RandySF
RandySF's JournalThe Michigan Supreme Court is in the spotlight for striking down Whitmer's emergency powers. The bal
Voters on Nov. 3 will select two candidates to fill two seats on Michigan’s seven-member court of last resort.
This nonpartisan race is farther down on the ballot, but don’t be mistaken: The court wields major influence as the state’s top judicial body. Most recently, it had the final word in striking down a decades-old statute Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to issue states of emergency and executive orders throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nov. 3 election has the potential to dramatically change the lean of the court. In an interesting quirk, candidates’ party affiliation doesn’t appear on Michigan’s ballot — although the incumbent designation does — but political parties do nominate candidates at their August conventions.
Currently, the court has a majority of four justices nominated by Republicans and three nominated by Democrats. Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack was nominated by Democrats in 2012, but was elected chief justice this term, as the court has been more collegial in recent years. While some Republicans were critical of that choice, the GOP majority has remained firm on cases like the emergency powers decision.
Justices serve eight-year terms. McCormack’s current term will end Jan. 1 and she is running for reelection. Democrats also nominated attorney Elizabeth Welch. Justice Stephen Markman, who was nominated by Republicans, will step down due to the court’s age restriction, which says those 70 or older can’t run again, leaving an open seat. Republicans have nominated Judge Brock Swartzle an attorney Mary Kelly.
https://www.michiganadvance.com/2020/10/17/the-michigan-supreme-court-is-in-the-spotlight-for-striking-down-whitmers-emergency-powers-the-balance-of-power-will-be-decided-nov-3/
'All hands on deck': Stabenow works to build another blue wave in Michigan
Stabenow is a leading voice in the Democrats’ strategy this year, from getting presidential nominee Joe Biden across the finish line to flipping the state Supreme Court. A big part of that is making sure her colleague, freshman Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield), staves off a well-funded challenge from GOP businessman John James, who Stabenow dispatched in 2018. And Democrats also are focused on several key congressional races and taking control of the state House.
Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) Chair Lavora Barnes said Stabenow has been a strong leader.
“It is all hands on deck this election, and Sen. Stabenow has been an invaluable member of the team working to elect Democrats up and down the ticket,” Barnes said.
The MDP has faced some internal divisions in recent years, with big losses in 2016 prompting members of the progressive wing to clamor for more representation and some African Americans to criticize the party’s outreach.
https://www.michiganadvance.com/2020/10/16/all-hands-on-deck-stabenow-works-to-build-another-blue-wave-in-michigan/
Kentucky postal worker fired after dumping 100 absentee ballots
A U.S. postal worker in Kentucky has been fired and could face charges after attempting to dump more than 100 absentee ballots, according to local news outlets.
The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General said the unidentified postal worker is “no longer employed” after the ballots were found amid a pile of discarded mail in a dumpster on Thursday, according to WKYT.
“The case has been accepted for federal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Special Agent Scott Balfour wrote in a statement. “They will determine what charges are appropriate after a review of all the facts in the case.”
WKYT reported Thursday that a person found a pile of discarded mail that included 112 absentee ballots and two political advertisements. The ballots were supposed to be sent to the Jeffersontown, Ky., area.
The ballots were returned to the Postal Service and delivered to customers on Thursday.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/521536-kentucky-postal-worker-fired-after-dumping-100-absentee-ballots
MO-02: Schupp outraises Wagner as campaigns hit final stretch
ST. LOUIS — Democratic State Sen. Jill Schupp outraised U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District as the candidates hit the final stretch in a nationally watched race.
Schupp raised $1.85 million over the third fundraising quarter, from July through September, according to her campaign.
The fundraising totals, reported ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline for candidates to file detailed records with federal election officials, continue an unprecedented fundraising streak for any Democratic challenger to Wagner, a four-term incumbent who was previously a top fundraiser for the Missouri and national GOP parties.
Schupp, of Creve Coeur, and Wagner, of Ballwin, are competing in one of several closely watched congressional races across the country. Democrats are launching a second bid to flip the suburban district, considered Missouri’s only swing district, despite having Republican representation in Congress for all but two of the past 33 years.
Wagner has held her seat since 2013, and President Donald Trump won the district — which includes suburbs from Arnold to St. Charles — in 2016 by 10 percentage points. But in 2018, Wagner, who won three previous elections by 20 or more points, saw her lead shaved to 4 points against political newcomer Cort VanOstran as Democrats retook the House by flipping similar suburban districts.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/campaign-cash-schupp-outraises-wagner-as-campaigns-hit-final-stretch/article_88afe474-8297-53aa-93ea-b81632cb04c9.html
IL-13: Rodney Davis Gets Called Out for Lying about Betsy Dirksen Londrigan
“False.” “Misleading.” “False.” That’s what KMOV found of the claims made in Congressman Rodney Davis’ latest attack ad against Betsy Dirksen Londrigan.
Statement from DCCC Spokesperson Courtney Rice:
“It’s no surprise that Rodney Davis is lying to voters. He’ll do anything to distract from his disastrous health care votes and his record of putting himself and his special interest donors ahead of Central Illinoisans.”
KMOV Fact Check
“The ad begins by saying, “Betsy Londrigan is lying to you,” then using a quote of her saying, “I have not taken any money from Speaker Madigan.”
The narrator continues, “The truth is Madigan spent nearly $300,000 to elect Londrigan.”
That $300,000 did not come from the controversial Illinois Speaker of the House, but from the Democratic Party of Illinois.
While Madigan is the chairman of the party, the group party is dedicated to electing Democrats to offices in all of Illinois and makes donations to numerous Democratic candidates.
So that claim is false.
The next claim in the ad states, “Londrigan also takes money from corporate lobbyists, even big pharma, breaking her promise not to accept corporate dollars.”
This is misleading, but complicated.
Londrigan has never denied taking money from corporate lobbyists as individuals, just as her opponent Rodney Davis has done.
But Londrigan made a pledge to not take any corporate PAC money, which she has not done according to the outside organization tracking the small number of candidates who made that same pledge.
For the record, Davis does accept corporate PAC money.
So that claim, that Londrigan broke her promise not to accept corporate dollars, is false.
The final claim in the ad says, “Those negative ads against Rodney Davis are paid for by corporate cash. A Madigan Machine politician, Betsy Londrigan is lying to get elected.”
Again, Londrigan’s top contributors are not corporate PACs, and while Londrigan did run against Davis in 2018, she has never held a political office.”
https://dccc.org/fact-check-false-rodney-davis-gets-called-out-for-lying-about-betsy-dirksen-londrigan/
IN-05: Hale raises more money than Spartz in third quarter in 5th District battle
Indiana 5th Congressional District Democratic candidate Christina Hale raised more than $600,000 more than her Republican opponent during the third quarter, according to campaign finance reports released Thursday.
Hale, a former state lawmaker and lieutenant governor candidate, raised $1.7 million from July 1 through Sept. 30, and spent $1.8 million, leaving her with more than $605,000 cash on hand.
Republican state Sen. Victoria Spartz, who is also trying to replace outgoing GOP Congresswoman Susan Brooks, raised more than $1 million and spent about $615,000.
Despite being out-raised, Spartz had a slight cash advantage over Hale, with more than $643,000 remaining, on Sept. 30.
Spartz continued to donate to her campaign, providing $200,000 in the third quarter, and bringing her total contributions up to $1.2 million.
She has said she is financially capable of supporting the campaign like this because of successful real estate deals she and her husband were involved in.
https://www.ibj.com/articles/hale-raises-more-than-spartz-in-third-quarter
IA-SEN: Des Moines Register editorial board endorses Theresa Greenfield for U.S. Senate
Theresa Greenfield is not a practiced politician. That makes her all the more appealing to represent Iowans in the U.S. Senate.
She rightly supports a path to citizenship for immigrants brought to the country as children, a requirement that Medicare negotiate what it pays for prescription drugs and closure of tax loopholes that allow large corporations to avoid paying their fair share in taxes.
During a recent meeting with the Register's editorial board, Greenfield talked about the importance of access to health care. Her other priorities include providing relief to those struggling from the pandemic, ending systemic racism, investing in community colleges, and bringing the country together.
Sen. Joni Ernst refused to meet with the Register's editorial board to answer our questions about her one term in the Senate.
That term began with a promise to make government “squeal” by cutting spending. Over the past six years, the only squeals heard were those of delight from wealthy corporations that benefited from the GOP-crafted tax cut she supported.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/endorsement/2020/10/17/theresa-greenfield-iasen-democrat-iowa-senate-editorial/3698062001/
NC-11: Millions pour into western NC congressional race that was once seen as a GOP lock
Millions of dollars have poured into a western North Carolina congressional race, as Republicans try to prevent Democrats from flipping a newly-redrawn district that was once a conservative stronghold.
The race in the 11th District, covering most of western North Carolina including Asheville, is the most expensive for the district in over a decade.
Republican Madison Cawthorn, 25, is running against Democrat Morris “Moe” Davis, a retired Air Force colonel and former chief prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay. The seat was once held by Mark Meadows, who stepped down to become White House Chief of Staff.
Cawthorn has raised $2.8 million for his campaign, campaign finance reports released Thursday show, while Davis has raised $1.5 million.
The cash has only added more energy to one of the most high-profile races in the state, where Cawthorn, a surprise conservative darling, has had to fight accusations of unwanted sexual advances, supporting white supremacy and lying about his record.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article246504345.html#storylink=cpy
GA-07: Suburban White women could flip Georgia blue.
Throughout her 2018 run for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, in the traditionally conservative northern suburbs of Atlanta, Bourdeaux targeted a constituency that President Trump won handily in 2016 and has fought hard to retain in 2020: suburban White women. She lost by just 433 votes, in the closest congressional race in the country. And though the coronavirus has forced Bourdeaux to abandon the suburban happy hours of her 2018 campaign, she is still relying on these women to help flip the district blue.
The Atlanta suburbs are seen as a political bellwether for the state of Georgia: If they flip, analysts say, so will the state. The 7th District is a place where “the Old South meets the U.N.,” said Bianca Keaton, chairwoman of the local Democratic Party. While Republicans have held this seat since 1995, its demographics are changing. It is now a majority-minority district with 25 percent of its population born outside the United States. Trump won the 7th District by six points, a far slimmer margin than previous Republican candidates for president. Many residents were “stunned” when gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams won the district in 2018.
Bourdeaux was the only White candidate to run in this year’s six-person primary. And though she was criticized for failing to represent the district’s communities of color, she won by a landslide, beating her closest opponent by more than 40 percentage points. Her campaign tapped into the political energy and deep pockets of suburban White women, many of whom had never spoken openly about their politics, convinced no one in their neighborhood shared their anti-Trump views. Bourdeaux focused on women like her neighbor, who she says would wrap Hillary Clinton’s biography in brown paper before she took it to the pool.
Could Bourdeaux convince her that others might be secretly reading it, too?
https://www.thelily.com/suburban-white-women-could-flip-georgia-blue-can-carolyn-bourdeaux-convince-them-to-come-out-of-hiding/
PA-10: Mama Mia, what were Republicans thinking with this new PA-10 ad?
The next time a Republican tries to tell you that the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan isn’t the preserve of xenophobes and bigots, point them to this new ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee taking aim at Democrat Eugene DePasquale.
I’m not going to bother unpacking any of the political claims raised in this breathtakingly stupid digital spot that began circulating this week.
Instead, I’ll just point you to its assertion that, in addition to being a tax-and-spend liberal, DePasquale, the Democratic candidate in central Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, possesses a last name that is “tough to spell.”
Let that one sink in.
DePasquale.
There, just nailed it. That wasn’t particularly difficult at all.
Try it again.
DePasquale.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/mama-mia-what-were-republicans-thinking-with-this-new-pa-10-ad-john-l-micek/
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