Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt (1953)

MI-04: Swartz (D) drops out of Michigan's 4th Congressional District race, McCann (D) vows to defeat Huizenga

Democratic congressional candidate Jessica Swartz announced she is ending her campaign for Michigan’s 4th Congressional District and will instead run for a state House seat.

Swartz made the announcement in a statement posted to Facebook Saturday, saying she will seek election to Michigan’s 41st state House District, currently held by Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), who declared her intent in July to seek the 19th Michigan Senate District seat in 2026.

Swartz pointed to rising costs for families and criticized Republicans in Lansing, accusing them of prioritizing the “extreme wing of their party” over working people.

“No matter what seat I’m running for, I’ll always fight to make sure Michiganders choose their politicians — not the other way around,” Swartz wrote.




https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/swartz-drops-out-of-michigans-4th-congressional-district-race-mccann-vows-to-defeat-huizenga/

Special elections to fill 3 Statehouse seats include replacement for RJ May (R)

COLUMBIA — Voters in parts of Lexington, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties will fill three vacancies in the Statehouse on Tuesday.

But ballots for only one of the three special elections indicate an actual contest.

In an email blast last week, state Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain called the upcoming Statehouse elections — three on Tuesday and a fourth on Jan. 6 — “our chance to show real power.”

She pointed to the Dec. 2 special congressional election in Tennessee as an example for Democrats. In a race that attracted millions of dollars and national attention from political heavyweights in both parties, Republican Matt Van Epps ultimately won by nearly 9 percentage points for a district, as Spain said in her email, “few would’ve called competitive.”


https://scdailygazette.com/2025/12/22/special-elections-to-fill-3-statehouse-seats-include-replacement-for-rj-may/

Fudd and Strong power No. 1 UConn past No. 11 Iowa in Women's Champions Classic

NEW YORK (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 27 points and Sarah Strong added 23 to help No. 1 UConn beat 11th-ranked Iowa 90-64 on Saturday in the Women's Champions Classic.

Strong also had seven rebounds and six steals for the Huskies (12-0), who remained unbeaten on the season heading into the holidays. No. 16 Louisville routed 17th-ranked Tennessee 89-65 in the opener of the doubleheader.

Strong, the sensational sophomore, dominated the first half with 20 points and five steals as UConn led 42-31.

UConn was up 22-12 after one quarter before Iowa was able to get within six in the second. Strong wouldn't let them get closer as she scored seven points, including the first five, in a 10-2 run that gave the Huskies a 35-20 advantage midway through the quarter. On one play, Strong got a steal, then went the length of the court for a lay-in.




https://www.kimt.com/news/fudd-and-strong-power-no-1-uconn-past-no-11-iowa-in-womens-champions-classic/article_f2e12f9e-4afa-4fa2-9314-e0c3d484413e.html

Connecticut man files lawsuit in attempt to get on special election ballot

HARTFORD — A Norwich man, in an attempt to get on the ballot for a special state House of Representatives election in January, has sued Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, claiming that as an Independent Party candidate, he does not need to abide by the same registration rules as major-party Democrats and Republicans.

Mark Adams and the Independent Party of Connecticut claim in court documents that he has been illegally denied a spot on the special election ballot of Jan. 13 in the campaign to replace the Democratic state Rep. Kevin Ryan of Montville, who died last month at 73.

Cindy Wolfe Boynton, communications director for the secretary of the state, said Friday that Adams did not meet registration requirements.

"Although the paperwork for Mr. Adams was submitted by the deadline, there is an issue with the information contained in that filing," Boynton wrote in an email. "Specifically, certain statutory requirements are not included in the form. This requirement has long been interpreted as requiring a wet, original signature. Mr. Adams’ form did not include an original, wet signature. In addition, it was clear to our office that the document was a poor photocopy. The image was not clean and included a background other than the paper. The 'ink' on the signature had no texture, nor did it run when wetted."


https://www.thehour.com/election/article/ct-independent-party-lawsuit-norwich-21252274.php

OPINION: What Albuquerque's historical mayoral election really means

Politics is a tough business. As a former New Mexico Cabinet secretary and school superintendent, I know this firsthand.

Pundits make a living predicting outcomes, often hoping to shape public opinion in the process. In the year leading up to this year’s mayoral election, the prevailing narrative was bleak. Many commentators suggested Albuquerque — and its two-term mayor, Tim Keller — were headed toward defeat. Few believed Keller could win an unprecedented third consecutive term, and some argued that any chance he had rested on weak opposition in both the November election and the December runoff.

Voters saw it differently.

On Dec. 9, Albuquerque residents turned out in force, producing one of the largest mayoral electorates in the city’s history. Nearly 129,400 voters participated — only about 3,000 fewer than the roughly 134,000 who voted in November. For a runoff election, that level of turnout is extraordinary. In Albuquerque’s last mayoral runoff, just two years ago, turnout dropped by nearly 40% between the November election and the runoff.



https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-what-albuquerques-historical-mayoral-election-really-means/2939009

Supervisors change campaign donation rules just before election season

At the start of the 2026 campaign season, with eight offices at stake, a divided San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved changes to the county’s campaign finance rules.

At its Dec. 16 meeting, the board voted to reduce contribution limits and reduce the threshold for disclosing donations.

Until now, San Benito County had no local campaign finance ordinance and instead followed state law. Donors were allowed to give up to $5,900 per election, with contributions publicly disclosed once they reached $100.

Under the new rules, proposed by Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Dom Zanger, someone may contribute up to $2,500 per election to a county campaign, and donations of $25 or more must be disclosed. The changes are set to take effect in February, after candidates have begun fundraising.


https://benitolink.com/supervisors-change-campaign-donation-rules-just-before-election-season/

Former Richmond City Council candidate indicted on election fraud charges still at large

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A former candidate for Richmond City Council remains at large two months after he was indicted for election fraud.

Tavares Floyd, who’s facing four felony counts of election fraud, is still listed as a fugitive per court records.

Floyd was indicted on Monday, Oct. 6, by a grand jury on four counts of willfully making materially false statements on his campaign finance reports.

8News previously reported that the alleged offenses occurred between June and September 2024, during Floyd’s campaign for Richmond City Council.



https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/former-city-council-candidate-election-fraud-at-large/

Campaign Spending Patterns in Virginia Statewide Elections

THE CENTER SQUARE — Candidates who spent the most money in Virginia’s statewide elections have usually gone on to win, based on a review of campaign finance records spanning more than two decades.

The review looks at inflation-adjusted spending in races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general dating back to 2001. It relies on campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections and allows spending levels to be compared across elections over time.

In governor’s races, higher spending has often lined up with winning campaigns. In all but one of the last seven elections, the candidate who spent the most money won. Democrats outspent Republicans in five of those seven races, according to an analysis published by the Virginia Public Access Project.

Spending reached its high point in the 2021 governor’s race. Both major-party nominees posted theirlargest spending totals of the past two decades, with Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe spending about $86 million and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin roughly $79 million.




https://wydaily.com/latest/2025/12/21/campaign-spending-patterns-in-virginia-statewide-elections/

Pregnancy is not a 'life event' in U.S. insurance law. This bill would change that.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is spearheading federal legislation in an attempt to require health insurers to allow people to sign up for coverage after they become pregnant, even if they have already missed a standard enrollment period.

Pregnancy currently does not qualify under federal law as the type of life event that warrants a special enrollment period, even though prenatal care costs thousands of dollars.

That means, if a Wisconsin resident misses open enrollment and later becomes pregnant, they will have to pay for those medical costs — including prenatal visits, ultrasounds and testing — out of pocket.

“Right now, major life events like getting married or moving to a new state allow folks to qualify for a special enrollment period to get the health care they need on HealthCare.gov – but pregnancy does not. I’m leading the effort to change that so families have the support they need and are set up for success,” Baldwin, D-Madison, wrote in a statement emailed to the Cap Times.



https://captimes.com/news/government/pregnancy-is-not-a-life-event-in-u-s-insurance-law-this-bill-would-change/article_2123273c-6b66-4ce5-a00a-ca9e0279d766.html