RandySF
RandySF's JournalOH-GOV: Democrat gains in race against Ramaswamy for Ohio governor: Poll
Democrat Amy Acton is polling neck and neck with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio governor’s race, according to a new survey.
An Emerson College Polling survey released on Thursday found Acton, a former Ohio Department of Health director, receiving 46 percent while Ramaswamy, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination last cycle, at 45 percent. A separate 9 percent said they were undecided.
The polling falls within the survey’s 3.3-point margin of error, essentially tying the two candidates.
Compared to a similar poll conducted in August, Acton has seen a 7-point increase while Ramaswamy has lost some ground with a 4-point decline.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5642908-democrat-gains-in-race-against-ramaswamy-for-ohio-governor-poll/
Indiana Senate sets up crucial Thursday vote on mid-cycle congressional redistricting bill
A congressional redistricting proposal that has split Indiana’s Senate Republicans advanced to its final stage Wednesday after lawmakers quickly dispatched three Democratic amendments and positioned the high-stakes bill for a decisive vote on Thursday.
But it remains unclear whether the Senate GOP caucus has enough support to pass the measure.
The chamber met for just 30 minutes with little of the marathon discussion that marked Monday’s six-hour committee hearing.
House Bill 1032 targets Indiana’s current two Democratic U.S. House members and is designed to create a 9-0 Republican map ahead of the 2026 midterm election — as demanded by President Donald Trump.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/12/10/indiana-senate-sets-up-crucial-thursday-vote-on-mid-cycle-congressional-redistricting-bill/
Republicans in Congress eye more power for states to remove voters
Republicans in Congress want to give states more authority to remove ineligible voters — including noncitizens and people who have moved or died — from voter rolls, seeking to reinforce the Trump administration’s own push to scrub the lists.
At a U.S. House hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers weighed changing a landmark federal voter registration law, the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA, which requires state motor vehicle agencies to offer residents the opportunity to register to vote. Some conservatives say the law makes it too difficult for states to keep their voter rolls up to date.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have ramped up efforts to scoop up data on voters and pressure state officials to conduct more aggressive maintenance of their lists to ensure that everyone on the roll is eligible to vote.
Some Democrats and privacy advocates have raised concerns about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. The Justice Department has sued more than a dozen mostly Democratic states, seeking to force officials to turn over lists of registered voters.
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/12/10/repub/republicans-in-congress-eye-more-power-for-states-to-remove-voters/
N.J. Supreme Court won't hear fusion voting case
An effort to bring about fusion voting in New Jersey via court action appears to be officially dead.
Proponents of fusion voting, which allows candidates to run under multiple party designations on general election ballots (and which is expressly forbidden in state law), said yesterday afternoon that the New Jersey Supreme Court had declined to hear their case after an appellate court ruled against them earlier this year.
“We continue to believe that voters have the constitutional right to vote for the candidates of their choice on the party lines that best reflect their values, candidates have the right to run on the ballot lines of their choice, and political parties have the right to nominate the candidates of their choice,” Richard Wolfe, one of the pro-fusion voting movement’s leaders, said in a statement. “The deprivation of these rights threatens our democracy and discourages voter participation.”
The fusion voting battle dates back to the 2022 midterm elections, when then-Rep. Tom Malinowski attempted to run as both a Democrat and the nominee of the newly created “Moderate Party.” Secretary of State Tahesha Way, obeying 1922 state law dictating that candidates can run under only one party affiliation, turned him down multiple times.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/judiciary/n-j-supreme-court-wont-hear-fusion-voting-case/
After recount, Oakland race still a tie
he race for a seat on the Oakland Borough Council is still tied after a recount this morning saw both candidates lose one vote.
Republican Councilman Kevin Slasinki and Matthew Dumpert, an independent, each began the day with 2,516 votes. After the court-ordered recount, each candidate has 2,515.
The candidates have ten days to contest the election results, or face a do-over election early next year.
William Eilert, also an independent, defeated the other GOP incumbent, John McCann, Jr., 2,546 to 2,469.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/after-recount-oakland-race-still-a-tie/
NJ-07: Cryan (D) endorses Bennett (D)
A day after hosting a fundraiser for 7th congressional district candidate Rebecca Bennett, State Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union Township) is making his support official and endorsing Bennett for Congress.
“Rebecca Bennett embodies the kind of leadership New Jersey needs in Congress,” Cryan said in a statement. “Rebecca has the courage to take on tough challenges and the compassion to fight for working families. I’m proud to endorse her because I know she’ll bring a strong, independent voice to Washington and deliver real results for the people of the 7th District.”
As Bennett’s campaign noted, Cryan is the first sitting state legislator to make an endorsement in the crowded 7th district Democratic field, though that won’t be true for long; Assemblywoman-elect Marisa Sweeney (D-Morristown), who will take office in January, endorsed rival Democrat Brian Varela in June.
Cryan’s 20th legislative district does not overlap with the congressional district Bennett is hoping to win, but he’s a powerful political player in Union County, which makes up around 30% of the 7th district’s Democratic primary vote. He’s also one of the only Union County politicians to have weighed in on the race; aside from a pair of former mayors, most other Union Democrats have stayed out thus far, perhaps in anticipation of the county party’s official endorsement vote next year.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/cryan-endorses-bennett-in-nj-7/
NJ-11: Morris Dem screening committee gives 'strong recommendation' to four candidates
A screening committee led by top Morris County Democratic Party officials has given its “strong recommendation” to four candidates running in the special election for the 11th congressional district – and none of the four are among the Morris-based candidates running.
Ahead of the county party’s December 14 convention to award its endorsement, the nine-member screening committee conducted interviews with every candidate running in the special election and sent out questionnaires to judge their policy know-how, their commitment to and understanding of local issues, and their ability to run strong campaigns. Each of the 12 candidates was then given a score out of 50.
Receiving the highest scores, and thus earning a “strong recommendation,” were Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill (who scored 49), Lieutenant Gov. Tahesha Way (46), former Rep. Tom Malinowski (45), and Maplewood Committeeman/former Mayor Dean Dafis (42).
The next tier, “conditional recommendation,” consisted of Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett (41), Bernie Sanders 2020 national political director Analilia Mejia (39), former Army paratrooper Zach Beecher (37), and former Obama administration official Cammie Croft (36). Finally, getting a “developing recommendation” were activist Anna Lee Williams (27), Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland (23), Morris Township Committeeman/former Mayor Jeff Grayzel (22), and comedian J-L Cauvin (18).
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/morris-dem-screening-committee-gives-strong-recommendation-to-four-nj-11-candidates/
Kim will lead effort to oust Jim Beach; fires warning shot at some Democratic legislators
In a bold declaration that he’s prepared to take on feckless state lawmakers who follow the orders of party bosses, U.S. Senator Andy Kim will support a challenge to State Sen. Jim Beach (D-Voorhees) in the Democratic primary in 2027 and will help recruit primary opponents to run against other incumbent lawmakers he views as impediments to anti-corruption measures.
“I’m going to be stepping up to get involved across this state and make sure we’re taking on elected officials who have been standing up and protecting the machine politics — standing against what we’re trying to do to fight corruption, and that needs to end,” Kim said in a video he released this morning.
Kim ran for the House three times with organizational support, but in late 2023, he mounted an insurgent bid for the U.S. Senate, joining the race one day after a sweeping federal corruption indictment was unsealed against incumbent Bob Menendez.
Beach, the 79-year-old Camden County Democratic chairman and a six-term senator, may be the first to make it on Kim’s target list, but the freshman U.S. Senator is planning to recruit legislative candidates in other districts in 2027, if necessary
https://newjerseyglobe.com/legislature/kim-will-lead-effort-to-oust-jim-beach-fires-warning-shot-at-some-democratic-legislators/
STRATEGY MEMO: Following 2025 Sweep, DLCC Announces Largest-Ever Target Map & 2026 Investments to Win Historic Cycle
The expanded target map includes:
New flip opportunities: Arizona House and Senate and New Hampshire House and Senate
Breaking and preventing Republican supermajorities: Florida House and Senate, Indiana House, Iowa House and Senate, Kansas House, Missouri House and Senate, North Carolina House and Senate, Ohio House, and South Carolina House
Chipping away at Republican power and flipping seats: Pennsylvania Senate, Georgia House and Senate, Nebraska, Texas House, Maine House and Senate
Building Democratic supermajorities: Colorado House and Senate, Delaware House, Nevada Assembly, New Mexico House, New York Senate, Oregon Senate, Vermont House and Senate, Washington House
https://www.dlcc.org/press/strategy-memo-following-2025-sweep-dlcc-announces-largest-ever-target-map-and-2026-investments-to-win-historic-cycle/
In Missouri Gerrymander Battle, GOP Officials Look to Drown Out Voters' Voices
Opponents of Missouri’s GOP-backed congressional gerrymander cleared a major goal Tuesday, handing in more than 300,000 voters’ signatures in support of putting the measure to a statewide referendum.
But despite that victory, voting advocates remain locked in a high-stakes showdown with Republican state officials who aim to slip the map through by weaponizing the administrative process and running down the clock to the 2026 election.
The state constitution gives Missourians the right to hold a so-called citizen’s veto referendum on acts of the legislature, and hundreds of thousands of voters made it clear this week that they want the final say.
The reason is clear: The new, partisan congressional map could split Kansas City across three Republican districts and eliminate one of the state’s two seats currently held by Democrats, diluting the power of Black voters.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/in-missouri-gerrymander-battle-gop-officials-look-to-drown-out-voters-voices/
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