Senate

One of the leaders of GOP efforts to regain control the U.S. Senate said he believes the swing states of Nevada and Georgia are likely to make the difference as the party ramps up spending entering the final stretch of the 2022 midterm election season. In the coming weeks, both parties have combined to spend millions more in Senate races there than in any other battleground states, according to AdImpact data . Reserved advertising buys in the campaign's closing weeks are outpacing spending even in the media blitzes exhibited in the highly contentious Pennsylvania campaign between Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman. And Republicans intend to win. According to AdImpact data, the GOP outspent Democrats by nearly $5 million in those races through September. Meanwhile, GOP-aligned special interest groups like the Club For Growth have pumped their own millions into the Nevada Senate race, where Republicans have rapidly closed the polling gap between Adam Laxalt … [Read more...] about Rick Scott sees Georgia, Nevada as GOP’s “logical” path to Senate control

Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race is in a statistical dead heat as Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz surges and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman continues to lose steam, according to a poll. On Thursday, Emerson College Polling released its latest poll on the contest, showing that 43 percent of likely voters are backing Oz, who is endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, while 45 percent support Fetterman. The Democrat’s razor-thin two point lead falls within the margin of error, meaning the race is in a statistical tie. Eight percent of respondents are undecided, and another three percent intend to vote for another candidate. Pennsylvania Senate: . @EmersonCollege , 9/23-26 https://t.co/lX2B7iaQdW — Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) September 30, 2022 Independents are breaking for the Republican candidate at a substantial clip. Of respondents without a major party affiliation, 46 percent say they would vote for Oz, giving him a 12 point lead over Fetterman, who draws … [Read more...] about Poll: GOP’s Oz Surges, Democrat Fetterman Slides in PA Senate Race

Kari Lake , the Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, on Monday rescinded her endorsement of an Oklahoma state Senate candidate who has made repeated homophobic and anti-Semitic comments, as well as peddled conspiracies such as saying that "COVID shots kill." Lake, a 2020 election denier who is in a tough race of her own, initially called Republican Jarrin Jackson a "winner." Jackson, too, maintains that "Trump won" the last presidential election. Jackson edged Ally Seifried in the June primary and will face her again in a runoff election on August 23, with the winner taking on Democrat Jennifer Esau in November. Jackson has described his campaign as "a return to the basics, to repent for our obedience to tyrannical government and to obey God." Andrew Clark, a spokesperson for Lake , said that the endorsement has been rescinded, referring Newsweek to an Axios story in which Lake is quoted as saying: "if [Jackson's] comments were true," she would take back her … [Read more...] about Kari Lake pulls endorsement of Oklahoma state Senate candidate Jackson

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein , who faced heightened calls to retire after multiple reports in the spring questioned her mental acuity at age 89, has kept a pretty low public profile of late. On Thursday however, Feinstein apparently created a public scene when a reporter for Insider overheard her berating staffers who were trying to explain a stopgap spending bill to her. "The internal discussion, which took place along a bank of elevators in the Senate basement and was loud enough for Insider to overhear, bubbled over into outrage as Feinstein struggled to get her bearings before the midafternoon vote," Insider wrote. According to Insider, Feinstein said, "I don't even know what that is," when aides asked if she had questions about the measure. There have been many stopgap spending bills over the years. The one that the Senate voted on Thursday funds the government only through Dec. 16 (Feinstein ended up voting "yes"). Feinstein has repeatedly insisted that … [Read more...] about Dianne Feinstein overheard lashing out at aides over routine vote, report says

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon decide whether to create a council to set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions for workers at fast-food franchises, a measure that has pitted business and labor groups against each other. Lawmakers voted to send the measure to Newsom on Monday. The measure passed with the bare minimum number of votes needed in the Assembly and the Senate. The bill has been a priority of labor unions, which argue it is needed to address high rates of wage theft, retaliation for workers trying to organize and health and safety violations in the fast-food industry. It is also backed by Fight for $15, a group that advocates for raising the minimum wage for all workers. Opponents of the measure, including the California Restaurant Association, the International Franchise Association and the California Chamber of Commerce, argue the bill would raise prices for fast-food restaurants and that it unfairly singles them out for additional … [Read more...] about Bill that aims to raise wages for fast-food workers heads to California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who is running for Senate this year, left the Buckeye State for a round of fundraisers with Hollywood millionaires, which reportedly included one with an attorney who worked to minimize financial damages against sexual abuse victims. One of the fundraisers Ryan attended to raise money for an election he is in thousands of miles away was with high-powered Los Angeles-based litigator Mitchell Kamin, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Kamin once represented the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the report noted. In 202o, the committee tried to avoid paying damages to the victims of Larry Nassar, the former U.S. women’s national gymnastics team doctor convicted of systematically sexually abusing women and girls in 2017. Eventually, the victims of Nassar sued the committee for failing to notify authorities after knowing about the doctor’s conflicts. Court documents showed that the committee officials had been aware of the sexual abuse allegations … [Read more...] about Ryan Fundraised with Attorney Who Wanted Small Payouts for Abuse Victims

Conservative figures have accused YouTube of political censorship after the video hosting platform removed an interview with Donald Trump over "misinformation." In July, the former president appeared on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show , with the interview still available to watch on Facebook and on the podcast's website. However, the interview has been pulled from YouTube, with a message on the site stating that the video had violated its community guidelines. In a series of tweets, Travis said YouTube took down the video for "misinformation" without giving further details. "How does censoring interviews with political leaders aid any voters or democracy itself? This is scary. When have political censors ever been on the right side of history?" Travis tweeted. "Voters should be able to see everything that any political figure says in public in order to judge for themselves whether they want to support or not support that person. That's democracy itself. YouTube … [Read more...] about Donald Trump interview removed by YouTube decried as “insane” censorship

House Republicans have filed nine impeachment articles against President Joe Biden , five of which were sponsored by the same congressperson: Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene . According to a recent report by Axios listing a total of 14 impeachment attempts launched by the Republican Party, two more impeachment resolutions were filed by House Republicans against Attorney General Merrick Garland , while Vice President Kamala Harris , Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas were the targets of one impeachment article each. Last week, Greene introduced a new article of impeachment against Biden "for endangering, compromising, and undermining the energy security of the United States by selling oil from the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve to foreign nations," a practice that the Trump administration also engaged with. Previous impeachment resolutions launched by the Georgia representative included … [Read more...] about Marjorie Taylor Greene behind more than half of attempts to impeach Biden

The campaign flier sent to Vietnamese-American voters in Orange County is heavily doctored and designed to inflame. A Democratic congressional candidate is photoshopped in front of a classroom of children, a copy of “The Communist Manifesto” in hand. On the wall hang images of communist icons Mao Zedong, Vladimir Lenin and Ho Chi Minh. (Bernie Sanders, who calls himself a Democratic Socialist, is up there, too.) A single fist in the Black power salute teaches students the number one. Two is symbolized by hands holding a hammer and sickle. “Jay Chen invited China into our children’s classes” is written in Vietnamese on the chalkboard. Advertisement The flier, crafted and funded by GOP Rep. Michelle Steel, would be effective in much of the country. But it has the potential to be particularly powerful in Steel’s Orange County-centered district. She is running for reelection in the new 45th congressional district, which has an Asian-American plurality. The district is home … [Read more...] about ‘Red-baiting’ fliers mailed to Vietnamese Americans in tight California congressional race

close Video Dr. Oz's crime 'diagnosis' places blame on 'radical' John Fetterman: 'We have got to take our cities back' GOP Pennsylvania Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz says his "diagnosis" to the rising crime plaguing his state places blame squarely on his "radical" Democratic opponent, John Fetterman, for creating the conditions for criminal activity to prosper. Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman attacked National Rifle Association (NRA) members as the "lunatic fringe of gun ownership." In April, Fetterman spoke at the Fight for Gun Safety in Pennsylvania hosted by Giffords where he spoke on how he would address gun violence if elected to the Senate . "I’m not afraid of anything, and certainly not the NRA," Fetterman said. "And let me be clear, the NRA does not represent the overwhelming majority of what gun owners really believe and want." JOHN FETTERMAN DEFENDED OBAMA’S COMMENTS CALLING SMALL-TOWN PENNSYLVANIANS … [Read more...] about John Fetterman attacked NRA members as ‘lunatic fringe of gun ownership’