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Post by Webster on Dec 6, 2023 17:56:34 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison has released the following statement on Kevin McCarthy’s resignation announcement in which he said the US will be “better off without Kevin in office”: In his short time as speaker, Kevin McCarthy managed to plunge the People’s House into chaos in the name of serving one person and one person alone: Donald Trump. At every turn, Kevin sought to give his puppet master a lifeline, even after the horrific events of January 6, and spent his embarrassing speakership bending the knee to the most extreme factions of the MAGA base.
This anticlimactic end to Kevin’s political career is in line with the rest of his time on Capitol Hill – plagued by cowardice, incompetence, and fecklessness. Our country will be better off without Kevin in office, but his failed tenure in the House should serve as a stark warning to the country about the future of the GOP – no matter how much he kowtowed to the extreme right, no matter how much he kissed the ring, none of it was MAGA enough for the de facto leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump.
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Post by Webster on Dec 12, 2023 18:46:31 GMT -5
(The Guardian) In an opinion issued on Tuesday afternoon, the liberal-leaning New York State Court of Appeals ordered the state’s redistricting commission to draw new maps by February 28, 2024. The court is effectively tossing out the highly competitive electoral map that gave Republicans an edge in several key House races last cycle – just enough to win the majority. The commission is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, but the Democratic-controlled state legislature has final say over the redrawn map. Given the narrow divide in the US House, New York Democrats will be under pressure to reject any proposal that does not improve their electoral odds, particularly after Republicans aggressive gerrymanders in states like North Carolina.
Here’s some background on the situation in New York written by our in-house expert on redistricting, Sam Levine . Despite outperforming expectations on election night last year, Republicans made stunning gains across New York, one of the nation’s most liberal states. They won four toss-up races and picked off congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, the House Democratic campaign chairman charged with protecting his party’s hold on Congress. That was possible under the map that will now be redrawn. -Read more: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2022/feb/03/new-york-democrats-plan-gain-three-seats-congress
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Post by Webster on Jan 5, 2024 18:43:28 GMT -5
(The Guardian) A police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6 has announced he is running to represent a solid-blue Maryland district in Congress, the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports: Harry Dunn, a former police officer who defended the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, will run for US Congress in Maryland.
On Friday, a day ahead of the third anniversary of the deadly riot, Dunn said via X, formerly known as Twitter: “On January 6, I defended our democracy from insurrectionists as a Capitol police officer. After, President Biden honoured me with the Presidential Citizens Medal.
“Today, I’m running for Congress, to stop Trump’s Maga extremists and ensure it never happens again.”
“Maga” is short for Trump’s campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.
Nine deaths have been linked to the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, which happened when Donald Trump told supporters to “fight like hell” to block certification of his election defeat by Joe Biden. The attack failed. But one police officer, Brian Sicknick, died the next day. Other officers killed themselves.
Dunn – a commanding presence at 6ft 7in and 325lbs, once an offensive lineman in college football – was one of a group of officers who acquired a public profile after the riot, testifying before the House January 6 committee, appearing on television and releasing an autobiography, Standing My Ground.
He will now run for Congress in Maryland’s third district, a solidly Democratic seat north-east of Washington represented by John Sarbanes, re-elected eight times but not running this year. The primary, which Dunn now joins, will be held on 14 May.
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Post by Webster on Jan 9, 2024 15:11:01 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Greg Pence, a Republican congressman for Indiana and former vice-president Mike Pence’s brother, will not run for re-election, he said on Tuesday. He is the 16th House Republican to announce their departure during or at the end of their current term. He did not give a reason for standing down. “In 2017, I ran for Congress because I was Ready to Serve Again. As a former Marine Officer, I approached the job with purpose,” he said in a statement posted to X. “After three terms, I’ve made the decision to not file for reelection. To the voters in Indiana’s 6th district – it is a privilege and honor to represent you”.
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Post by Webster on Feb 5, 2024 16:06:49 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The special election to replace George Santos in the House will be yet another opportunity to gauge the relative support each party has among voters in a swing district, the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt reports: George Santos, an overcoat draped around his shoulders like a villain’s cape, finally left Washington in December, expelled from Congress as he faced more than 20 fraud charges, and after his almost entirely fabricated backstory fell apart. “To hell with this place,” Santos declared as he exited.
But while the Republican may be done with Washington, plenty of other people were soon desperate to fill his seat representing New York’s third congressional district.
In Long Island, New York, the former congressman Tom Suozzi emerged as the Democratic candidate hoping to replace Santos. Quickly, Suozzi set about distancing himself from the left of his party. He has promised to “battle” the “Squad”, a group of progressive Democratic members of Congress and has discussed the “border crisis”.
Mazi Pilip, a relatively unknown local politician, was chosen by a local Republican party desperate to move on from the embarrassment that Santos – whose claims that he was a successful businessman and investor, a graduate of a top New York university and a whiz on the volleyball court had all fallen apart under scrutiny – had brought.
While the looming presence of Santos, who has pleaded not guilty to charges including stealing donors’ identities, has piqued national interest, the Suozzi-Pilip match-up could also provide an early insight into what the US can expect in what’s likely to be a second presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in November. With early and absentee voting due to start in the special election on Saturday – election day is 13 February – so far it seems that immigration is top of the agenda, for Republicans at least.
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Post by Webster on Feb 12, 2024 23:03:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) New York special election to replace George Santos being held on TuesdayNew York’s third congressional district will hold a special election tomorrow to determine who will serve out the remainder of George Santos’ term, after the Republican congressman was indicted on fraud charges and expelled from the House. Former Democratic congressman Tom Suozzi is running against local politician Mazi Pilip, and much of the race has focused on the issue of immigration, as the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt reported earlier this month. Suozzi told MSNBC this morning, “If you want to fix things in Washington, DC, I’m offering you an antidote to try and come together and say, ‘Let’s stop all the BS and let’s actually talk about what the people care about.’” If Suozzi can pull off a victory, his election will further cut into Republicans’ narrow House majority. As of now, Republicans hold 219 House seats, while Democrats hold 212. The House speaker, Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has already struggled to govern with his narrow majority, and that task could become even more difficult with a Suozzi victory. Although a Republican won the seat in 2022, Suozzi told MSNBC that he was confident he could defeat the “Republican machine,” saying, “It’s a powerful machine, but I’ve beat them before, and we’re going to beat them again tomorrow.”
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Post by Webster on Feb 21, 2024 19:02:42 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republicans have used their control of the House to launch investigations of the Biden administration, but in November, Democrats have the opportunity to change that. The GOP controls Congress’s lower chamber by a measly margin, and Joe Biden’s allies hope they can flip enough seats to win back control. New York is home to several swing districts, and today, the former CNN anchor and Daily Beast editor John Avlon announced he would run for the Long Island seat currently held by the Republican Nick LaLota:
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Post by Webster on Feb 22, 2024 0:47:33 GMT -5
(The Epoch Times) NY GOP Candidates Line Up to Challenge Sen. Gillibrand in November-GOP county chairs, state committee members, party activists, and local supporters met in downtown Binghamton this morning to nominate a candidate to campaign against U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in November’s general election. For the first time in some 20 years, the Broome County GOP is hosting a state Republican nominating convention on Thursday. Afterwards, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will speak during a luncheon fundraiser for Congressman Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.). “Poll after poll, we see the voters of New York State believe our state and country are heading in the wrong direction,” Broome County Republican Committee Chair Benji Federman told The Epoch Times. “We need to turn the direction of our state around. One of the big ways that we do that is beating Kirsten Gillibrand and electing a Republican senator who’s going to focus on the issues that matter to the residents of New York State.” Candidates include businessman Josh Eisen, 51; retired New York Police Department detective Mike Sapraicone; and 44-year old athlete Cara Castranuova. All three have strong GOP support from county parties and individual Republican politicians. For example, Ms. Castranuova is endorsed by the Staten Island Republican Party, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Roger Stone, advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump. She received a hearty 42 percent of the vote while unsuccessfully campaigning for state Assembly two years ago in the 22nd district. “Cara has all the qualities necessary to be a strong candidate,” Mr. Stone told The Epoch Times. “The GOP nominee should be someone who is an unabashed and full-throated supporter of President Donald Trump and the America First agenda because we saw firsthand in the recent special election in Long Island’s 3rd Congressional District what happens when you nominate a Republican candidate [Mazi Pilip] who, in this case was actually a registered Democrat, but who also ran away from Donald Trump.” Ms. Pilip, the Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, was defeated by Democrat Tom Suozzi on Feb. 13 in the special election to fill the seat of Rep. George Santos who was expelled from Congress in December last year.
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Post by Webster on Mar 5, 2024 15:43:36 GMT -5
(The Guardian) It isn’t just the presidential nomination on Super Tuesday ballot papers up and down the US today. One of the most keenly watched contests will be the primary for the US Senate seat in California vacated by Dianne Feinstein. It has been quite an unusual race. The Democratic frontrunner is Rep Adam Schiff, who faces rivals from his party in the shape of Rep Barbara Lee of Oakland and Rep Katie Porter of Irvine. But also in the picture is former Los Angeles Dodgers player Steve Garvey for the Rpublicans. Seema Mehta has been following the contest for the LA Times, and earlier this week she wrote: Once Garvey entered the race, he did not mount a traditional campaign. He hasn’t held any big rallies or public meet-and-greets with voters around the state. He spent no money on television ads, never rented a campaign bus and declined to do endorsement interviews with California’s major newspapers. In the final weekend before election day, the leading Democrats running for the Senate seat barnstormed the state, with Schiff holding seven public events, Lee attending four and Porter participating in two. As his Democratic opponents seized the last opportunity to woo voters, Garvey was at home in Palm Desert, visible to the public only through TV ads paid for by Schiff and his supporters and a brief Fox News interview.And why is Schiff running attack ads against him? It may just be a cunning ruse. Mehta continues: Schiff’s political ads portray Garvey both as a loyalist of former president Trump and the Democratic candidate’s greatest threat in the California Senate race. While those appear to be attacks on Garvey, they probably will increase his appeal to California Republicans and allow him to secure enough votes in the 5 March primary to advance to the fall election. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary, regardless of their political party, will face off in November. A recent poll shows that, in a one-on-one matchup, Schiff would have a much easier time defeating Garvey than Porter, a fellow Democrat.
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Post by Webster on Mar 5, 2024 19:03:52 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema says she won’t seek reelectionSenator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent, has announced she will retire at the end of her term this year. -- “I love Arizona and I am so proud of what we’ve delivered,” she said in a video posted to social media. "Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year."The now independent senator won her seat in 2018 as a Democrat. She was the first non-Republican to win a Senate seat for Arizona since 1994. She’d go on in December 2022 to announce her leave from the Democratic party to become an independent. Her exit clears the way for a likely matchup between Republican Kari Lake and Democratic Ruben Gallego in one of the most closely watched 2024 Senate races.
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Post by Webster on Mar 6, 2024 12:52:44 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 11, 2024 14:05:37 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the most powerful pro-Israel lobby group in the US, poured more than $4.5m into an Orange county congressional race in hopes of keeping Dave Min from advancing to the November election. But on Tuesday, the California state senator did exactly that – outpacing his Democratic competitor Joanna Weiss to come in second in the primary for the seat of Congresswoman Katie Porter. The seat is crucial to Democrats hoping to wrestle control of the House of Representatives from Republicans. Come November, Min will face off with Republican Scott Baugh to represent the southern California district in the House. But Aipac’s massive spending in Orange county has perplexed analysts and Min himself. “Why the hell did you come in against me? We’re trying to understand why,” Min said in an interview with Semafor. “Maybe AIPAC wants a rubber stamp. I’m not going to be a rubber stamp.” Aipac has spent millions of dollars against progressive candidates who have been critical of Israel this year and in recent election cycles. But the conflict in the Middle East was not a major issue in the primary race.
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Post by Webster on Mar 11, 2024 14:06:13 GMT -5
(The Guardian) A coalition of progressive organizations has announced a fundraising, lobbying and organizing effort to counter the influx of spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) into primary campaigns against progressive Democrats. The effort, called Reject Aipac, is in part a response to the ongoing congressional support for Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Among the groups involved in the campaign are the progressive group Justice Democrats, the advocacy arm of Jewish Voice for Peace and the Sunrise Movement climate organization. “We have watched as Aipac has done everything it can to silence growing dissent in Congress against Netanyahu’s assault on Gaza,” said the coalition in a statement, “even as Democratic voters overwhelmingly support a ceasefire and oppose sending more blank checks to the Israeli military.” Aipac has stayed out of the fray during election campaigns for most of its existence, focusing its efforts instead on shoring up bipartisan support for Israel in Congress – with a focus on military spending. That has changed in recent years. Now, the organization is expected to drop $100m during the 2024 election cycle in an effort to oust candidates it views as insufficiently pro-Israel.
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Post by Webster on Mar 12, 2024 17:11:23 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 18, 2024 22:10:14 GMT -5
(The Epoch Times) Candidates in Crowded GOP Utah House Race Vow to Fight Feds for Control of Public LandsSALT LAKE CITY–The race to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in the U.S. Senate pits prominent Utah party rivals against each other in a Senate primary while also setting the stage for a competitive GOP battle for an open U.S. House seat. Like most Utah elections, both contests will essentially be determined in the June 25 Republican general primaries. There are nearly 1 million registered GOP voters in Utah; and fewer than 300,000 registered Democrats. Mr. Romney was a former Massachusetts governor; he led the 2002 Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympics and was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. He announced in September 2023 that he wouldn’t seek a second Senate term. Headlining the 11 GOP candidates campaigning for his seat are former Utah House Speaker Rep. Brad Wilson, Reagan/Bush administration attorney and former Federalist Society Director Brent Orrin Hatch, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, and U.S. Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah). Mr. Curtis succeeded Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in a 2017 special election before winning three House terms and opting to run for the Senate. There are 10 candidates vying in Congressional District 3’s (CD 3) Republican primary for his seat. Squaring off are state Sen. Mike Kennedy, a medical doctor and also an attorney; Roosevelt Mayor and oilfield company founder Rod Bird, Jr.; former state Rep. Chris Herrod, a three-time CD 3 candidate; Utah Young Republicans Chair Zac Wilson; Utah State Auditor John “Frugal” Dougall; and former Utah County Republican Party chair attorney Stewart Peay. The winner is favored to defeat Democrat Glenn Wright in November, although the former Summit County councilor ran a robust 2022 race and is already aggressively campaigning in CD 3, which includes Salt Lake City suburbs, the Provo-Orem area, and vast sprawls of southeast Utah.[/quote]-Read more: www.theepochtimes.com/us/candidates-in-crowded-gop-utah-house-race-vow-to-fight-feds-for-control-of-public-lands-5609771
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