RandySF
RandySF's JournalIA-SEN: Elizabeth Warren endorses Zach Wahls for the Democratic nomination.
Per the Des Moines Register to which I do not have a subscription.
IL-SEN: This makes me want to bang my head against the wall.
Congressional Black Caucus members, after a stinging loss in the Illinois Democratic Senate primary, are training their ire on Gov. JB Pritzker — and saying it’s on him to rehabilitate the relationship.
After Pritzker’s outsized financial support for Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton helped lift her to victory, lawmakers vented frustrations that his money unfairly tilted the race in her favor and away from their candidate, Rep. Robin Kelly, a CBC member who finished a distant third. And as Pritzker eyes a 2028 presidential bid, some members, cognizant that the path to winning the Democratic Party’s nomination will run through the caucus, signaled they won’t forget that he crossed them this round.
“He has to justify what he did,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). “I’m sure at some point if he decides to run, he’ll have to come with that justification. As to whether or not it has merit or not, remains to be seen.”
Pritzker’s money helped put Stratton on the path to becoming just the sixth Black senator in U.S. history. But by boxing out Kelly, he frayed his relationship with the caucus, which holds significant sway over which candidates break through with Black voters — a large and powerful voting bloc the billionaire governor will need if he chooses to run for the White House.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/19/pritzker-2028-congressional-black-caucus-tensions-00835266?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
MI-SD35: Pete Buttigieg campaigns with Chedrick Greene for race to determine control of the Michigan Senate
He also contrasted Greene, who lives and works in the district and is a fire captain in Saginaw, with what he called the “millionaires club” of the Trump administration, saying that Greene “does live and breathes what people are going through and understands what really matters”
Greene also took time during the event to discuss his motivations for why he sought this seat in the first place, pitching himself as a leader for the whole district.
“I’m here to be the leader, to sacrifice myself for all of you who chose to be here today, for those who didn’t choose here to be here today, those who couldn’t be here today and those that don’t want me to be here today, that is why I’m running for the Michigan State Senate in the 35th District,” he said.
Some have called the May election, in which Greene is running against lawyer Jason Tunney, a crucial bellwether for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections on both the state and federal level — especially after Democrats nationally took impressive wins during the November 2025 general election and have continued with momentum in special elections since.
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/19/pete-buttigieg-campaigns-with-chedrick-greene-for-race-to-determine-control-of-the-michigan-senate/
How the left plans to start winning primaries again
Progressives plan to exert more pressure in Democratic congressional primaries to get the left to coalesce behind one viable candidate rather than split the vote and create an opening for moderates, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: This new strategy reflects how progressives are adapting after a bruising Illinois primary night in which they won just one of the four open House races they were targeting.
It was a disappointing result for the left after their shock win in a New Jersey special election last month to replace now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
"I think because we had these wins, the progressive movement is like, 'Okay, we're going to win everywhere,'" Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Axios.
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/19/democratic-primaries-congress-house-left-illinois
FL-HD87: HD 87 voters to fill long-vacant seat as Emily Gregory (D), Jon Maples (R) face off in Special Election
Voters in House District 87 head to the polls Tuesday to choose between Democrat Emily Gregory and Republican Jon Maples in a Special Election to fill a legislative seat left vacant for seven months.
The Palm Beach County district — which runs up the coast through Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Juno Beach and Hypoluxo — has gone without representation since August, when Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become the county’s Clerk and Comptroller.
The extended vacancy became a defining issue in the race itself. Nearly two months passed before Gov. Ron DeSantis called the election in late October, a delay that prompted Gregory to sue, arguing voters were being denied representation.
While the lawsuit became moot once DeSantis scheduled the contest, the lag meant residents had no voice in Tallahassee during the 2026 Legislative Session.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/785917-hd-87-voters-to-fill-long-vacant-seat-as-emily-gregory-jon-maples-face-off-in-special-election/
GOP senators want to add mail-in voting limits and transgender bans to 'Jim Crow 2.0' voter ID bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators debated Wednesday whether the federal government should change how Americans register to vote and cast a ballot, with Republicans maintaining alterations are necessary to safeguard elections and Democrats arguing a new law would add unnecessary obstacles.
Tensions over the issue were on full display when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said GOP lawmakers describing the bill as a simple voter identification requirement is “bullshit,” shortly before Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee contended it would be “a suicidal move” for his party’s leaders not to find a way forward.
The legislation, dubbed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE America Act, is unlikely to become law without bipartisan backing from at least 60 senators, who would be needed to move past a procedural vote.
Democrats are not expected to help Republicans with that, especially after Schumer called the legislation “Jim Crow 2.0” and “evil” during a morning press conference with voting rights advocates.
https://azmirror.com/2026/03/18/repub/gop-senators-want-to-add-mail-in-voting-limits-and-transgender-bans-to-jim-crow-2-0-voter-id-bill/
Federal appeals court tosses Arizona GOP lawsuit seeking to purge 1.27 million voters
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling that tossed out a lawsuit by Arizona Republicans that accused the state of violating federal law and sought to purge up to 1.27 million voters from the rolls.
In 2024, then-Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Gina Swoboda, who is now running for the nomination of her party for Secretary of State, along with Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi and unsuccessful 2018 Republican Secretary of State candidate Steve Gaynor sued Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and accused the state of violating the National Voter Registration Act.
The lawsuit claimed that Fontes failed to purge over a million ineligible and unaccounted for voters from the state’s registration rolls, costing the Arizona Republican Party time and resources on voter education and mobilization claims.
However, a trial court judge concluded that they had no standing to sue. On Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
https://azmirror.com/briefs/federal-appeals-court-tosses-arizona-gop-lawsuit-seeking-to-purge-1-27-million-voters/
Judge orders counties to hold absentee ballots in Indiana Senate primary
A judge has ordered three counties to hold off mailing absentee ballots in an Indiana legislative primary where President Donald Trump has endorsed a challenger to Republican Sen. Greg Goode.
At issue is a dispute over whether one of two women with the last name Wilson who filed to run against Goode in the primary should be removed from the primary ballot because of a 2010 criminal conviction.
Clay County Circuit Court Judge David Thomas issued an order Wednesday directing the county clerks in Vigo, Clay and Sullivan counties to “immediately cease sending, mailing, or otherwise distributing absentee ballots” involving the Republican Senate District 38 race.
Under state law, county election offices must start mailing requested absentee ballots on Monday ahead of the May 5 primary.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/briefs/judge-orders-counties-to-hold-absentee-ballots-in-indiana-senate-primary/
The Associated Press 2025-26 men's college basketball All-America teams
First Team
Cameron Boozer, Duke
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas, 6-3, 190
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Second Team
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Braden Smith, Purdue
Jeremy Fears, Michigan State
Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
Third Team
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Thomas Haugh, Florida
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
https://apnews.com/article/ap-allamerica-mens-basketball-teams-cb29ede32b6f75acb75d716a36166bec
Betts, Blakes and Strong headline 2025-26 USBWA Women's All-America Team
2025-26 USBWA WOMEN'S ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM (5)
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt .
Azzi Fudd, Connecticut
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame.
Sarah Strong, Connecticut
SECOND TEAM (5)
Madison Booker, Texas
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Olivia Miles, TCU
THIRD TEAM (6)
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Toby Fournier, Duke
Rori Harmon, Texas
Flau'jae Johnson, LSU .
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Kiki Rice, UCLA
https://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/news/2026/03/17/betts-blakes-and-strong-headline-2025-26-usbwa-womens-all-america-team
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
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Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
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