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RandySF's JournalRegina Romero wins Democratic primary in Tucson, poised to be city's first woman, first Latina mayor
egina Romero, a councilwoman in Tucson, Arizona, beat back two Democratic challengers to become the party's mayoral candidate and be in position to potentially become the first Latina and the first woman to serve as the city's mayor.
Romero, 44, who was also the first Latina elected to the city council, will face an independent candidate in the Nov. 5 election. On Tuesday, she won almost 49.5 percent of the votes, while her main challenger Steve Farley got 37.7 percent and Randi Dorman finished with 12 percent.
While Arizona has historically been dominated by Republicans, Tucson is known as a relatively safe Democratic stronghold. No Republican ran in the primary, and Libertarian and Green Party candidates received only a few dozen votes each. Romero is a favorite to win in November.
Tucson has had a Latino mayor before — in 1875. Mexican American businessman Estevan Ochoa was elected mayor of the city when Arizona was still a territory.
Romero, according to her city of Tucson biography, is the youngest of six children and the first in her family to vote. She is the daughter of immigrants from Mexico and is an Arizona native.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/regina-romero-wins-democratic-primary-tucson-poised-be-first-woman-n1047356
KS-02: Kansas Treasurer weighs primary bid for Kansas House seat after encouragement
tate Treasurer Jake LaTurner (R) said he hasn’t ruled out dropping out of the Kansas state senate race after receiving encouragement from former Gov. Jeff Colyer to seek the House seat instead.
“I am humbled by the encouraging words of Governor Colyer and will take some time with my family to prayerfully consider his suggestion that I run for the 2nd Congressional District seat,” LaTurner said in a statement to McClatchy.
While he didn’t directly name Watkins, Colyer took to social media on Tuesday to call on LaTurner to run for the seat, arguing the GOP needs “a candidate that can win.”
“Republicans in Kansas’ Second Congressional District need a candidate that can win the general election in 2020,” he tweeted.
“I call on #SEK native @JakeLaTurner to seek the Republican nomination for the 2nd Congressional District and Republicans across Kansas to unite behind his campaign.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/459221-kansas-treasurer-weighs-primary-bid-for-kansas-house-seat-after
NC-09: Biden endorses Democrat in contested NC special House election
Former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 White House candidate, endorsed Dan McCready, the Democrat running for a House seat in North Carolina during an upcoming special election.
"Dan McCready is precisely the kind of leader that North Carolina deserves: one who'll put country over party, who's brought jobs to his community, and who will protect coverage for those with preexisting conditions - not dismantle it to cut taxes for the rich," Biden said in a statement.
"He honorably served our nation in uniform and in Congress, he would make his home proud every single day. I admire Dan and am thrilled to support him," Biden continued.
McCready, a military veteran and a co-founder of a solar clean energy fund, is set to face off against state Sen. Dan Bishop (R) in a special House election on Sept. 10.
The race is being reconducted after the state election board failed to certify the November results after finding evidence of widespread ballot fraud.
McCready lost by just more than 900 votes against Republican Mark Harris in November.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/459205-biden-endorses-democrat-in-contested-nc-house-race
Biden endorses Democrat in contested NC special House election
Former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 White House candidate, endorsed Dan McCready, the Democrat running for a House seat in North Carolina during an upcoming special election.
"Dan McCready is precisely the kind of leader that North Carolina deserves: one who'll put country over party, who's brought jobs to his community, and who will protect coverage for those with preexisting conditions - not dismantle it to cut taxes for the rich," Biden said in a statement.
"He honorably served our nation in uniform and in Congress, he would make his home proud every single day. I admire Dan and am thrilled to support him," Biden continued.
McCready, a military veteran and a co-founder of a solar clean energy fund, is set to face off against state Sen. Dan Bishop (R) in a special House election on Sept. 10.
The race is being reconducted after the state election board failed to certify the November results after finding evidence of widespread ballot fraud.
McCready lost by just more than 900 votes against Republican Mark Harris in November.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/459205-biden-endorses-democrat-in-contested-nc-house-race
CA-21: Former GOP Rep. Valadao launches comeback bid in California
California Republican David Valadao is looking for a congressional comeback against Democratic Rep. TJ Cox, who narrowly ousted him in last year’s midterms.
Valadao was one of seven GOP lawmakers in the Golden State who lost reelection in 2018. His race in the Central Valley-based 21st District was one of the closest in the country, with Cox winning by 862 votes, or less than 1 percentage point.
Valadao’s announcement Wednesday was expected since he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission last month.
“The Central Valley needs a strong voice they can trust representing them in Congress — someone who listens and understands that Central Valley residents just want an opportunity to provide and build a better life for their families,” the former congressman said in a Facebook post.
Cox has faced negative headlines recently for inaccurate financial disclosures and revelations by The Sacramento Bee that he took two years to pay former employees overdue wages. The freshman Democrat told YourCentralValley.com earlier this month that questions surrounding his financial disclosure are “standard Washington games … trying to paint me as something that everyone knows I’m not.”
https://www.rollcall.com/news/campaigns/former-gop-rep-david-valadao-launches-rematch-t-j-cox
TX-24: This Texas candidate's one-minute take on gun violence is a master class for Democrats
Kim Olson, a Democratic congressional candidate in Texas’ 24th District, is making big waves in the Lone Star State. The retired Air Force colonel spent 28 years in the armed forces, commanding troops here at home and in combat areas such as Iraq.
She’s tough, and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. As someone who’s actually served in a combat zone, she’s seen weapons of war up close, and she didn’t hold back at a recent event when the subject of firearms came up, telling the audience in the strongest of terms why we need to act now. “Let me just say this, and I’m unapologetic, weapons of war do not belong in the streets of America. Period.”
https://twitter.com/KimOlsonTx/status/1165723085280108544?s=20
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/27/1881773/-This-Texas-candidate-s-one-minute-take-on-gun-violence-is-a-masterclass-for-Democrats
MI-03: Amash's independence opens door for Dems in GOP stronghold
Grand Rapids — Liberals are optimistic that newly independent U.S. Rep. Justin Amash will do in 2020 what no other candidate has done in more than four decades: Help Democrats win a Grand Rapids-based seat in Congress.
The former Republican’s decision to buck the GOP has raised Amash’s profile and given him a national pedestal from which to preach against the two-party system without slogging through what would have been a bruising primary.
But it’s also bolstered Democrats' hopes to win the 3rd District seat if he siphons off GOP votes in a crowded general election, a once-unthinkable feat in a longtime Republican stronghold that has been recently trending blue in Grand Rapids and some suburbs.
“Even if Justin were remaining a Republican, I think we were really on the cusp of being viable to take it this cycle,” said 3rd Congressional District Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Winston. “Now with Justin splitting conservative voters off of the Republican vote, that’s just even more help for Democrats to take the seat.”
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/27/amashs-independence-opens-door-dems-gop-stronghold/2120857001/
Election 2019: Steven Reed, David Woods head to runoff for Montgomery, AL mayor
Steven Reed and David Woods will be in the runoff to be Montgomery's next mayor, beating out 10 other candidates Tuesday vying to be the city's top leader.
With all but provisional votes reported, Reed gained a little less than double the votes Woods did. Reed had 18,485 garnering 42%, and Woods had 10,245 of the votes, 24%, according to unofficial returns.
The runoff between Reed and Woods will take place Oct. 8, nearly 10 months after some candidates began announcing their campaigns. The winner will be sworn in as mayor Nov. 12 at Montgomery City Hall.
The two candidates were among six considered front-runners, many with deep financial backing, including Reed and Woods spending thousands of dollars to attract voters' attention. Still, the depth of the field almost ensured a runoff.
Reed, 45, was elected Montgomery County’s first African American probate judge in 2012. He is the son of Joe Reed Sr. who heads the Alabama Democratic Conference, an African American caucus.
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/08/27/montgomery-mayor-election-steven-reed-david-woods-head-to-runoff/2133077001/
MS-GOV: Officials confirm multiple cases of voting machines changing votes in GOP runof
State officials have confirmed at least three reports of voting machines in two counties changing voters’ picks in Mississippi’s GOP gubernatorial primary runoff.
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves are currently in a runoff for the Republican nomination in the governor’s race to see who will take on Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood in the November general election. Reeves led Waller in the Aug. 6 balloting by a 49-33 margin, though the race went to a runoff after no candidate hit 50 percent.
The issues emerged Tuesday morning, with one Facebook user posting a video showing a touch-screen voting machine changing their selection from Waller to Reeves.
“It is not letting me vote for who I want to vote for,” the voter says in the video. “How can that happen?” a woman in the background asks.
Though officials confirmed the issues with only three machines in two counties, the Waller campaign told the Clarion Ledger that it had received reports of the same problem from Leflore, Lamar, Pearl River, Lincoln, Washington, Forrest and Scott counties.
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/459067-mississippi-officials-confirm-multiple-cases-of-voting-machines-changing?__twitter_impression=true
Nervous Republicans focus energy on protecting Senate 'firewall'
The GOP majority in the Senate is shaping up as a firewall for Republicans who are worried that President Trump might falter and lose the White House next year.
Republicans see winning back the House majority as a tough climb in 2020, and head-to-head matchups between Trump and various Democratic presidential contenders show the president behind his potential challengers.
Though Republicans overall are optimistic about Trump's reelection prospects, they see holding the Senate, where they have a 53-47 edge, as crucial given the shape of races for the White House and lower chamber. And they’re playing their cards accordingly.
“If we lose the presidency — and if I had to guess right now, the odds are 10 percent we get the House back — the Senate is the only check and balance,” said one former Republican Senate chief of staff. “If we don’t keep the Senate, we’re basically screwed. I hate to just cut to the chase, but that is exactly what the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] is running with.”
Senate Republicans have relished their power to sideline major Democratic bills passed by the House, including sweeping election reform and gun legislation.
They argue that maintaining a GOP majority in the Senate is a crucial failsafe against “socialist” policies — the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All” — that could be pursued by a Democrat in the Oval Office coupled with a Democratic-controlled House.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the self-declared “Grim Reaper” for progressive legislation, has urged GOP incumbents to position themselves as a “firewall” against ideas being pitched by the field of Democratic presidential candidates.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/458898-nervous-republicans-focus-energy-on-protecting-senate-firewall
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