Elections

As Georgia Democrats won their third Senate runoff election in two years, the party proved it had crafted an effective strategy for triumphing in a decades-old system created to sustain segregationist power and for overcoming an array of efforts to making voting more difficult. Republicans, meanwhile, were quietly cursing the runoff system, or at least their strategy for winning under a state law they wrote after losing the last election. The various post-mortems over how Georgia’s runoff rules shaped the state’s Senate outcome on Tuesday put a spotlight on a major voting law passed by the Republican-led General Assembly last year. Some Republicans acknowledged that their efforts to limit in-person early voting days might have backfired, while others encouraged lawmakers to consider additional restrictions next year. With Georgia poised to remain a critical political battleground and with Republicans holding gerrymandered majorities in both chambers of its state legislature, … [Read more...] about Losing Another Runoff, Georgia Republicans Weigh an Election Shake-Up

A member of Ukraine’s parliament who federal authorities said meddled in America’s 2020 presidential campaign on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services has been charged with money laundering tied to his purchase of two Beverly Hills apartments he used while sowing disinformation. The charges against the member of parliament, Andriy Derkach, 55, grew out of an investigation into whether he and other Ukrainians had interfered in the 2020 campaign — including by using Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, to spread misleading claims about President Biden, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That inquiry was first reported by The New York Times last year. In an indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday that also charged him with bank fraud conspiracy, sanctions violations and other crimes, Brooklyn federal prosecutors said Mr. Derkach decades ago was a combat crew commander in the Soviet Union’s Strategic Missile Command. When U.S. Treasury … [Read more...] about Ukrainian Accused of Election Interference Charged With Money Laundering

Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) face from the Jamnagar North constituency in the Gujarat Assembly Elections. Despite having no major experience in politics or fighting elections, Rivaba is heading for a comfortable win in Jamnagar North assembly seat, where she is leading with more than 50,000 votes (at the time of writing this article) against AAP’s Karshanbhai Karmur. The BJP had dropped sitting MLA of Jamnagar North Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and given ticket to Rivaba Jadeja. Clearly, Rivaba has lived up to the party’s expectations as she is on her way to register a record-breaking win on her much-talked about debut. She has also been a member of Karni Sena and was made the president of its women’s wing in 2018. RELATED | Gujarat Election Result: PM Modi’s Victory Speech at 6PM as BJP Clinches 7th Term With Record Tally Born in Rajkot in 1990, Rivaba joined the Bharatiya Janata Party three years ago. At the time, a photo of … [Read more...] about Ravindra Jadeja’s Wife & BJP’s Rivaba Jadeja Heads for Record-breaking Win in Gujarat on Her Debut

After yet another disappointing showing for Republicans in Georgia’s Senate runoff on Tuesday, some conservatives — like Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich and Kevin McCarthy — have begun to point to a surprising culprit: a failure to take advantage of early voting. The theory seems to be that Republicans are losing because early voting is giving Democrats a turnout edge. It follows a similar conversation after the midterm elections, when a chorus of conservatives said Republicans needed to start encouraging mail voting. But as more data becomes available on turnout in this year’s election, it is quite clear that turnout was not the main problem facing Republicans. In state after state, the final turnout data shows that registered Republicans turned out at a higher rate — and in some places a much higher rate — than registered Democrats, including in many of the states where Republicans were dealt some of their most embarrassing losses. Instead, high-profile Republicans … [Read more...] about Turnout by Republicans Was Great. It’s Just That Many of Them Didn’t Vote for Republicans.

ATLANTA — As Republicans smarting from Herschel Walker’s defeat in Georgia continue the process of assigning blame , one man seems to be conspicuously above reproach: Gov. Brian P. Kemp. The state’s Republican governor — once derided as an unhinged far-right disrupter following a series of wildly provocative 2018 campaign ads — has emerged in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Senate runoff as one of his party’s savvier political operators. On Nov. 8, Mr. Kemp won re-election by a resounding eight-point margin — a remarkable transformation for a politician who went from being booed by conservatives at his own events in the May primary to defeating a national Democratic star, Stacey Abrams. His ability to deftly walk a fine line of providing just enough support to Mr. Walker without being damaged by his defeat was proof of Mr. Kemp’s formidable political instincts, Republicans inside and outside the state said. He has survived and even thrived in the face of Donald J. Trump’s … [Read more...] about The Georgia Republican Unscathed by Walker’s Defeat

If an outsider were to analyze Israel-Jordan ties in the weeks following returning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's election victory, he would be led to the mistaken assumption that the peace between the two countries is stable, if not good. Following the Israeli elections on Nov. 1, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Israel's President Isaac Herzog held warm meetings (at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh), and a follow-up pact was agreed upon to promote the implementation of the electricity-water project (in which Israel sends the parched Hashemite Kingdom desalinated water, and Jordan sends Israel electricity from its solar panels). Later, the two parties signed a letter of intent as part of a collaborative endeavor to restore and improve the Jordan River's ecology. In addition, a public phone call was held between Netanyahu and King Abdullah. Both sides described the call as favorable. But the above does not reflect the animosity and deep distrust between … [Read more...] about Can Netanyahu’s New Government Keep the Peace With Jordan?

Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents the 23rd Congressional District of Texas, told Newsweek in an exclusive interview that he intends to seek one of the top positions within the House of Representatives' bipartisan veterans working group. The For Country Caucus, as the group is called, provides lawmakers with military service experience a forum to work across party lines in support of bipartisan policy solutions, specifically those pertaining to the U.S. national security and veterans' affairs. Gonzales, who served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and attained the rank of master chief petty officer, told Newsweek the position of caucus co-chair appeals to him because it attracts "natural problem solvers" dedicated to working across the aisle and getting legislation passed. "For Country Caucus to me has been one of the most effective caucuses as far as helping move legislation through the process," Gonzales told Newsweek . "I want to take on a leadership role … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Rep. Tony Gonzales seeks to co-chair bipartisan veteran caucus

Images circulating across Twitter showed what appeared to be hundreds of people congregating in the streets of Rotterdam, Netherlands in protest of what users said to be the country's COVID-19 restrictions. One image showed a police car ablaze while others show flares littered across the streets as smoke fills the air and masses of people shouted in Dutch. One user posted a video featuring the sounds of "explosions and gunfire." These protests trail an announcement last Friday that the government intended to implement a partial lockdown amid a recent surge. The seven-day average for new COVID cases jumped by nearly 1,000 percent from the rate reported by Our World in Data on October 1 to the current rate as of November 18. "Tonight we are bringing a very unpleasant message with very unpleasant and far-reaching measures," Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a televised address on the Friday evening of the announcement. "The virus is everywhere and needs to be combated … [Read more...] about Protests Against COVID Restrictions Erupt in Netherlands, Car Set on Fire

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 9 NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party on Thursday looked set to retain control in his home state of Gujarat following a record state legislature win, but it was trailing behind its rival Congress party in northern Himachal Pradesh state. The landslide win in Modi’s home state is expected to provide a big boost to the party ahead of national elections due in 2024. The BJP has not lost state assembly elections in the western industrial state since 1995. Modi was Gujarat’s top elected official for 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014. Modi’s party remains popular despite criticism of rising inflation, unemployment and religious polarization. According to India's autonomous Election Commission, the BJP was leading in 158 out of 182 seats in the Gujarat state legislature and the Congress party was … [Read more...] about Indian PM Modi’s party heading for big win in his home state

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon looks around during a session of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul Thursday. [NEWS1] Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon is considered a leading candidate to head the People Power Party (PPP), despite his claim that he's dedicated to his current job. On Monday, PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young said during a visit to Daegu that party members are "concerned" that there are no chairman candidates who can lead the conservative party to victory in the general elections in 2024. Joo's remarks led to speculation in the party that he was referring to Han, a former prosecutor known to be close to President Yoon Suk-yeol. He said party members are "not satisfied" with the current selection and that the next PPP chair needs to be someone who can help the party win in especially in Seoul and other metropolitan areas; someone who can appeal to the MZ generation in their 20s and 30s; and someone who can easily pass the nomination process. Many members … [Read more...] about Drumbeat for Han Dong-hoon to lead PPP grows