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RandySF's JournalMaryland House committee approves redistricting plan aimed at countering GOP gerrymanders
Maryland Democrats moved closer to redrawing the state’s congressional map Tuesday, as a key House committee approved legislation that would eliminate the state’s last GOP-held U.S. House seat and position Maryland as a counterweight to Republican gerrymanders nationwide.
The House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee voted 18-6 to advance House Bill 488, sending the redistricting legislation to the full House of Delegates for consideration. The bill would enact a new congressional map recommended by the governor’s redistricting advisory commission — a plan that would shift Maryland’s delegation from 7–1 Democratic to entirely Democratic-leaning.
Supporters — most prominently Gov. Wes Moore (D) — say the move is a direct response to Republican-led efforts in other states to redraw congressional districts mid-decade to secure partisan advantage ahead of the 2026 midterms, a strategy pushed by President Donald Trump.
With the U.S. House narrowly divided, Democrats argue that allowing those efforts to go unanswered would distort national representation.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/maryland-house-committee-approves-redistricting-plan-aimed-at-countering-gop-gerrymanders/
North Carolina cut voting sites at nation's largest HBCU. Students are suing
A group of North Carolina students sued Republican state officials Tuesday to restore early voting sites on three college campuses across the state, including at the United States’ largest historically Black college.
The lawsuit comes just over two weeks after the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) rejected the early voting sites in a 3-2 vote along party lines.
It was the latest in a string of recent moves by the state election board, which came under GOP control last year, to restrict voting in the Tar Heel State. And it came just weeks before the state’s 2026 primary election in March.
In the lawsuit, the students* allege that the board’s removal of voting sites at Western Carolina University (WCU), the University of North Carolina–Greensboro (UNC-G), and North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T), the largest HBCU in the country, violated the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/north-carolina-students-lawsuit-republicans-early-voting-site-university-campuses/
FBI raids Fulton County, Georgia election hub, probing 2020
Federal agents executed a court-authorized search at Fulton County’s main election operations center Wednesday.
“FBI Atlanta is executing a court authorized law enforcement action at 5600 Campbellton Fairburn Rd,” a spokesperson for the FBI’s Atlanta field office said in a statement to Democracy Docket. “Our investigation into this matter is ongoing so there are no details that we can provide at the moment.”
A spokesperson for Fulton County also confirmed the FBI raid to Democracy Docket.
“Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center,” they said. “The warrant sought a number of records related to 2020 elections.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/fbi-raids-fulton-county-georgia-election-hub-probing-2020/
What you need to know before voting in Texas' March 3 primary elections
Texans will have more of a say over who their state elected officials will be during the 2026 primaries.
Texas Republican and Democratic voters will pick which candidate they want to represent their interests and their party on the ballot for the November general election. In a state where Republicans dominate state government and where many legislative and congressional districts often are drawn to favor them, the primaries are often very significant. Yet, only a fraction of citizens in Texas vote in primary elections.
There are more than 18 statewide elected officials up for election, along with Texas’ members of Congress, state lawmakers, district-based judges, and local elected officials. With the new congressional maps redrawn to boost the number of Texas Republicans in Congress, some Texans will have to vote in new congressional districts.
Here’s what you need to know about primaries and the voting process. Stay tuned for more guides about candidates in the following weeks. In the meantime, you can use this tool to see how state lawmakers — some of whom are up for election this year — voted on major bills in the past legislative session.
https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/01/28/texas-voting-guide-2026-election/
MA-08: David Hogg's PAC endorses challenger to Stephen Lynch
David Hogg is wading into the Democratic primary in Massachusetts’ 8th congressional district, backing a well-funded progressive challenge to a longtime incumbent.
Hogg’s progressive group Leaders We Deserve is endorsing Patrick Roath, a 38-year-old attorney and voting rights advocate who’s taking on Rep. Stephen Lynch in the district that covers parts of Boston, Quincy and the surrounding suburbs.
“It’s one thing for Democrats to say, ‘Democracy is in danger,’ but we actually need to say very clearly what we’re going to do and have the experience to build a better democracy — and Patrick has that experience,” Hogg, who cofounded Leaders We Deserve in 2023, told POLITICO in an interview.
Hogg, who served as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee for four months last year, alluded to issues of national political concern in explaining the endorsement, saying that Roath is a candidate “who actually understands the affordability crisis that we’re in.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/26/david-hogg-pac-challenger-stephen-lynch-00745861
California super PAC debuts with $10M from Big Tech
SAN FRANCISCO — A new super PAC with millions of dollars from tech giants Google and Meta has launched to back candidates for the California Legislature.
The initial money for the group, California Leads, comes entirely from Silicon Valley, though its focus will not just be on issues that affect the tech industry.
Instead, the PAC’s leaders say they are trying to identify candidates who avoid partisan spats and are willing to take a “pragmatic” approach to addressing bread-and-butter concerns in Sacramento.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher for California in 2026,” said Nathan Click, the PAC’s spokesperson and a longtime adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Voters across the state are frustrated with politics as usual and are looking for leaders who will focus on real-world solutions rather than ideological fights.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/28/california-super-pac-debuts-10-million-google-meta-00751395
Crypto super PAC group expands war chest to more than $190M
A super PAC group funded by the cryptocurrency industry said Wednesday it has grown its war chest to more than $190 million ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, a haul intended to push lawmakers to support industry-friendly legislation that is struggling to advance in the Senate.
The PAC network, known as Fairshake, reeled in new contributions from the crypto company Ripple, which gave $25 million, and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which donated $24 million. Its $193 million total, set to be reported in federal campaign finance filings that are due at the end of the month, also includes previously reported contributions from the crypto exchange Coinbase that total $50 million since the 2024 election.
The group — which includes the super PACs Fairshake, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs — emerged as a major player in the 2024 elections, when it spent more than $100 million on House and Senate races across the country. It spent more than $40 million to help defeat then-Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown, who is now running for Senate again in Ohio, and backed Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan with about $10 million each.
The group’s top priority — a so-called crypto market structure bill that would divvy up oversight of digital assets between market regulators — is currently pending in the Senate, where it has been bogged down by a slew of problems.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/28/congress/crypto-super-pac-war-chest-00752834
Clamor Is Growing in Europe to Boycott the World Cup
Washington Post: “In Europe, there’s a growing clamor from some corners to boycott the World Cup — and questioning of the fitness of the U.S. to host the tournament.”
https://politicalwire.com/2026/01/28/clamor-is-growing-in-europe-to-boycott-the-world-cup/
KS-SEN(?): U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids prepares to tour areas of Kansas far beyond her House district
TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids says she’s embarking on a four-city sweep — all locations outside her congressional district — to learn more about Kansans’ priorities for the federal government.
In an interview, the Kansas Democrat said she planned to be in the Statehouse on Thursday with Gov. Laura Kelly and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott. She has scheduled a Friday tour of aerospace research facilities at Wichita State University before visiting small businesses Saturday in Dodge City and a dairy Sunday in Colby.
“I’m just looking forward to showing up, meeting people and making sure that folks’ voices continue to shape the work we’re doing,” Davids said. “I’m looking at this tour as really a chance to go a bit deeper on certain topics, connect with more communities and really listen to folks.”
In addition to opportunities for lowering consumer costs, Davids said she expected to discuss ideas for protecting jobs, strengthening health care and keeping families safe because “strong communities make a strong Kansas.”
https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/u-s-rep-sharice-davids-prepares-to-tour-areas-of-kansas-far-beyond-her-house-district/
Former Michigan Democratic Party official charged with embezzling from vulnerable adult
The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday charged Traci Kornak, an attorney who once served as the Michigan Democratic Party’s treasurer and is an associate of Attorney General Dana Nessel, with the embezzlement of money from a vulnerable adult to whom she was a conservator, charges that could net Kornak up to 15 years in prison.
Chris Becker, the county’s prosecutor, held a press conference Wednesday morning to announce that Kornak was being charged with two counts of embezzlement of a vulnerable adult and a charge for false pretenses, according to both The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press.
Kornak’s new legal troubles come after years of speculation and scrutiny from independent reporters, including former Detroit News reporter Charlie LeDuff, and Republican legislators who have drawn a line connecting dots to Kornak, the Democratic Party and Nessel.
Kornak was the party’s treasurer between 2019 and the spring of 2025. She was a member of Nessel’s transition committee when she was elected to office in 2018.
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/01/28/former-michigan-democratic-party-official-charged-with-embezzling-from-vulnerable-adult/
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