RandySF
RandySF's JournalWI-03: What type of Democrat can win in rural Wisconsin?
The race to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in western Wisconsin is on, with three Democratic candidates jostling in a primary that offers voters three distinct paths forward for the general election.
Small-business owner Rebecca Cooke, state Rep. Katrina Shankland and information technology professional Eric Wilson are all running for the Democratic nomination in the 18-county district. Van Orden’s seat is seen by both national and Wisconsin Democrats as a prime flip opportunity to help them win back the U.S. House in November.
Spanning most of western Wisconsin, the district is a mixture of small Democratic-leaning cities — La Crosse, Eau Claire and Stevens Point — and rural Republican communities near the Minnesota border. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report says the race leans Republican, with its Partisan Voter Index indicating the district is slightly more Republican than Democratic.
A vocal critic of President Joe Biden and an ally of former President Donald Trump, Van Orden is a freshman who won his seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired.
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/04/wisconsin-democrat-republican-election-congressional-district-van-orden/
PA-SEN: David McCormick has spent $232,000 on travel since January
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing reports, U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick has spent $232,032.75 on travel since January.
The Pennsylvania Republican’s list of disbursements shows that his campaign has made 15 separate payments to a company called PA Travel LLC, which was created on Dec. 12, 2023. These payments individually range from $2,282.06 to $61,237.61 and date back to Jan. 12.
The last payment was made on March 18, after McCormick pledged to “live on” his tour bus for the remaining nine months of his Senate run against incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D). The night McCormick made that promise, he reportedly took a private plane to Connecticut, where he rents a $16 million mansion in the state’s Gold Coast area. McCormick has contended he still travels to Connecticut to “be a good dad” to his teenage daughter that lives there.
The McCormick campaign did not elaborate on what the PA Travel LLC is when Heartland Signal reached out for comment. TaNisha Cameron, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, gave a statement to Heartland Signal condemning McCormick’s exorbitant spending.
https://heartlandsignal.com/2024/04/18/david-mccormick-has-spent-232000-on-travel-since-january/
Michigan 'fake electors' head back in court: What to know
LANSING — Six Michigan Republicans charged with participating in a plot to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss are due back in court this week as a judge considers whether to send them to trial.
The so-called fake electors allegedly signed a document in the wake of Michigan’s 2020 presidential election claiming the state’s Electoral College votes went to Trump rather than then-candidate Joe Biden, a Democrat.
State prosecutors must now prove the defendants knowingly committed forgery by sending a slate of false electors to the National Archives and Congress despite Biden winning Michigan by over 154,000 votes.
Among those returning to Ingham County’s 54-A District Court on Tuesday morning are ex-Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock and Kathy Berden, a former Republican National Committee member.
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-fake-electors-head-back-court-what-know
Analysis: Pennsylvania GOP enjoys clean sweep of voter registration gains ahead of primary election
Four years ago, the prospect of a competitive Presidential primary led to some relatively strong voter registration reports for Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party. Yet as 2020 progressed that contested primary never came, and the summer and fall registration reports were far more encouraging for the Pennsylvania GOP. Nevertheless, Biden was ultimately able to win back the Keystone State in November.
So Pennsylvania Democrats can take just a bit of solace in the fact that these latest voter registration trends can only tell us so much about future election results.
But that doesn’t mean we just should ignore the overwhelming nature of these numbers. Since I first started tracking voter registrations trends in Pennsylvania, Republicans have generally eaten into Democrats’ historic advantage. This is the first time I can recall, however, that the GOP posted gains in all 67 counties throughout the commonwealth.
Furthermore, the comparison to the last Presidential cycle is particularly stark. Back during the COVID-delayed voter registration deadline in May 2020, the Democratic advantage was D+803,427. Today it stands at 397,241. In that time 122,639 more voters have joined the rolls, yet Dems have lost 195,867 registrants as the Republicans gained 210,319. All the while, independent voters who chose either no affiliation or some other party rose 108,187.
https://penncapital-star.com/voting/analysis-pennsylvania-gop-enjoys-clean-sweep-of-voter-registration-gains-ahead-of-primary-election/
MN: DFL senator arrested in Detroit Lakes for suspected burglary
Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was arrested Monday morning in Detroit Lakes and booked into the Becker County Jail for suspected first-degree burglary.
Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd said at 4:45 a.m. on Monday, a 911 dispatcher received a call from a homeowner on Granger Road who reported that there was a burglar inside their home.
Todd said officers arrested the woman inside the home and she was identified as Mitchell. Mitchell, 49, was booked into Becker County Jail and was still listed on the jail’s roster early Monday afternoon.
Mitchell was elected to the Senate in 2022 and is in her first term. She’s vice chair of the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee. Mitchell is a former TV meteorologist for KSTP and Minnesota Public Radio. She’s also a commander in the Air National Guard’s 126th Weather Flight.
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/dfl-senator-arrested-in-detroit-lakes-for-suspected-burglary/
AZ: Inside the private company Maricopa County depends on to power through the last-minute ballot slog
The “bing bong, bing bong” of the security gate bell rings over the loudspeakers at Runbeck Election Services. Polls in Arizona’s presidential preference election closed three and a half hours ago, and ballots have finally arrived here.
The loading dock door flies up, letting in cool spring air, and workers roll in two locked cages carrying trays of green envelopes. Soon, the envelopes, with ballots still sealed inside, are shooting through Runbeck’s scanner at a rate of 12 per second. Within minutes, the voter signatures on thousands of envelopes have been scanned.
It’s fast for a reason. At times, all of America is waiting to find out the results from these ballots, which are cast in the largest swing county in the nation.
Dropped off at polling places or in ballot drop boxes on Election Day, these ballots are among the last in Maricopa County to be counted, because the voter signatures on the outer envelopes still need to be verified. It often takes days to count the votes inside, with the outcome of an election hinging on the result.
https://azmirror.com/2024/04/22/inside-the-private-company-maricopa-county-depends-on-to-power-through-the-last-minute-ballot-slog/
Loss of federal protection in Idaho spurs pregnant patients to plan for emergency air transport
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in January to consider a case about whether a federal law regarding emergency medical treatment supersedes an abortion ban in Idaho, air transports out of state for pregnancy complications at one of the state’s largest hospitals have increased from one in all of 2023 to six in the past four months.
St. Luke’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Souza said if that pace continues, that number could be 20 patients before the year is over.
“We have limited resources in terms of helicopters, fixed-wing transports and ambulances. If we occupy an air transport with a patient who could completely receive the totality of her care right here, safely, it’s potentially dangerous for other patients,” Souza said.
Idaho’s abortion ban went into effect in August 2022, a few months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal protection for abortion access and allowing states to regulate it instead.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/loss-federal-protection-idaho-spurs-pregnant-patients-plan-emergency-air-transport
Dems Are Counting on Abortion Literally Being on the Ballot
In three states—Florida, Maryland, and New York—voters are guaranteed to see initiatives that would codify abortion rights. And in six others, campaigns are underway to gather the requisite number of signatures to get on the ballot: Nevada, Montana, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, and Missouri. (In two, South Dakota and Arkansas, ballot initiatives to secure some abortion access are proceeding, but they contain proposed limits that have alienated some activists.)
With a combined 17 electoral votes, Arizona and Nevada could be decisive in another tight Trump-Biden rematch. Those states, plus Montana, Maryland, and Florida, will host some of the most competitive Senate races of the year, and Democrats are already hammering GOP candidates in these states about their abortion records. Among the states that could see abortion ballot initiatives, Democrats have identified 18 competitive U.S. House races—several times the number needed to flip the chamber. The official campaign arm for House Democrats is tracking the push closely.
“When people head to the voting booth in November to defend their reproductive rights, these Republicans will be on the same ballot, and their unpopular anti-freedom records will cost them the election,” said DCCC spokesman Viet Shelton.
The presence of those ballot questions will at least make it harder for Republicans to skirt questions about where they stand on abortion access.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dems-are-counting-on-abortion-literally-being-on-the-ballot?ref=wrap
Five races to watch in Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday
7th District: Three Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, a top GOP target, in this Lehigh Valley district. Army National Guard veteran Kevin Dellicker, who lost a 2022 primary, is running again, as are state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and Maria Montero, a political newcomer and co-founder of the Lehigh Valley’s Power of Women Networking Initiative.......
10th District: Six Democrats are running to challenge Rep. Scott Perry, a former Freedom Caucus chairman.....
1st District: GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, faces a primary challenge from anti-abortion activist Mark Houck......
3rd District: Rep. Dwight Evans faces a primary challenge from former Philadelphia Register of Wills Tracey Gordon. But Gordon didn’t report raising any money to the FEC as of April 3, while Evans had raised $743,000 and had $225,000 on hand.
12th District: Freshman Rep. Summer Lee faces a primary challenge from Bhavini Patel, an Edgewood councilwoman. The race has drawn attention for highlighting the Democratic Party’s divisions over Israel. Patel has criticized Lee for her position on the war in Gaza and for a lack of support for Israel.
https://rollcall.com/2024/04/19/five-races-to-watch-in-pennsylvania-primaries-on-tuesday/
WV-SEN: Manchin endorses Wheeling mayor (D) to replace him in Senate
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) endorsed a Democratic mayor to replace him in his Senate seat, which Republicans see as the top pickup opportunity for this year.
Manchin threw his support behind Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott (D) on Monday, saying in a video that Elliott posted on his account on social platform X that he is “proud” to support his candidacy because Elliott has “the determination, the vigor and vitality” to be successful as a senator.
“He’ll show up every day to fight for West Virginia, to create jobs, grow our economy and make a better life for our people,” Manchin said of Elliott. “Glenn will always fight for West Virginia and will put our country and our state before the bickering and pettiness of the partisan politics of Washington, D.C.”
Manchin, who is one of the most moderate members of the Democratic Party serving in the Senate, announced in November that he would not seek reelection for another six-year term in office. He has served in his seat since 2010, and has been reelected twice, as a Democratic senator in a solidly red state.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4612157-manchin-endorses-wheeling-mayor-to-replace-him-in-senate/
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