Elections

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said this week that people with low-level cannabis possession charges shouldn’t be sent to jail.

Beto O’Rourke said that Texans “actually agree” on cannabis legalization when he announced his bid for the governor’s office on Monday.

U.S. Senate hopeful Thomas McDermott Jr., from Indiana, revealed on a podcast that he consumed cannabis at two recent “Grateful Dead” concerts and said he would work to legalize cannabis if elected to office.

Protestors gathered across Mississippi on Saturday to demand that Gov. Tate Reeves (R) call a special session to pass the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) is making cannabis legalization a centerpiece of his campaign for the U.S. Senate, saying “It’s always been the right thing to do.”

Cannabis industry consultant and lobbyist Jackie McGowan has launched her bid to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the state’s recall election in September.

Edward Forchion, aka NJ Weedman, is running a write-in campaign for New Jersey governor after announcing his petition withdrawal and leaving a court hearing “in a cloud of smoke.”

The winner of the hotly-contested governor race in Virginia will shape the future of its regulated cannabis market.

Kevin Ne Se Shores, a former Minnesota Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party candidate for Congress, has accused GOP strategist Kip Christianson of encouraging him to launch his campaign to siphon pro-cannabis votes from Democrats.

Minnesota’s Second Congressional District election has been delayed due to the unexpected death of the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Charles Weeks.

Some petition circulators for Kanye West’s presidential campaign in Arizona have said they were collecting signatures for cannabis legalization — which has already qualified for the November ballot — in an effort to attract more voters.

The Republican National Committee Chair said that the legal status of medical cannabis is an issue best left for individual states to decide.

Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick for the second half of the Democratic presidential ticket, said in their first joint interview that the Biden-Harris Administration will pursue a national policy of cannabis decriminalization.

President Trump is reportedly concerned that cannabis legalization initiatives in multiple states, including swing state Arizona, could dramatically improve Democrats’ voter turnout in the 2020 election.

A ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use in Montana has been approved by state officials to appear on the state’s General Election ballot in November.

Former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate said in a recording that cannabis is “at the point where it has to be, basically, legalized.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged this weekend that he would legalize cannabis in all 50 states on his first day if he wins the presidential election.

New Jersey lawmakers proposed legislation this week that would have voters in the state decide whether or not to legalize cannabis for adults via the 2020 ballot.

Former vice president and presidential hopeful Joe Biden said he would not support cannabis legalization without stronger evidence that the plant is not a “gateway drug.”

Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg each said this week they would support medical cannabis access for veterans if they win the presidency.

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has outlined his plan for federally legalizing adult-use cannabis within 100 days of next year’s election if he wins the presidency.

During a campaign rally last week, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said that he would issue a mass pardon for federal nonviolent cannabis offenses if he is elected president.

Bernie Sanders said in an interview this week that, if he is elected to be the next U.S. president, he would legalize cannabis nationwide via executive order.