FL-GOV: Interesting note heard in today's NYT podcast

25% of Democrats who voted early had never before voted in a midterm election.

TX-07: Culberson Bought Memorabilia with Campaign Funds

WASHINGTON — Texas Democrats targeting GOP Congressman John Culberson in Houston are challenging nearly $50,000 in campaign spending since 2004 on books, coins, Civil War memorabilia and other collectibles, some reported as “donor gifts.”

Draft copies of complaints to the Federal Election Commission and the independent Office of Congressional Ethics question the expenses in light of Culberson’s personal interest in military history.

Culberson has reported selling as much as $1.3 million in antiques and collectibles since 2010, something he says he does as a hobby. Because he considers his collection a personal asset rather than an investment, he has not been required to publicly detail his purchases or holdings in congressional disclosure reports.

Culberson’s campaign said Monday said that all of the spending in question was either for research material or modest gifts to campaign contributors and volunteers over the 19 years he’s been in office.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Democrats-question-50-000-in-books-and-13186560.php


LIZZIE FLETCHER




https://www.lizziefletcher.com

The Florida State Senate is up for grabs

Tweet of the Day

VA-02: Scott Taylor Called Constituent In Effort To Bury First Allegation Of Signature Forgery

Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA), a well-known Republican congressman and former Navy SEAL, personally called a constituent who had accused his reelection campaign of forging voters’ signatures and pressured her to withdraw the accusation, four people with knowledge of the call described to TPM.

It was an unusually personal intervention from a congressman whose campaign staffers have since been accused of 59 signature forgeries and counting, according to a recent Virginian-Pilot report, including from the families of four dead voters whose signatures nonetheless appear on petition sheets collected by Taylor’s staffers.

Despite the congressman’s call on Aug. 3, Lindsey Terry, the technology chairwoman for the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, knew before anyone else that something very fishy was going.

Eileen Eady, Terry’s friend and former neighbor, had left her Virginia Beach rental and to moved Las Vegas years ago. She even ran an unsuccessful campaign this year for Clark County School Board of Trustees.

“I know she moved,” Terry told TPM on the phone recently.

And yet, Eady’s purported signature and outdated Virginia address appeared on a petition sheet collected in June by a Taylor campaign staffer, Heather Guillot, to get an independent candidate, Shaun Brown, on the congressional ballot.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/rep-called-constituent-in-effort-to-bury-first-allegation-of-signature-forgery



ELAINE LURIA



https://elaineforcongress.com/

Could This Be the Year Montana Sends a Democrat to the House?

CROW AGENCY, Mont. — It was an odd display. The Republican congressman dancing in a powwow with the Democrat who’s hoping to unseat him this fall.

Rep. Greg Gianforte narrowly won a closely-watched special election last year, earning negative headlines when he physically assaulted a reporter the night before.

Having won a six-way primary in June, former state Rep. Kathleen Williams is hoping to capitalize on frustration with the Republican-controlled Congress and dissatisfaction she’s heard about the congressman to defeat him in a year when the winds appear to be at Democrats’ backs.

But Montana’s not an easy place to do that. Despite electing Democrats statewide at the Senate and gubernatorial level, Montana hasn’t elected a Democrat to its at-large House seat since 1994.

It speaks to Montana’s peculiar political identity, but also to the challenges of running for an at-large seat in such a big, rural state, when the House contest has usually played second-fiddle to higher-profile statewide races. Watch: In Montana, Searching for Votes in the ‘Teepee Capital of the World’


https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/year-montana-sends-democrat-house


?itok=FXZMQsIn


https://kathleenformontana.com

Facebook Reportedly Targeted LGBTQ Users with "Gay Cure" Ads

According to Attitude from a study from The Telegraph, Facebook has been reportedly targeting LGBTQ users with gay conversion advertisements.

As The Telegraph mentioned, users (including young LGBTQ people) reported seeing ads promoting “sexual purity” and gay conversion therapy. When users inquired about why they were seeing these particular ads, Facebook said they noticed they were interested in “gender issues.”

Apparently, one user, Tessa Ann Schwarz was shown a video titled 'Homosexuality Was My Identity' which promoted conversion therapy because she liked LGBT pages on Facebook.

Facebook has since removed the posts. Facebook's policies for advertisers state that ads must not "engage in predatory advertising practices or contain content that discriminates against, harasses, provokes or disparages people who use Facebook or Instagram."

A Facebook representative told The Telegraph: "We have rejected these ads and they are no longer running on Facebook."


https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2018/8/27/facebook-reportedly-targeted-lgbtq-users-gay-cure-ads?amp&__twitter_impression=true

AZ-06: Anita Malik wins Democratic nomination

Judge Dismisses GOP Effort To Block Nebraska's Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure

A Nebraska judge dismissed an effort to block that state's Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative, clearing the way for voters to decide in November whether to increase access to healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Sen. Lydia Brasch, who became a national Republican committeewoman earlier this year, and former Sen. Mark Christensen, known for his push to allow Nebraska teachers to carry guns, filed a lawsuit in July that “suggests a number of procedural, statutory and constitutional flaws," media reports at the time said. But Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus on Tuesday rejected those arguments.

Supporters of Medicaid expansion in Nebraska cheered the district judge's ruling.

"We are pleased to hear from the Court that Nebraska voters will have the opportunity to decide to lower property taxes and expand Medicaid to the 90,000 Nebraskans who work at jobs that don’t come with health insurance," Insure the Good Life campaign manager Meg Mandy said. “More than 135,000 Nebraskans from every county signed the petition to put this to a vote of the people, which shows this isn’t a partisan issue. Every Nebraskan should have access to healthcare, like heart medication or cancer treatment, when they are sick.”

Nebraska, Utah and Idaho could follow the lead of voters in Maine who last November voted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act via ballot initiative. These states are seeking ballot initiatives because their Republican-leaning legislatures or governors like Nebraska's Pete Ricketts have been roadblocks to the idea.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/08/28/judge-dismisses-republican-effort-to-block-nebraska-medicaid-expansion/#94bd4be4c933

FLIPPABLE: Terrence Everitt for NC-HD35

Terence is a father, husband, and small business owner. He has his own law practice in Wake Forest where he works on behalf of other small businesses, representing them in legal matters and assisting in the creation and development of new businesses. Terence is
committed to local growth and serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce.

He is a graduate of Leadership Wake Forest and served as a member of the Wake County Transit Advisory Committee, which provided the community recommendations and guidance in the development of the Wake County transit plan.
​
Terence attended The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., where he met his wife, Jennifer. The couple decided to move to North Carolina, where Jennifer grew up, in order to raise their family. They live in Wake Forest with their two children, Jack (9) and Juliet (6).




https://www.terenceeveritt.com