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Post by Webster on Sept 26, 2023 12:26:54 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Sept 26, 2023 12:31:29 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Sept 26, 2023 12:32:07 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Sept 29, 2023 18:11:09 GMT -5
(The Guardian) California governor Gavin Newsom faces a tough choice to fill the monumental void left by Dianne Feinstein in the US Senate until the 2024 election. As the longtime senator announced in recent months, amid failing health, that she would retire from Congress when her term ended in January 2025, a contentious race for her coveted seat commenced. The crowded field ranged from an unknown former Google executive to established Democrats already influential in Congress – the California representatives Katie Porter, Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff. Newsom has long had to consider who would replace Feinstein, who in recent years has struggled with health issues along with a legal battle over her husband’s estate, leading to doubts about her mental acuity in office and eventually to members within her own party to call for her resignation. He had openly dreaded the possibility, telling NBC’s Meet the Press: “I don’t want to make another appointment,” Newsom said. “I don’t think the people of California want me to make another appointment.” But now he will have to act.
After Kamala Harris left her seat as the junior US senator for California to Dianne Feinstein’s senior position, to become the first female vice-president of the US alongside President Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom faced pressure to replace the only Black woman in the US Senate with another Black woman. Instead, heeding calls to bring California its first Latino senator, Newsom chose Alex Padilla, who served as the state’s secretary of state. Unlike today, there had not been an active race after Harris’s departure. In 2021, after he faced backlash for appointing Padilla over another Black woman, Newsom promised that should Feinstein leave office before her term ended, he would appoint a Black woman. That promise will undoubtedly come under further scrutiny in light of Feinstein’s sudden death. Earlier this month, Newsom told NBC’s Meet the Press that he would make an “interim appointment” to Feinstein’s seat but refused to chose an existing candidate in the 2024 race, noting: It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off. That primary is just a matter of months away. I don’t want to tip the balance of that.Barbara Lee, the sole Black woman among leading candidates vying for Feinstein’s Senate seat, criticized Newsom’s caretaker plan. “Troubled” by his comments, Lee, who represents a district in the San Francisco Bay Area, pointed out that there had only been two Black women in the US Senate since 1789 and that the “perspective of Black women in the US Senate is sorely needed – and needed for more than a few months”. The pressure is now on Newsom to make a decision – does he fulfill his promise? And at what cost, as the California governor is expected to make a presidential run in 2028 after his term in state office ends? The person he appoints will remain in office until January 2025 as California voters decide over the next year on a new senator who will aim establish a new legacy beyond Feinstein’s shadow.
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Post by Webster on Oct 2, 2023 0:55:34 GMT -5
(Yahoo News) LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday selected Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In choosing Butler, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman if Feinstein’s seat became open. However, he had been facing pressure from some Black politicians and advocacy groups to select Rep. Barbara Lee, a prominent Black congresswoman who is already running for the seat. Butler will be the only Black woman serving in the U.S. Senate, and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the chamber. Newsom said in a statement that the priorities Feinstein fought for in Congress — reproductive freedom, equal protection and safety from gun violence — were under assault in the nation. "Laphonza will carry the baton left by Sen. Feinstein (and) continue to break glass ceilings and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.,” he said. Butler leads Emily’s List, a political organization that supports Democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights. She also is a former labor leader with SEIU 2015, a powerful force in California politics. Her appointment sets up a potentially tricky political calculus in the crowded 2024 contest to succeed Feinstein, which has been underway since the beginning of the year. Newsom spokesman Anthony York said the governor did not ask Butler to commit to staying out of the race. The deadline for candidates to submit paperwork to seek the office is Dec. 8. Should Butler enter the contest, she could set up a competition for the relatively small but influential group of Black voters in California and possibly undercut Lee's chances. Emily's List is known as a fundraising powerhouse, and raising huge sums of campaign cash is a must in any statewide California race. Newsom's statement said she will step down from the organization. The decision carried the threat of political fallout for Newsom, who is seen as a potential future national candidate. The candidate favored by Black voters has won the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination every cycle since 1992. The Congressional Black Caucus was among the groups and Black politicians that had urged Newsom to appoint Lee, calling her the best qualified choice for the post. The long-serving Feinstein died last Thursday at age 90 after a series of illnesses. Butler currently lives in Maryland, according to her Emily's List biography. Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Newsom, said Butler owns a home in California. She is expected to reregister to vote in California before being sworn in. That could happen as early as Tuesday evening when the Senate returns to session. Butler did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment nor release a statement. Democrats control the Senate 51-49, though Feinstein’s seat is vacant. A quick appointment by Newsom will give the Democratic caucus more wiggle room on close votes, including nominations that Republicans uniformly oppose. Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress and the longest-serving woman in the Senate, said in February she would not seek reelection in 2024. Lee is one of several prominent Democrats competing for the seat, including Democratic U.S. Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. Newsom said he did not want to appoint any of the candidates because it would give them an unfair advantage in the race. Butler has never held elected office but has a long track record in California politics. She served as a senior adviser to Harris's 2020 presidential campaign while working at a political firm filled with strategists who have worked for Newsom and many other prominent state Democrats. She also briefly worked in the private sector for Airbnb. She called Feinstein “a legendary figure for women in politics and around the country,” in a statement posted after Feinstein's death. Emily's List, the group Butler leads, focuses on electing Democratic women who support abortion rights. With the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn women's constitutional right to abortion, the issue has become a galvanizing one for many Democrats. Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, said the appointment “will give our ... community another voice in Congress at a time when our rights and freedoms are under attack across the country.” It’s not Newsom’s first time selecting a U.S. senator, after being tasked with choosing a replacement for Kamala Harris when she was elected vice president; at that time he selected California Secretary of State Alex Padilla for the post. It was one of a string of appointments Newsom made in late 2020 and early 2021, a power that gave him kingmaker status among the state’s ambitious Democrats. The seat is expected to stay in Democratic hands in the 2024 election. Democrats in the liberal-leaning state have not lost a statewide election since 2006, and the party holds a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans.
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Post by Webster on Oct 10, 2023 14:59:09 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Former US representative Tom Suozzi of New York announced on Tuesday that he will be running for his former Long Island seat now being held by disgraced lawmaker George Santos. Suozzi posted an announcement of his candidacy on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Today I am filing a committee to run for Congress in November 2024,” Suozzi said, in a statement. “The madness in Washington, D.C., and the absurdity of George Santos remaining in the United States Congress is obvious to everyone,” Suozzi added, referring to Santos by name. Suozzi’s run comes as many believe that Santos will be forced to leave office due to mounting legal issues. Santos could face legal fallout for a fraudulent $500,000 campaign loan that the congressman lied about, the New York Times reported.
Santos could face additional legal trouble after an ex-aide of his pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge that connects the New York congressman to a scheme to embellish his campaign finances. Last week, Nancy Marks, who worked as a treasurer for Santos, admitted that herself and Santos faked campaign finance records to reflect that Santos loaned his campaign $500,000. The bogus loan was in an attempt to attract other donors. Though Santos did later donate $615,000 to his campaign, legal experts have noted that Santos could face legal trouble for fabricating financial records.
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Post by Webster on Oct 10, 2023 15:14:05 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republican Kari Lake is expected to launch a campaign for the US Senate Tuesday night, though Lake has still not conceded that she lost Arizona’s gubernatorial race last year. Here’s more context on Lake’s announcement from the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly. -- The far-right Trump supporter Kari Lake still refuses to accept her defeat in the 2022 race for Arizona governor but will nonetheless run for US Senate next year. “We need to get a senator in there who is going to fight back and put America first,” the Republican told the Wall Street Journal.
A campaign announcement is expected on 10 October, NBC News reported.
Lake’s declaration sets up a three-way battle for a seat that could decide control of the Senate, currently held by Democrats 51-49.
The incumbent, Kyrsten Sinema, is a former Democrat who now sits as an independent. The most likely Democratic challenger is Ruben Gallego, a congressman and member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Lake lost last year’s Arizona gubernatorial race to the Democrat Katie Hobbs, but refused to concede defeat, claiming electoral fraud. She told the Journal she would continue to fight that quixotic battle, saying: “I’m a mom, I can multi-task.”
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Post by Webster on Oct 10, 2023 15:17:41 GMT -5
(The Guardian) In other news, Republican Steve Garvey has entered the California Senate race. The former Dodgers baseball player will be running for the Senate seat left by the late senator Dianne Feinstein, the Los Angeles Times reports. “In those 20 years that I played for the Dodgers and the Padres, played up in cold Candlestick Park, I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents,” Garvey said to the Times. “I played for all the fans, and I’m running for all the people.” Garvey, 74, is a relative political newcomer, but brings some celebrity to the upcoming election. Garvey told the Times he was inspired to run after witnessing dysfunction in Washington DC and being told by a Dodgers fan that they would vote for Garvey. Garvey faces several top Democrats for the position, including California representatives Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff.
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Post by Webster on Oct 17, 2023 15:31:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Democrats plan to turn Jordan speakership into campaign issue - memoIf he is elected speaker, Democrats will use accusations of extremism against Jim Jordan in their campaign to retake the House majority next year, according to a memo obtained by the Guardian. “It is imperative that our caucus makes clear to voters just how extreme Congressman Jordan is and how his Speakership would negatively impact working families across the country, threaten democratic norms, and weaken relationships with our allies,” according to the document from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which is tasked with winning the party seats in the House. The memo, which is dated today and addressed to House Democrats, suggests a number of messages for lawmakers, including that Republicans who support Jordan are doing the bidding of Donald Trump, and that the potential speaker “has shown voters just how extreme he is and there is no indication that he’ll moderate himself in any way if he becomes speaker. In fact, he’ll pull the entire Republican caucus even further to the right.” It also encourages lawmakers to cast the entire House GOP as in the thralls of extremists. “It appears there are no more moderates left in the Republican conference capable of standing up to the far right,” the document reads. Democrats are four seats away from seizing the majority in next year’s elections, and to accomplish that, the DCCC is focused on ousting 18 Republican lawmakers who represent districts where votes supported Joe Biden in the 2020 election. “The DCCC is committed to ensuring that every battleground Member of the Republican conference who stands and votes for a Speaker Jordan will be making a career ending move,” the memo concludes.
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Post by Webster on Oct 19, 2023 17:32:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Meanwhile, some Senate news: Laphonza Butler, who was appointed just over two weeks ago to fill the seat left vacant by California senator Dianne Feinstein’s death, said she would not run for a full term. The New York Times reports that Butler said that the Senate was “not the greatest use of my voice”. Her appointment to serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term by California governor Gavin Newsom drew criticism, especially from supporters of congresswoman Barbara Lee, a Black Bay Area representative who had already been campaigning for the upcoming Senate term before Lee died last month. Newsom had promised that given the opportunity, he would appoint a Black woman to the seat. But he also implied he would not be appointing anyone who was already running for the senate, and said that he would instead choose an “interim” candidate. When announcing Butler’s appointment, his office made clear that she was free to run for a full term if she chose to. Still, his choice drew the ire of many Lee supporters, including the Congressional Black Caucus. “Barbara Lee, and Black women, are not mere caretakers, but the voting and organizing center of the national Democratic party,” Aimee Allison, whose organization She the People promotes women of color in politics, said at the time. Butler became the only Black woman in the senate and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the chamber. In a statement, Butler said: “California voters want leaders who think about them and the issues they care most about. I now have 383 days to serve the people of California with every ounce of energy and effort that I have.” Butler had never held elected office. Prior to joining the senate, she led Emily’s List, a national political organization dedicated to electing Democratic women who support reproductive rights. She also served as a strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign and was a former labor leader of SEIU California, the state’s largest union, representing more than 700,000 workers.
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Post by Webster on Oct 27, 2023 2:23:04 GMT -5
(NPR) North Carolina Republicans gave final approval Wednesday to new political districts that are likely to hand the party more seats in Congress next year. The state's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, does not have the power to veto the districts drawn by the legislature's GOP majority. The new map divvies up the state's 14 congressional districts into 10 districts that favor Republicans, three that favor Democrats and one that is considered competitive between the two major parties, according to analysts. North Carolina currently has a delegation split 7-7 between Democrats and Republicans, after a court-ordered map was used in the 2022 elections. However, in that election, the North Carolina Supreme Court shifted to lean conservative, and the new majority promptly reversed an earlier court ruling that struck down Republicans' map as an excessive partisan gerrymander. At least three more seats in Congress could be particularly helpful for the GOP. After infighting, the party's conference, with a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House, finally elected a new speaker on Wednesday. Other redistricting fights playing out in courts and statehouses across the country could also determine the U.S. House results next year. Additionally, North Carolina Republicans are passing new districts that could solidify their power in the state's General Assembly. Irving Joyner, a professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, says the new maps could ensure that Republicans in the state legislature can maintain veto-proof majorities for the next several years. "What the legislature did was not a surprise to anyone who was in contact with the history or knew the inclinations of this General Assembly," Joyner says. "And so we ended up with pretty much what we had concluded was going to occur here in North Carolina." North Carolina has a long history of drawing maps that overwhelmingly favor Republicans, despite the fact that the state's electorate is almost evenly divided between the parties. In the 2020 election, Donald Trump edged Joe Biden by about 1.3%. "In some instances, the Democratic vote outpaced the Republican vote," Irving says. "But the way that the lines have been authored over this last decade, it gives an advantage to Republican parties." It is very likely these new maps will end up in court, but opponents would have to prove the districts were drawn with racial animus. That's because both the North Carolina Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have now said that partisan gerrymandering is OK. Republican state Sen. Ralph Hise said during a redistricting committee hearing earlier this month that his committee specifically decided not to use race in drawing the new maps in an effort "strictly to protect the state from lawsuits alleging illegal racial gerrymandering.
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Post by Webster on Nov 20, 2023 17:03:22 GMT -5
(The Guardian) US representative Tony Cárdenas of California will not seek re-election in 2024 after almost three decades of service, the Los Angeles Times first reported. A staffer confirmed to the Times that Cárdenas would not be running for office, the first time in 28 years that he has not appeared on a ballot, the Hill reported. “I’m just at the age where I have enough energy and experience to maybe do something [different] and have another chapter of a career where I don’t have to go to Washington DC, 32 weeks out of the year,” Cárdenas told the Times. Cárdenas has focused much of his political career in the House on lowering drug prices, developing immigration policy, and combatting climate change, his office told the Times. Cárdenas’ seat will likely remain in the Democrat’s control, but it may be a crowded race.
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Post by Webster on Nov 21, 2023 14:05:58 GMT -5
(Election Law Blog) “With 7 new Georgia districts ordered, Republican majority faces squeeze”--When Georgia senators and representatives return to the state Capitol to fight over redistricting next week, some of the fiercest battles will be over their own seats. Lawmakers must create seven new majority-Black districts in the Georgia General Assembly — five in the House and two in the Senate — a change that could narrow the state’s partisan divide. Creating the new districts might pinch the state’s 57% Republican legislative majority, changes ordered by a federal judge who ruled that the districts they drew two years ago illegally weakened Black voting power. Redistricting of the state Senate and House will occur alongside a remap of Georgia’s congressional districts to ensure one additional district with a Black majority. Republicans currently hold nine of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats. The most contentious state legislative battlegrounds are rapidly growing districts south of Atlanta, where Black populations boomed in Republican-held areas over the last decade. Black voters overwhelmingly support Democrats, while most white Georgia voters tend to back Republicans. -Read more: www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-redistricting-7-new-black-districts-ordered-for-legislature/AKQRKFOYW5DXJOVQPQMURAQSBM/
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Post by Webster on Dec 6, 2023 17:34:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Former speaker Kevin McCarthy to retire from House at end of this yearFormer speaker Kevin McCarthy has announced that he will resign from the House at the end of the year. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published on Wednesday and titled “I’m leaving the House but not the fight,” McCarthy said that he had decided to depart the House at the end of this year and “serve America in new ways”. The California Republican and former House minority leader wrote: I know my work is only getting started. I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”He went on to add: “I never could have imagined the journey when I first threw my hat into the ring. I go knowing I left it all on the field—as always, with a smile on my face. And looking back, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Only in America.”In January, McCarthy became House speaker after 15 rounds of voting. His short tenure came to an end in October when a handful of Republicans led a move to oust him in a historic vote following his cooperation with Democrats in a bipartisan effort to avoid a government shutdown. McCarthy's exit will leave two vacancies in the HouseKevin McCarthy’s resignation will come before the special elections which are expected to take place either next February or March to fill the vacancy left by George Santos who was expelled from the House last Friday. With McCarthy gone, there will be two Republican vacancies in the House.
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Post by Webster on Dec 6, 2023 17:52:45 GMT -5
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