Politics Election category, Page 212
Bhavini Patel ends her run for Congress in 12th District
Edgewood Councilwoman Bhavini Patel said Friday she is ending her campaign for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 12th District. Patel was one of four Democratic candidates running in the newly drawn district that stretches from Pittsburgh to Westmoreland County. She launched her campaign in January. “The campaign didn’t gain the momentum needed...
The 4 reasons the Pa. Supreme Court picked the winning congressional map
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — In February, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced that it had...
Texas flagged 27,000 mail ballots for rejection in primary
AUSTIN, Texas — More than 27,000 mail ballots in Texas were flagged for rejection in the first test of new voting restrictions enacted across the U.S., jeopardizing votes cast by Democrats and Republicans alike and in counties big and small, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. It puts...
Cowboys for Trump co-founder won’t seek reelection
SANTA FE, N.M. — Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin said Tuesday that he won’t run for reelection to southern New Mexico’s Otero County commission or seek other public office in the 2022 election cycle. As a crucial registration deadline passed, Griffin said he has lost faith in the political...
Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco exploring run for Congress
An Allegheny County councilman who heads the county’s GOP committee said he’s exploring a run for Congress in a district representing Beaver County and much of suburban Pittsburgh. Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette, said Tuesday he is gathering signatures to get on the ballot in the upcoming primary...
Congress passes Emmett Till bill to make lynching hate crime
WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval Monday to legislation that for the first time would make lynching a federal hate crime in the U.S., sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. Years in the making, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act is among some 200 bills that...
Supreme Court rejects GOP redistricting pleas in Pennsylvania, North Carolina
WASHINGTON — In a victory for Democrats, the Supreme Court has turned away efforts from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to block state court-ordered congressional districting plans. In separate orders late Monday, the justices are allowing maps selected by each state’s Supreme Court to be in effect for the...
Florida to recommend against covid vaccines for healthy kids
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Monday that the state will formally recommend against covid-19 vaccinations for healthy children. Ladapo made the announcement at a roundtable event organized by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that featured a group of doctors who criticized coronavirus lockdowns and mandate policies. It...
‘We want to win’: Democrats face choice in key Senate race in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — John Fetterman was sitting, alone, in the corridor outside the hotel ballroom where Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party committee members were gathered, looking every bit like someone who didn’t belong there. Moments later, Fetterman — Pennsylvania’s sitting lieutenant governor — got trounced by more than 2 to 1 by U.S....
Republican ‘unforced errors’ threaten path to Senate control
WASHINGTON — As the prospect of a red wave grows, a series of Republican missteps including recruiting stumbles, weak fundraising and intense infighting is threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority. Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey dealt his party its latest setback late last week by announcing he would...
Andrew Cuomo rips ‘cancel culture,’ hints at political comeback
NEW YORK — Just six months after he resigned from office in disgrace over sexual harassment allegations, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to be hinting at a political comeback in remarks at a Brooklyn church on Sunday. The Democrat made a campaign-like stop at a Brooklyn church Sunday,...
Former Brentwood councilwoman challenging state Rep. Jessica Benham for Democratic nomination
Former Brentwood Councilwoman Stephanie Fox is challenging first-term state Rep. Jessica Benham for the Democratic nomination in the 36th State House District. The district encompasses Brentwood, Mount Oliver and several Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including Brookline, Beechview, Bon Air, Carrick, Overbrook, Mt. Washington, Arlington, the South Side Flats and the South Side...
Pence hits Trump: No room in GOP ‘for apologists for Putin’
Former Vice President Mike Pence urged Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and declared that “there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin” as he further cemented his break from former President Donald Trump. Pence, in a speech Friday evening to the party’s top donors...
House backs bill to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pitsVideo
WASHINGTON — A bill that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan won approval Thursday in the House. The measure has the backing of the nation’s major veterans groups and underscores the continued cost of war years...
Biden risks progressives, Blacks with pivot to the center
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is signaling an election-year shift to the center, embracing a strategy he hopes will protect fragile Democratic majorities in Congress. But he’s risking a revolt from key voices across his party’s sprawling coalition. In his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, the Democratic...
Democrats see ‘no reason to wait’ on Supreme Court vote
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson began courting senators on Capitol Hill, making her case for confirmation in private meetings as Democrats worked to move her through the Senate within weeks. Senate Democrats concerned about their narrow 50-50 majority — Vice President Kamala Harris breaks the tie —...
Biden’s State of the Union speech draws 38 million viewers
LOS ANGELES — An estimated 38.2 million TV viewers watched President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, according to Nielsen ratings. That surpassed the audience of 37.2 million for Donald Trump’s last such address in 2020, but fell short of the 45.6 million who tuned in for Trump’s first...
U.S. House ‘staunchly, proudly’ passes resolution for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The U.S House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution “steadfastly, staunchly, proudly and fervently” in support of Ukraine. Lawmakers said Wednesday that history was watching the way the world responds as Ukrainians fight to save their Western-style democracy from invasion by Russia. With intensifying urgency, many in Congress said...
US Rep. Van Taylor drops Texas reelection bid, admits affair
DALLAS — U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Texas said Wednesday that he was ending his reelection campaign and admitted having an affair following reports that he had been in a relationship with the widow of an American-born recruiter for the Islamic State group. The North Texas congressman’s announcement came the...
Pittsburgh-area steelworker Joseph Burgess gets front-row seat at State of the Union address
You’re minding your business, going to your job at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works, and the next thing you know, you have a front-row seat for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. How does that happen? For Joseph “JoJo” Burgess of Washington, Pa., it started with an...
Rep. Lauren Boebert outburst on Afghanistan jolts State of the UnionVideo
WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden was coming to the end of his State of the Union address Tuesday night, a somber moment about his son’s death turned into a stunning outburst by one of the Republicans’ most outspoken members. Delivering the loudest heckling of Biden during the speech, Rep....
GOP pushes to strip safety measures from West Virginia mining law
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Republicans forged ahead Tuesday with an overhaul of mine safety regulation that would strip the state of its ability to cite coal companies for unsafe working conditions. They blocked an effort by Democrats to derail the measure. That came a day after dozens of miners...
State of Union: Biden vows to check Russia, fight inflation
WASHINGTON — Addressing a concerned nation and anxious world, President Joe Biden vowed in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night to check Russian aggression in Ukraine, tame soaring U.S. inflation and deal with the fading but still dangerous coronavirus. Biden declared that he and all members of...
Wendy Rogers, Arizona Republican who backs white nationalism, is censured
The Arizona Senate voted Tuesday to censure Republican Wendy Rogers, whose embrace of white nationalism and calls for violence drew condemnation from across the political spectrum. Rogers is in her first term in elected office but has built a national profile among the far right with inflammatory rhetoric and vociferous...
GOP investigator: Wisconsin should weigh decertifying vote
MADISON — The Republican-hired investigator of Wisconsin’s 2020 election testified Tuesday that the state Legislature should “take a very hard look at the option of decertification of the 2020” presidential election, a move that GOP leaders reiterated they won’t make and that nonpartisan attorneys call illegal. Michael Gableman released a...
