York: Kathy Hochul 

Oregon: Tina Kotek

Pennsylvania: Josh Shapiro

Rhode Island: Daniel McKee 

Wisconsin: Tony Evers 

Republicans up for reelection in 2026:

Alabama: Kay Ivey 

Alaska: Mike Dunleavy 

Arkansas: Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Florida: Ron DeSantis 

Georgia: Brian Kemp 

Idaho: Brad Little 

Iowa: Kim Reynolds 

Nebraska: Jim Pillen

Nevada: Joe Lombardo

Ohio: Mike DeWine 

Oklahoma: Kevin Stitt 

South Carolina: Henry McMaster 

South Dakota: Kristi Noem 

Tennessee: Bill Lee 

Texas: Greg Abbott 

Virginia: Glenn Youngkin

Wyoming: Mark Gordon 

Democrats up for reelection in 2027:

Kentucky: Andy Beshear (4-Year Term)

Republicans up for reelection in 2027:

Mississippi: Tate Reeves (4-Year Term) (Not running due to term limits) 

My Stolen Diaries – Chapter 12: JFK’s Assassination

CHAPTER 12

JFK’S ASSASSINATION

November 29, 1963

Last Friday, November 22, Mother Superior came into our classroom sobbing — and whispered something in Sister Regina Mary’s ear.

When the two of them fell into each other’s arms, bawling their eyes out, I knew something terrible must have happened.

That’s when Mother Superior told us that President Kennedy was “with God,” which everybody knows means dead.

Both Sisters left the class, so we all left, too, although nobody bothered to tell us what to do. As I walked home along Boston Avenue, all the cars were pulled over on both sides of the usually busy two-lane street. People were out of their cars, looking like ghosts, crying out, “Kennedy is dead,” to no one in particular.

Two days later, we were all at church for Sunday services when we got the whispered news that Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed Kennedy, was shot in the stomach and killed by some guy on television for everyone to see. We hurried home from church as soon as services were over to listen to the news on the radio.

The next day was Monday, November 25, and President Kennedy’s funeral was on television, except we still didn’t have one, so we walked over to Mom’s friend Edie’s house to watch it with her family.

Our new President, Lyndon Johnson, made it a National Day of Mourning, so the whole country had the day off.

At school on Tuesday, Sister Regina Mary spent most of the class time talking to us about the funeral and Oswald’s murderer. Even the nuns had a television set, which made me want one even more than before. Plus, we were missing out on everything, including the news about Jack Ruby, the man who Sister Regina Mary said killed Oswald.

That night, Mom spoke in French to Mem and Mere Germaine about Jack Ruby. “Il est dans la mafia comme Tony’s père,” which means he’s in the mafia, like Tony’s father, which scared the heck out of me.

The next day I asked Adam about the mafia, and he told me they were a bunch of criminals who kill people — or worse. Then I asked Adam if people in the mafia assassinate people, and he said, “absolutely.”

And if what Adam says about the mafia is true, what could be worse than getting killed?

Could it be possible that my father is in the mafia, or is Mom just saying that because she hates him? Since Uncle Luke was the one with the gun, I think that maybe Mom got it wrong, and he’s the one in the mafia and not my dad.

Everyone I know is horribly upset about Kennedy, and Mem says no one will ever forget his assassination. I’m upset, but not because of Kennedy.

I’m upset because whenever I think about Kennedy, I will never forget that’s when I found out my dad is a criminal who probably assassinates people.

Or worse.

Click here for Chapter 13: Is My Dad in the Mafia?

I Hear a Symphony


The wind rustles

through the

Cypress trees,

while the

sparrows

perch

like Christmas

ornaments,

and

harmonize

in the

waning light.

It’s chilly

but I sit

and shiver,

grateful for

the symphony,

the lion

in plain sight.

I feel so much,

yet never enough.

I wonder

what they’re

doing,

and wait.