VA: Hard-Right Del. Nick Freitas Fails to File Properly, Announces He's Withdrawing His Candidacy

This is crazy; check out the scoop by RTD political reporter Graham Moomaw on the huge f’up by hard-right Del. Nick Freitas (R-HD30; 61% Gillespie district). Also, see below for some analysis by Chaz Nuttycombe and Geoffrey Skelley of 538. The bottom line, though, is that “it would be the funniest thing on earth if Nick Freitas screwing up his paperwork led to this district flipping Democratic by R’s not being able to have anyone in the race, because there is no, I repeat, no path to a majority for R’s if this seat flips.” Hahaha. Oh, and don’t forget to support Democratic nominee Ann Ridgeway – she’s great!



https://bluevirginia.us/2019/07/breaking-hard-right-del-nick-freitas-fails-to-file-properly-announces-hes-withdrawing-his-candidacy

Tweet of the Day

TX-21: Wendy Davis to announce run for Congress

According to Texas Monthly on my phone.

ME-SEN: Democrat Sara Gideon Raised Way More Money From Mainers Than Susan Collins Last Quarter

Democrat Sara Gideon, the establishment-backed challenger to Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2020, reeled in significantly more from in-state donors in less than two weeks than Collins has since January.

Maine’s House speaker, who formally announced her bid to unseat Collins on June 24, raised nearly $1.1 million in the final 10 days of the second quarter (April through June), recently released Federal Election Commission filings show.

Of the total haul, 43% ― about $453,000 ― came from people who gave $200 or less. Campaigns are not required to disclose the identity of such donors to the FEC, so it’s nearly impossible to know for sure which of these contributions came from within Maine.

But Maine donors accounted for more than 44% of the remaining $605,000 ― roughly $267,000.

Collins, by comparison, raised $2 million during that same time period ― the most she’s ever raised in a quarter ― mostly through out-of-state donations.

Roughly $26,000, or a mere 1.3% of her total haul, came from people who gave $200 or less. A whopping 95% of Collins’ remaining contributions came from out-of-state donors, with only about $98,000 given from people in Maine.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sara-gideon-susan-collins-fundraising_n_5d2e1514e4b085eda5a2e9f1?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

An infant in a Qanon onesie is held aloft at a Trump rally

Tweet of the Day

AL-SEN: GOP Senate Candidate Says Less Buttsex, More Gunsmoke,

Let's check in on the GOP Senate primary in Alabama! Did you know that accused kid toucher Roy Moore has primary opponents? That's right, Alabama Republicans aren't just gonna let him Stranger Danger his way into office without a fight. We'd like to introduce you to one of his opponents, current Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, who, unlike Moore, hasn't been accused of touching any kids -- to our knowledge, but this is Alabama, so who knows! -- but who, like Moore, has some bizarre thoughts about the homosexuals. Specifically he is tired of seeing them on his television, and would like to see more "Gunsmoke" on the TV instead.


https://www.wonkette.com/alabammy-gop-senate-candidate-says-less-buttsex-more-gunsmoke-pew-pew-pew

Boris Johnson plans early election to hit Corbyn

Boris Johnson wants to hold an early general election “while Jeremy Corbyn is still around”, senior allies have said as his team plans to overhaul the Conservative Party’s campaign machine.

The frontrunner for the Tory leadership appeared last night at a fundraising dinner with his rival, Jeremy Hunt, that was attended by 100 Conservative donors in an attempt to boost the party coffers and build an election war chest.

The £1,000-a-head event in central London, where donors questioned the candidates directly, was intended to help to secure more than £1 million. Sources said that the party had been left in “dire financial straits” under Theresa May after donors abandoned it amid concerns over Brexit.




https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/conservative-leadership-race-boris-johnson-plans-early-election-to-hit-corbyn-h7d0rq090

Financier Jeffrey Epstein allegedly had 'improper sexual contact' with young women while in 'jail'

Wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued to have visits from young women that allegedly resulted in sexual liaisons while he was in 'jail' in Florida, a lawyer for one of his accusers said Tuesday.

Attorney Brad Edwards, who represents Epstein accuser Courtney Wild and several other alleged victims, claims that Epstein's 13-month jail sentence -- the result of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors in Florida -- failed to prevent the money manager accused of sexually assaulting numerous underage girls from having "improper sexual contact" with young women.

At a Tuesday press conference in New York, Edwards said that a recent newspaper article -- citing a Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy -- described Epstein as a "model prisoner" during his jail term in West Palm Beach in 2008 after he pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution in a deal with federal prosecutors that was kept hidden Epstein's alleged victims.

Despite being a registered sex offender, Epstein was allowed by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to participate in a work-release program that permitted him to spend up to 16 hours a day, six days a week at an office in West Palm Beach that housed his non-profit organization, the Florida Science Foundation.





https://abcnews.go.com/US/financier-jeffrey-epstein-allegedly-improper-sexual-conduct-young/story?id=64363827&cid=social_twitter_abcn

Oregon GOP launches effort to recall Democratic Gov. Kate Brown

The chairman of the Oregon Republican Party on Monday filed paperwork to launch a recall against Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, citing some of the laws Democrats passed in the 2019 legislative session.

Chairman Bill Currier also pointed to Brown’s announcement the day after lawmakers went home last month that if necessary, she would use her executive powers to implement climate change policies similar to the plan defeated in Salem this year. In a move that attracted international attention and rallied conservatives in Oregon, Senate Republicans boycotted the Capitol for more than a week in June to prevent Democrats from voting on the carbon capping bill. Democrats ultimately conceded they lacked the votes to pass the bill.
“(Brown) has threatened to usurp legislative power with executive orders to implement her failed legislation, deciding single-handedly what is best for Oregon,” Currier wrote on the petition, on which he used his official GOP email address. “This is not the Oregon way.”

Monday was the first day opponents could file petitions to recall Brown, who has now served six months of her second term after winning reelection in November. Organizers now have 90 days to gather 280,050 valid signatures from voters, according to the Secretary of State’s office. That’s a high bar: it’s not unusual for campaigns to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars collecting signatures to qualify initiatives for the ballot, even though recent initiatives have needed just over 100,000 signatures to qualify.

If recall supporters gather enough signatures, a special election could be scheduled sometime in November. In the short-term, the recall effort means Oregonians might be approached to sign the petition to recall Brown at the same time opponents of a new multibillion-dollar business tax increase are gathering signatures to refer it to voters.


https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/07/oregon-gop-launches-effort-to-recall-democratic-gov-kate-brown.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWm1RM05tTmxOVGN3TnpNNCIsInQiOiJneEVcLzhYOVZpQWREZjFLNG50cUl1cW5Hc08xc0dGelVoNjBvS3B3SUhFdDFXMFplbzBCZzI3anVyUThNTHpSWG45TkpFZExtMXBkRzZrOUlnWHYwMlJDQjNGSk01OWxMTmJ0REliVGprQnU4ZTltdWNJMUNucmM3MkNpWUx5WEQifQ%3D%3D